King Saladeen takes on The Oval

When opportunity knocks, sometimes it arrives in unexpected ways. This summer, The Oval 2025 welcomed an exciting new chapter thanks to a significant partnership between Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, the Parkway Council, Under Armour, and celebrated Philly artist King Saladeen. As part of Under Armour’s national activation around basketball, art, and community, King Saladeen — already a familiar face to Philadelphia audiences — was selected by Under Armour to bring his vibrant vision to The Oval. Mural Arts is honored to help facilitate the project’s creation, ensuring that this unique collaboration adds another dynamic layer to the city’s iconic public art landscape.

The Oval is a temporary mural project situated in a parking lot at Eakins Oval, a parcel of land shaped like an oval on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, directly in front of the iconic steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The Oval first launched as a “pop-up park” — an experimental public space transformation — in the summer of 2013. In the spring of 2013, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation collaborated with a landscape architecture firm to explore ways to activate underutilized space, and the Eakins Oval parking lot served as their test site. They came up with a design theme and needed help bringing it to life, so they contacted Mural Arts, and the Oval partnership was born!

Now in its twelfth season, The Oval has become a cherished summer tradition, and Mural Arts has proudly partnered on the project eleven times. I’ve had the privilege of managing this initiative from the very beginning, and each year brings a new sense of excitement and possibility. At the heart of our contribution is a large-scale ground mural that transforms a plain asphalt parking lot into a vibrant, welcoming public space. It’s a powerful example of how art can activate the everyday, shifting not just the look of a space, but its energy, purpose, and the way people engage with it. Year after year, The Oval reminds us of art’s unique ability to reimagine the built environment and bring communities together.

Every year, The Oval is a bit different than the year before, and that depends on the partners and sponsors involved, the theme or focus, and so on. This year, there was an opportunity to engage with Under Armour, which approached the lead partner, Parks & Recreation, about collaborating to create something special tied to sports — particularly basketball, and its impact on youth, inspiring and encouraging young people to work hard and pursue their dreams.

Under Armour was already working with renowned local artist King Saladeen, who grew up in West Philadelphia and whose background is the perfect blend of art and basketball. Who better to create a unique design about art and basketball coming together than someone who actually has experience in both fields? We were excited by the opportunity to work with Saladeen again and to collaborate with Under Armour as the Presenting Partner.

What’s unique about producing murals specifically for The Oval? Location, location, location! There is no other site quite like The Oval. Situated at the apex of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, anchored by the Philadelphia Museum of Art to the west, with a view of City Hall to the east, The Oval is a focal point along our city’s main avenue of iconic cultural landmarks.

Standing on The Oval, with a view of these iconic buildings — the Art Museum and City Hall — you almost forget that this site is a parking lot the majority of the year. There is no place like this,  at this scale, where you can experience these views. The hope is that one day The Oval will become a permanent, year-round park, regularly activated and programmed.

Mural Arts feels fortunate to have been involved in this exciting project, which helps activate and energize an underappreciated and underutilized space. Our large-scale mural helps to transform The Oval into an exciting place to enjoy during the summer. We hope you’ll check it out!

Fun Facts!

The total square footage of the parking lot site, which is our entire canvas to work on, is approximately 33,000 SF. We use an average of 860 gallons of paint used every year! Despite its temporary nature, the site is the largest canvas we work on regularly at Mural Arts. Since it’s a ground mural, the site presents extra challenges: It needs to be completed on a pretty tight schedule, and it receives direct sunlight the entire time we’re painting.

During the early years of the collaboration, the mural was created after 4th of July celebrations were over, leaving us only 6 to 7 days to complete the entire mural! These days, we begin our work in the spring so that the mural can be completed in time for the beginning of the Welcome America Festival and Juneteenth celebrations. The shift in timeframe has allowed us to work in cooler temperatures, and we have about 2 to 3 weeks to complete the task. It’s still a massive undertaking, but it’s also a fun challenge, and we assemble a team of talented artists to help the lead designer or lead production muralist complete the work on time.

Everything about this project is on a scale unlike any other project we have done. One outcome is that, based on our experience, we have become a key resource nationally for other artists and arts organizations who want to create ground murals.

This site is definitely challenging to work on; the location and nature of it, being a large open ground surface, are logistically complicated. There’s no shade protection over the mural while working, and the site absorbs a lot of heat. Additionally, the sheer scale of the space, which exceeds 33,000 square feet, is daunting. However, I do like a good challenge! Even more than that, I love being part of the process of transforming space that is underappreciated for most of the year into a completely different experience. Every year, collaborate with different artists, partners, and funders, and we introduce new elements and themes. We have a basic template for the project, based on our experience over many years, but unique elements keep the collaboration fresh and exciting. When we finish the mural and get to see our completed work, and how it has transformed an exciting space for the public to enjoy, offering free and safe programming all summer long, it’s a huge moment of pride for me and the team of artists who make it happen! Collaborating with Parks & Recreation, as well as partners and artists, is very rewarding. I enjoy stopping by throughout the summer to see how people enjoy it.

