Common Threads
Artist: Meg Saligman
Location: Broad and Spring Garden
Meg Saligman's iconic mural is in need of restoration. Find out how to support below.
* Please indicate within the comments that you would
like your support to go towards Common Threads.
Common Threads: A Majestic Depiction of Our Shared Humanity
Standing tall throughout the years, Common Threads, remains one of our most popular murals. When it was originally painted by Meg Saligman in 1998, and was Mural Arts’ largest and most expensive mural.
On a typical weekday, 5,800 people pass by Common Threads while entering or exiting the SEPTA stop at Broad and Spring Garden Streets. Rising eight stories from the corner of the busy downtown intersection at Broad and Spring Garden Street, Common Threads is visible from blocks away, its striking composition and massive figures beckoning drivers and walkers alike to venture closer.
Through a cluster of figures depicting past and present, contemporary and classical, the mural reflects the common threads that link us across cultures and across time. The composition features antique figurines based on statuettes owned by the artist’s grandmother, with students from two area high schools – Benjamin Franklin High School and the School for Creative and Performing Arts – mirroring their poses.
“Common Threads represents, for me, everything that is wonderful about murals,” says Jane Golden, Executive Director. “We see Meg’s uncanny ability to create a mural that is evocative, that stirs our senses, and that brings alive contemporary issues in a way that is both aesthetically appealing and compelling.”
Embarking on Our Most Ambitious Restoration Project to Date
The Mural Arts Program is seeking support to revitalize Common Threads and ensure its place as a central figure in Philadelphia's mural history. Over time, the wall has faded and the image has begun to lose some of its luster.
The mural design will not change during renovation; instead we aim to restore Common Threads to its original state and guarantee its future sustainability. We will engage in cleaning and re-painting the mural and holding a re-dedication event in which those participants in the original Common Threads project – artists, students, and community members – will reintroduce a renewed Common Threads to the community.
Supporters of the project will receive the following:
$5,000 and Above
- Acknowledgement of as a supporter and inclusion of name or logo in all press and promotional materials regarding the mural, including press releases, press conferences, project mailings, brochures, and event postcards
- Placement of name or logo on the mural and in signage related to the permanent exhibition
- Mention in project related mailings such as newsletters and e-blasts to a list of 12,000 Mural Arts Program supporters
- 12x16 Limited edition print of the original design signed and numbered by the artist
$1,000-$4,999
- 12x16 Limited edition print of the original design signed and numbered by the artist
Help Restore One of Philadelphia’s Most Cherished Murals!
To make a donation to Common Threads, CLICK HERE. Please indicate within the comments section that you wish for your support to be directed toward Common Threads. Or contact our Development Office at 215-685-0759.
Common Threads is sponsored by: City of Philadelphia, Ellis A. Gimbel Foundation, Ernst and Young, LLP, Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and Philadelphia Foundation
Click thumbnails to view the images for this project
