Sing Because it is Heard

artist Betsy Z. Casañas

A portion of Sing Because it is Heard by Betsy Casañas. Photo by Steve Weinik.

Mural Process Photos 

  • Photo by Steve Weinik.

  • Students from the Moore College of Art and Design helped to paint the mural during their Alternative Spring Break in 2017. Photo by Steve Weinik.

  • Students from the Moore College of Art and Design helped to paint the mural during their Alternative Spring Break in 2017. Photo by Steve Weinik.

  • Students from the Moore College of Art and Design helped to paint the mural during their Alternative Spring Break in 2017. Photo by Steve Weinik.

  • Photo by Steve Weinik.

  • Students from the Moore College of Art and Design helped to paint the mural during their Alternative Spring Break in 2017. Photo by Steve Weinik.

  • Students from the Moore College of Art and Design helped to paint the mural during their Alternative Spring Break in 2017. Photo by Steve Weinik.

  • Students from the Moore College of Art and Design helped to paint the mural during their Alternative Spring Break in 2017. Photo by Steve Weinik.

About the Project 

In 1984, Mayor Wilson Goode hired artist Jane Golden to paint a mural on the Spring Garden Street Bridge. No one knew it at the time, but this was the first work created by what would someday become Mural Arts. Now, more than 30 years later, Mural Arts and artist Betsy Casañas are re-imagining the iconic gateway between Center City and Mantua.

The first mural. A June 1996 photo of the Spring Garden Street Bridge shows a mural by Jane Golden. Photo by Jim Prigoff.

The mural blossoms with more than 6000 tulips, a historic symbol of growth and development in Mantua. The design also incorporates a talavera Mexican tile pattern, and features vibrant images drawn from traditional Mexican muralism. The talavera motif was inspired by the PMA’s fall 2016 exhibition, Paint the Revolution: Mexican Modernism, 1910–1950.

This new mural will greet travelers to both sides of the bridge for many years to come.

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