When visitors come to The Oval this summer and see King Saladeen’s work in person, I hope they get to read a little about the artist’s background and his story, and how it all ties in together. We’ll have some signage up after the holiday events with the full aerial photos, so they’ll get to see the mural in its entirety. We’re hoping to enhance some areas with more details that’ll further bring fun “Easter eggs” and Philly-centric details into it. King Saladeen’s personal connection and history, growing up playing basketball and then pursuing his love of art, are deeply intertwined. Under Armour’s role in sharing this unique story with the city is especially significant this year, and we were happy to collaborate with them to make it a reality! The message in the mural is “Dream Big!” and that’s what King Saladeen did himself. This is a message to Philly youth and people everywhere: Never give up on your dreams and keep creating, motivating, and inspiring others as you chase your own.

About King Saladeen

Coming from the harsh realities of life in West Philadelphia, Raheem Saladeen Johnson, otherwise known as King Saladeen, took it upon himself to grasp at true happiness within his life and those around him, even when things may have looked bleak. The idea that there are three things necessary for a person to be happy in this world is a concept that Saladeen can readily accept. From an early age, his someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for, all revolved around his obsession with the arts. Since the age of five, Saladeen’s passion for the arts has been a consistent part of his life, with the young budding artist drawing on whatever he could get his hands on from paper to walls. Having been raised in a tough urban environment where artistic outlets were few and far between, Saladeen turned his attention to basketball, where he shined and became a force to be reckoned with while a high school athlete. His efforts brought him to numerous places across the country where his eyes were opened to the landscapes, shapes, and colors vastly different from what the kid from Philly saw in his typical day-to-day life. These opportunities allowed him to daydream on a greater scale, and be influenced and inspired in a way that has stuck with him to this very day.

Unfortunately, an automobile accident sidelined Saladeen’s aspirations in the field of sports. Although it was a life-altering event, the experience had the positive benefit of causing Saladeen to redirect his attention back to his first love – the arts. After exploring an NCAA scholarship opportunity for two years, Saladeen realized that he could not ignore his penchant for the arts any longer. Saladeen returned to Philly, where he worked as a design artist for a clothing company, which later grew into a national success. Eventually, the company was sold, and Saladeen began working at a Philadelphia-area youth center. He utilized his artistic skills to benefit the center residents as he sketched and painted pieces that reflected their life circumstances.

As many artists can attest, it was the input of an outside source that put Saladeen on the path to becoming a full-time artist. That person was his friend John JP Thompson, who purchased his first set of professional art supplies and motivated him to pursue his passions as a lifelong career. Taking his advice to heart in 2011, Saldeen­­ launched the Saladeen Art Group, where he then started his journey into the art world. The venture was a bona fide success and provided validation that the pursuit of an artistically-based career was the right path for Saladeen. Sadly, his greatest inspiration, JP – the man who motivated him to push forward and achieve that which he deserved – passed away after a battle with brain cancer. His death had a major impact on Saladeen’s life and is reflected to this day within the art that he creates.​

After his first solo shows in Hollywood, CA, and Miami, FL in 2014, Saladeen began presenting his artwork in cities all over the country, in some of the hippest and most cutting-edge venues available. With a huge buzz that resonated throughout the art community, King Saladeen was born. Since then he has been a part of various major art-based activations including being featured as a Revolt TV artist with Foot-Action during Art Basel (2015), a Warhol collaboration with Karen Bystedt (2016), the Alec Monopoly mural collaboration (2016), a solo show at Eden Fine Art Soho Gallery (2017) and a host of luxury automotive commissions such as the Lamborghini Aventador, Bugatti Veryon Pur Blanc, and the Rolls Royce Ghost EWB for the Goldrush Rally. Most recently, in 2017, he created and curated the Neiman Marcus holiday windows. With such accomplishments under his belt, Saladeen continues to meld the art world with cars, fashion, and music, with every opportunity that he has.

The sky’s the limit for the kid from Philly who just wanted to make the world happy with every pen and brush stroke that passed through his hand. As his brand continues to grow, so do his personal expectations to be the best version of himself in everything that he sets his mind to. What is left to achieve for this artist who has never allowed boundaries to define the scope of his work or his dreams?

Kate Jacobi is a senior project manager at Mural Arts Philadelphia, where she has led community mural and restoration efforts for over a decade, drawing on her background in community and regional planning from Temple University.