Behold the Open Door at 17th and Snyder
photo by Jack Ramsdale

The Mural Arts Program offers a wide array of mural-making programs for men and women at criminal justice facilities, including state correctional institutions and county jails. Inmates in Mural Arts programs create and install murals inside the prisons, as well as paint on cloth to complete murals that will be installed in communities throughout Philadelphia. Inmates also work on landscape design and other community beautification efforts in conjunction with the mural projects. Mural Arts’ re-entry program provides part-time jobs creating, installing and maintaining murals to ex-offenders who participate in mural classes in the Philadelphia Prison System. This program epitomizes the values of personal relationships, treating all with respect and dignity, and above all, the importance of employment for ex-inmates.

Another initiative for young adults focuses on providing training and job skills to young adult offenders on probation who are part of the City’s Youth Violence Reduction Partnership program. These participants learn mural restoration, building and lot reclamation, and landscaping in addition to traditional mural-making techniques.