Top 11 Mural Moments of 2025
As 2025 draws to a close, we look back at some of our most inspiring, exciting, and impactful mural projects, highlighting our important work creating murals in communities across Philadelphia. We had so many fantastic projects this year, we couldn’t pick just 10. Our Top 11 Mural Moments of 2025 are:
CAICU’s Nunca Olvides de Dónde Vienes / Never Forget Where You Come From | April 19, 2025
To kick off our CAICU series, Mural Arts dedicated Nunca Olvides de Dónde Vienes / Never Forget Where You Come From, a new mural at the corner of Front & Susquehanna, honoring the Norris Square community’s rich history and Caribbean heritage. This mural celebrates the legacy and evolution of this space by reimagining previous works on this wall. The mural was created by lead artists Celso Gonzalez of Loíza, Puerto Rico, and Omar García, “Angurria,” of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Collaborating artists included Philly-based artists Dan One, Calo Rosa, and the Taína Sisters.
CAICU was a socially engaged public art series that connected culturally and historically significant Puerto Rican-themed gardens in the Norris Square neighborhood, created by community organizers in the 1980s. The project built a cultural bridge between Norris Square, Philadelphia, and Loíza, Puerto Rico, through cultural organizing, public art, and cultural exchange. CAICU was led by Philadelphia-based curator Marángeli Mejía-Rabell and Puerto Rico-based muralist Celso González in Philadelphia’s Norris Square neighborhood and Loíza, Puerto Rico.
CAICU was supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and the City of Philadelphia. PNC Arts Alive presented CAICU’s 2025 Event Series.
Philadelphia Zoo Murals | May 20, 2025
This past May, the Philadelphia Zoo and Mural Arts unveiled new artwork to connect the local community to the Zoo and to highlight its vital conservation efforts. The mural, painted by acclaimed artists Eurhi Jones and Dave McShane, with designs chosen by local neighborhoods, uses vibrant, joyful colors to showcase the ecosystem shared by humans and animals, depicting a future where both thrive together. The art also encourages the zoo’s neighbors to learn more about how the Zoo and its 1,900 animals can become a more present part of their lives.
The project includes a mural on the 34th Street bridge, another on Zoological Drive next to the Zoo’s Frog Parking Lot, and ten custom 5’x10’ murals highlighting the zoo’s conservation work.
On the bridge, Jones and McShane integrated the existing metal animal shapes, enhancing them by creating different sizes of the same animals to depict animal families alongside silhouettes of children skipping. The animals featured include Galapagos tortoises, southern white rhinos, and golden lion tamarins, all of which are currently housed at the Zoo. Tulips, a key symbol of the Mantua neighborhood adjacent to the zoo, appear throughout the artwork.
On Zoological Drive, this theme continues with added eyes as a device to amplify the connection between people and animals as visitors explore the Zoo. Along 34th Street, the panels focus on the zoo’s global conservation projects and the various ways humans and animals depend on each other.
Blooming Futures | May 28, 2025
One of our most high-profile dedications of the year was for Blooming Futures, a new mural at Andrew Hamilton School, spearheaded by Emmy® Award-winning “Abbott Elementary” showrunner, executive producer, writer, and actress Quinta Brunson. Brunson attended Andrew Hamilton Elementary School, the school that inspired “Abbott Elementary.” As part of the dedication event, Brunson received Philadelphia’s Key to the City from Mayor Cherelle L. Parker.
Designed by local artist Athena Scott, Blooming Futures was created with input from Hamilton school students and staff, with whom she met to gather inspiration. The new mural depicts the school as a garden, with dedicated educators serving as stewards of a fertile, growing student body.
Fun fact: Mural Arts Philadelphia was featured in an episode of the second season of “Abbott Elementary.”
Seeds of Sharswood | June 25, 2025
On a hot day in June, Mural Arts and Sanctuary Farm dedicated the mural Seeds of Sharswood at Sanctuary Farm. The ceremony was a heartwarming event attended by neighbors, supporters, and the Sanctuary Farm community.
