Change Ignites Art

While we were transitioning much of our work to a digital space, we knew there was still lots of work to do on the ground. Partnering with Broad Street Ministry, we collaborated with artists to install murals along with handwashing stations throughout the city. The murals offer guidelines from the Center for Disease Control for staying safe and healthy during the pandemic, as well as resources for those who may not have a home to stay safe within, and affirmations for Philadelphians who may need an extra boost.

This project highlights the larger, ongoing issues of homelessness and public health that many Philadelphians live with every day—and offered a place to keep clean and healthy as the pandemic tore through the city.

For Mural Arts Institute’s new round of capacity-building funding, we chose three new regions that are developing community-based public art projects that tackle resilience as climate change continues to shift environment. Resilience isn’t simply about being able to “bounce back” after a challenge, but also about using adapting challenges as an opportunity to become stronger. The need for communities to adapt to the impact of climate change allows them to build on their strengths, improving their overall quality of life and creating a more sustainable future. Critical to this are social cohesion and trust, collaborative civic participation and leadership, equitable access to resources, strong formal and informal networks, cross-sector partnerships, and inclusive and diverse civic spaces. These are precisely the outcomes that Mural Arts has seen from its work with diverse communities throughout Philadelphia and is bringing to Austin, TX; Santa Fe, NM; and Kern County, CA.

This year saw the culmination of the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Artist-in-Residence program. The first partnership of its kind in the nation brought in formerly incarcerated artist James “Yaya” Hough to humanize people living and working within systems of criminal justice by cultivating relationships and connections through his artmaking.

The final series, titled Points of Connection, is as meaningful for the process as it is for the resulting work. Despite COVID distances and shutdowns, Hough built meaningful relationships with people from several overlapping circles – formerly incarcerated people, victims’ advocates, and members of the District Attorney’s office – to paint them in portraits and discuss together what justice means to them. These portraits, and the conversations that spurred them, provided a window into the larger system, person by person, to approach criminal justice from perspectives of transformation, repair, and growth.

Curated by artist Jesse Krimes, Rendering Justice is an expansive examination of mass incarceration and an unflinching depiction of contemporary America. The artworks are part of Mural Arts Philadelphia’s Reimagining Reentry program, which creates opportunities for formerly incarcerated artists to create public art. Works included feature varied responses to the displacement of bodies and revocation of autonomy entailed in incarceration. The works affirm how artists maintain a sense of identity, regain their agency, and grapple with coercive forces until—and after—they reenter society. You can interact with all of the artworks and enjoy video interviews with the artists online.

The result of numerous community meetings in North Philadelphia neighborhoods over 2019-2020, The Viaduct was a monumental effort and collaboration between artists and community leaders to turn three heavily-traveled underpasses into safe and vibrant spaces for all. The designs are reflective of the strength and resilience of surrounding neighborhoods and pay homage to the complexity, history and beauty of the community, portrayed in bright, abundant colors to demonstrate the power of accomplishing together what we cannot do alone.

History In The Present Moment (I AM), Procession, Portals of Progress & Play designed by artists Patrick Dougher and Josh Sarantitis calls attention to the divine nobility, royalty and spirituality of the local community. 

Diamonds in the Rough designed by Andrea Legge of the design firm Legge Lewis Legge was directly inspired by themes and conversations with members of the community, in particular, two statements: “We are diamonds in the rough,” and “It takes pressure to make a diamond.” 

Our Neighborhood: Growth, Unity, Abundance, and Love by Priscilla Bell and Anthony Torcasio is focused on community, abundance and growth aimed to portray the pivotal strengths that exist with the community.