Meet the "We Here" Community Advisory Council

When Mural Arts launches We Here with artist Roberto Lugo later this summer in the Philadelphia neighborhood of Kensington, it will be thanks to the support of eleven Kensington residents who have guided the project for over a year.

Composed of neighborhood advocates, business owners, and artists, the project’s Community Advisory Committee meets regularly to guide the project. Their input has shaped all aspects of We Here, from where Lugo’s sculptures will land in the neighborhood (to be announced soon) to how the project’s logo references the iconic El train that runs overhead. Over takeout from Vientiane Bistro—CAC member Sunny Phanthavong’s Kensington restaurant—or pizzas, the neighbors have worked alongside Lugo and the project team to identify partners for pottery-making workshops and envision how the public will interact with Lugo’s sculptures.

“The group feels like a true democracy, like the way that we problem-solve and figure out where these things should go and how things should be done. It feels really good to be a part of it,” says Kate Stoler. Stoler runs Juggernaut, a community art space on Allegheny Avenue.

We Here isn’t the first project that artist Roberto Lugo has completed with Mural Arts, but it is unlike any other the artist has undertaken. After completing his iconic Black Thought mural at The Clay Studio, Mural Arts approached Lugo about envisioning a major project in Kensington involving public art and community engagement. Lugo responded with his concept for We Here—a series of pottery-making workshops and community events linked to three monumental sculptures placed throughout Kensington, where the artist was born and grew up. The project will also release a bilingual (English/Spanish) children’s book about becoming an artist, which will be distributed for free in the neighborhood.

Last month, CAC members got a preview of Lugo’s sculptures in fabrication during a trip to Johnson Atelier in New Jersey. Lugo was painting the 12-foot fall vessels with patterns sourced from community workshops held at Mural Arts’ Kensington Storefront last fall. Once the sculptures have been installed, neighborhood residents and visitors will be able to step inside and see themselves in the artwork.

CAC member Daisie Cardona hopes the project will highlight the resilience of residents who have worked across generations to sustain hope and community in Kensington. A youth activist, artist, and photographer, Cardona sees “a huge impact on people’s well-being” through projects like We Here.

“One of my hopes that I have for this project is to like the work I do every day and spend my life doing that. I want kids to be able to grow up with a different mentality than I did. Me and all my friends growing up were children who didn’t think we’d make it to 15, let alone 18. And I want better. I want better for my family,” Cardona says.

The Community Advisory Committee members for We Here are John Walsh, Claire Sitarz, Drew Spence, Brenda Mosley, Daisie Cardona, Margarita Gonzalez, Katelyn Stoler, Sunny Phanthavong, Tyler Kline, Neyda Rios, and J.C. Zerbe.