Seeds of Sharswood pays tribute to Sanctuary Farm’s ethos and the people who were essential to the organization’s founding as an urban farm that provides organic, fresh produce and promotes health and well-being in the community. Designed by artist Cindy Lozito and led by muralist De’von Downes, the mural was created in collaboration with a Sanctuary Farm advisory committee. A wide range of community engagement efforts took place, including a community paint day.
Seeds of Sharswood is part of a larger initiative that Mural Arts is undertaking in the Sharswood community, in partnership with the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund.
Additionally, Mural Arts is constructing a new Farm Stand with Sanctuary Farm at their 22nd and Cecil B. Moore location with artist Andrea Grasso; creating murals with Amir Campbell and Marian Bailey at Webb Plaza; embedding poetry created by community members in front of new housing developments; and collaborating with Parks and Recreation to paint the basketball courts at the Athletic Recreation Center.
William Still and Family | August 1, 2025
In August, Mural Arts unveiled a new mural by artist Ernel Martinez that honors the legacy of William Still, a key figure in the Underground Railroad and the abolitionist movement. Many enslaved Africans passed through the doors of 625 Delhi Street and the nearby Vigilance Committee Office. This house once served as the residence of William Still, his wife Letitia, their daughter Caroline Virginia, and their son William Wilberforce. They rented this home from 1850 to 1855. During William’s time here, the home operated as an Underground Railroad way station. William Still (1821-1902) was a notable African American abolitionist, successful businessman, entrepreneur, author, and civil rights activist. The mural features William Still and his daughter, Dr. Caroline V. Still Anderson (1848-1919), who became the first African American licensed physician in Philadelphia.
The mural is titled William Still and Family primarily because William sought to reconnect people and their families. His book, “The Underground Railroad” (1872), documents the narratives of over 800 freedom seekers who passed through his office of the Vigilance Committee. His book continues to serve as an instrument of reconciliation for families whose ancestors traveled on the Underground Railroad through William Still’s connections.
Dick Allen | August 2, 2025
Dick Allen, created by renowned artist Ernel Martinez, was a special request from the outgoing administration of former Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, developed in partnership with the Philadelphia Phillies. This stunning mural pays tribute to Phillies great Richard “Dick” Allen, a seven-time All-Star who spent nine of his 15 major league seasons (1963-77) with the Phillies and was awarded the National League Rookie of the Year in 1964.
The Dick Allen mural is located at 2227 South Broad Street, near Citizens Bank Park. The mural, announced in 2023 and completed in fall 2024, also honors Allen’s recent induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. His No. 15 jersey was officially retired by the Phillies in 2020.
Mural Arts and the Phillies hosted a community paint day for the mural on March 21, 2024, during Spring Training in Clearwater, Florida. Both fans and team ownership participated.
The Dick Allen mural serves as a powerful tribute to Allen’s lasting impact, both as an athlete and a cultural icon. The dedication took place on August 2, 2025, one week after Allen’s induction into the Hall of Fame. A final “Hall of Famer” touch was added during the dedication event.
See the video of the Phillies on screen Tribute to Dick Allen and the Mural Dedication.
Shepard Fairey’s Uplift Justice | September 19, 2025
Renowned street artist Shepard Fairey—famous worldwide for his OBEY Giant imagery and the iconic “Hope” poster for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign—returned to Philadelphia for the first time since 2015 to create and unveil his new mural, Uplift Justice.
This highly anticipated project offers the public a rare opportunity to experience a new large-scale work by Fairey as part of Mural Arts’ citywide program. Uplift Justice stands as Fairey’s largest and most striking mural in the city to date.
Designed as a powerful call for justice, this mural is strategically positioned in a highly visible location near Love Park, ensuring it is accessible to everyone. As the city prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Uplift Justice embodies themes of hope for the future, reflection on our past, and a collective pursuit of social justice that is truly inclusive for all.
