Seeds of Sharswood
Mural Designer: Cindy Lozito
Lead Muralist: De’von Downes
Seeds of Sharswood is a sunny and vibrant mural that is a tribute to the ethos of Sanctuary Farm and the people who were integral to the organization’s founding as an urban farm that provides organic, fresh produce and promotes health and well-being in the community.
With funding support from Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund (PHARE), Mural Arts was able to do a range of work for Sanctuary Farm starting with repairing their exterior building wall.
In August 2024, an advisory committee of Sanctuary Farm stakeholders was formed to engage in artist selection, community input, and design development. Cindy Lozito was chosen as the design artist and immediately began community engagement and design work.
For Sanctuary Farm’s Fall Festival in October, Cindy led a painting activity and shared a draft of the mural design to gather feedback from community members. The festival was well attended, with lots of laughter and participation.
In January 2025, muralist De’von Downes was appointed as the lead muralist for this project to oversee the production and installation of the mural. They started the work by painting the ghost print polytabs in their studio, with help from Isabella Akhtarshenas and Brittany Baum. Cindy would occasionally step in to consult on the mural project, forming a nice team of artists for this mural.
On March 1, 2025, Sanctuary Farm hosted the Community Paint Day. At least 50 participants contributed by painting on some of the polytab sheets, with special requests to paint Jake the dog and Ms. Ruby Brown-Glover, the mother of Ms. Lashield Myer, who was part of the advisory committee.
By mid-April, the artist team began installing the mural on site at Sanctuary Farm. Despite certain complications such as technical issues with the lift, the artist team successfully installed the mural with on-the-ground support from Sanctuary Farm staff and volunteers.
The Seeds of Sharswood mural was dedicated on the hot morning of June 25, 2025. It was a heartwarming event attended by neighbors, supporters, and the community of Sanctuary Farm. Attendees were greeted with live music by Al Zamora. The speakers included Mural Arts Executive Director Jane Golden, District Councilperson Jeffery Young Jr., Sanctuary Farm Executive Director Andrea Vettori, artists Cindy Lozito and De’von Downes, and the daughters of the honored portraits of the mural.
This project is part of Mural Arts’ ongoing work in the Sharswood Community. Mural Arts has launched an innovative, multi-year partnership with the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) to invest in new public art projects in Sharswood, a neighborhood in North Central Philadelphia.
The projects, which range from new and restored murals to placemaking in public spaces to a prototype sidewalk poetry project, are being developed as a “critical community investment” supporting the transformation of the PHA’s Blumberg Apartments into a neighborhood with mixed-income housing and a variety of community improvements.
The Sharswood projects are part of an ongoing collaboration with PHA that also includes projects in North Central Philadelphia and Bartram’s Village, perhaps the broadest collaboration between an arts organization and a housing authority anywhere in the country. Mural Arts is also receiving funding from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency’s PHARE program (Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement).
Assistant Artists: Brittany Baum, Isabella Akhtarshenas, Rec Crew Leader Stephen Price
Volunteers: Jonna Graves, Shanise Gonzalez, Nicolle Valencia, Jagkirpal Chyna
Project Manager: Sahiti Bonam
Funder: Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund (PHARE), Philadelphia Housing Authority, City of Philadelphia
Partners: Sanctuary Farm
