Who We Are
The City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program is one of the nation's largest public arts initiatives of its kind. Our mission is to engage in art education and community public art collaborations, and to increase public access to art. Since the Mural Arts Program began, we have produced over 2,800 murals and educated over 20,000 underserved youth in neighborhoods throughout Philadelphia.
The Mural Arts Program began in 1984 as a component of the Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Network, an effort to eradicate the graffiti crisis plaguing the city. The Anti-Graffiti Network hired muralist Jane Golden to reach out to graffiti writers to redirect their energies from destructive graffiti writing to constructive mural painting. Mural-making provided a support structure for these young men and women to develop their artistic skills, empowering them to take an active role in beautifying their communities. In 1996, the City of Philadelphia announced that the Anti-Graffiti Network would be reorganized into the Mural Arts Program with Golden as the director. At the same time, Golden established a nonprofit organization, the Philadelphia Mural Arts Advocates, to raise funds and provide other support to the nationally-recognized program. Today's Mural Arts Program is an innovative and successful public/private partnership that encompasses both the city agency and the nonprofit.
Passing Through, © 2004 City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program / Meg Saligman, Photo by Jack Ramsdale
The Mural Arts Program works with more than 100 communities each year to create murals that reflect the culture of Philadelphia's neighborhoods. Mural projects often include stabilization of abandoned lots and revitalization of open spaces. Our community partners include block captains, neighborhood associations, public schools, community development corporations, local nonprofits, and city agencies. We strive to coordinate mural projects with existing strategies for community development, thereby leveraging grassroots social capital to build positive momentum and stronger results.
The Mural Arts Program's free, award-winning art education programs annually serve nearly 3,000 at-risk youth at neighborhood sites throughout the city. Our programs use an intensive curriculum that involves mural-making as a dynamic means to engage youth and to teach transferable life and job skills such as taking personal responsibility, teamwork, and creative problem-solving.
There is no program anywhere that better realizes the potential and value of art to
our culture. As much as these murals have contributed to the beautification and
revitalization of the City, the Mural Arts Program must be congratulated even more
for engaging the youth of Philadelphia.
—Edward G. Rendell, Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Employing over 300 artists each year, we are one of the largest employers in Philadelphia's arts community. We provide opportunities for artists with a variety of skills to work together to create murals. We also strive to employ an ethnically diverse group of artists. Drawing on the styles of artists from different cultures, our murals reflect Philadelphia's wonderfully diverse neighborhoods.
Our murals have become a cherished part of the civic landscape and a great source of pride and motivation to the millions of residents and visitors who encounter them each year. In fact, our unique efforts have earned Philadelphia international praise as the "City of Murals." Every year more than 10,000 tourists and residents enjoy mural tours. In October, Philadelphia's annual Mural Arts Month, over 5,000 people attend city-wide events such as mural dedications, lectures and gallery exhibitions.