Embracing the Light | September 24, 2025
In September, Mural Arts Philadelphia’s Porch Light program and St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children dedicated Embracing the Light, a powerful mural by artist James Burns. Painted alongside a community affected by suicide, mental health crises, and a desire for resources and support, the two-year project focused on raising awareness about suicide and mental health, especially among children and youth.
Embracing the Light emerged as a heartfelt response to the loss of Burns’ mural Finding the Light Within in University City, which was removed due to new construction. It highlights the ongoing need for dialogue and healing around issues of suicide and mental health.
Created through mindful writing workshops and a 2024 performance supported by First Person Arts, the project also involved a dedicated steering committee and hundreds of participants during public paint days at the hospital. The mural continues St. Christopher’s legacy of using art to uplift patients, families, and staff. Burns, who has spent over a decade using art to spark conversations about suicide prevention, designed this piece to promote dialogue and reduce stigma. This mural not only transforms the hospital’s exterior but also encourages essential conversations about mental health, especially for young people and their families.
Lay-lah, Lay-lah | September 26, 2025
Mural Arts and the Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation dedicated Lay-lah, Lay-lah (הליל הליל / Night, Night), a powerful mural by artist Ella Ponizovsky Bergelson spanning over 2,000 square feet at the Horwitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza. The artwork is the nation’s first large-scale mural dedicated to Holocaust memory in a public space.
Rather than portraying the events of the Holocaust, Ponizovsky Bergelson’s mural Lay-lah Lay-lah explores the aftermath of displacement, resilience, and the ongoing ways we inherit and reinterpret memory. Through community participation, archival fragments, and layers of text, she created a work that is at once intimate and collective.
This project reflects Mural Arts’ ongoing commitment to using public art as a catalyst for dialogue, remembrance, and connection. It underscores the power of art to honor history while speaking to the present. Here, memory is not fixed but alive, layered into the city’s walls, contested, carried, and continually remade in the rhythms of daily life. The mural insists that remembrance is not only about what has been lost, but about how we imagine living together now and into the future.
The Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation commissioned the mural for the Horwitz-Wassermann Holocaust Memorial Plaza in partnership with Mural Arts. Check out these stories in The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Jewish Exponent, and on WHYY about the project.
The Beautyful Ones | October 4, 2025
Mural Arts and the Philadelphia Art Museum collaborated to bring the internationally renowned artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby to Philadelphia to recreate her artwork, The Beautyful Ones Series #1c, as a permanent mural. In her methodically layered compositions, Crosby combines painted depictions of people, places, and subjects from her life with photographic transfers derived from her personal image archive, Nigerian magazines, and other mass media sources. The resulting works are visual tapestries that bring to life the personal and social dimensions of contemporary life while powerfully expressing the complexities of African diasporic identity.
Drawing on art historical, political, and personal references, Njideka Akunyili Crosby creates densely layered figurative compositions that, precise in style, nonetheless conjure the complexity of contemporary experience. Akunyili Crosby was born in Nigeria in 1983, where she lived until the age of sixteen. In 1999, she moved to the United States, where she has remained since that time. Her cultural identity combines strong attachments to the country of her birth and to her adopted home, a hybrid identity that is reflected in her work.
This is Crosy’s first permanent public art installation. To celebrate the new mural, we hosted a massive afternoon block party including a dedication ceremony.
Frances E. W. Harper: We are All Bound Up Together | October 30, 2025
In late October, Mural Arts and PSU’s Center for Black Digital Research/#DigBlk dedicated a powerful and inspiring mural, Frances E. W. Harper: We Are All Bound Up Together, honoring the life and legacy of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825–1911), poet, orator, abolitionist, suffragist, and one of the most influential Black women of the 19th century.
As part of PSU’s #Harper200, a year-long bicentennial celebration marking 200 years since Harper’s birth, this new public mural by Philadelphia-based artist Athena Scott is located on the exterior wall of Greene Street Friends School in Germantown. This vibrant artwork pays tribute to Harper’s lifelong fight for freedom, education, and justice, and reflects the spirit of community that continues to animate her legacy. This dedication was the culminating event for Mural Arts’ 2025 Mural Arts Month, presented by TD Bank.
