Mural Dedication: How to Turn Anything Into Something Else

On October 5th a vibrant new mural was dedicated along north Broad Street, entitledHow to Turn Anything into Something Else.

The mural project paired 12 artists from nationally recognized art collective Miss Rockaway Armada [www.missrockaway.org] with roughly 30 Mural Arts art education students over the summer to develop the concept, artistic flow, and imagery for the mural. This team of artists taught the students, ranging in age of eight to 15 years old, creative exercises that helped them access their vast imaginations.

“Each student took a piece of paper and drew the head of an animal at the top,” said Aly Perry, one of the artists on the project. “When the head was finished, they folded the paper down until only the neck of their drawing was visible. Then the paper was then passed to the next student to draw a torso and the folding and passing was repeated until an entire invented creature was drawn on the paper.”

This exercise was meant to show students that not everything has to end the way it began. “Through the workshops, the artists wanted to teach students to view obstacle as opportunity,” Perry said. “The hundreds of images created by students over the summer were directly incorporated into the mural.”

During the dedication, the artists danced in celebration through the crowd, boasting about the new mural and their experience with the students. Closest to the mural were the students, who were clearly proud of their creation, as they skipped around, basking in the attention.

SEE THIS MURAL: Travel south on N. Broad Street to 207 N. Broad Street – the mural will be on the left side of the Street. Its large size, vibrant colors, and whimsical characters make it hard to miss!

Sponsored by: City of Philadelphia Department of Human Services

In partnership with: Miss Rockaway Armada, The Lighthouse, Southwark Elementary, and Wissahickon Charter School.