Kien Nguyen and Efrain Herrera: The Emergency Mural Services Crew

In our Community Murals department we have two artists who always rise to the challenge and help us get mural projects over the finish line.  When we have a pressing deadline, we call in artists Kien Nguyen and Efrain Herrera.  Their hard work and dedication have earned them the affectionate nickname the Emergency Mural Services crew!

“For many years, I’ve called on Efrain and Kien individually when I had a time crunch, or needed an experienced muralist to work with new or visiting artists,” explains Mural Arts Senior Project Manager, Cathy Harris. “Over the past two years they have become a formidable team, taking on projects with visiting artists, painting work by artists who aren’t muralists, and meeting crazy deadlines with ease, grace and humility.  As a project manager who loses sleep over this work, I am so grateful to have them as friends and colleagues who I know have my back.”

How was the Emergency Mural Services team started?

We first started working together on a mural project that involved Cole Hamels of the Philadelphia Phillies at Bayard Taylor elementary school back in 2012. Another artist had designed it, and we were tasked with the painting and production. There was a short deadline before the dedication and we were able to finish the mural right on time.

How did your nickname Emergency Mural Services come about?

It seems that we are given a lot of projects that have a tight deadline and we’re always able to come through. One day we saw an ambulance passing by and noticed the EMS initials. We joked and said we should also be called EMS (emergency mural services). We wrote the name on our shirts with Sharpie for fun and are planning to get printed safety colored shirts soon.

What kinds of projects do you work on?

Usually we are called on when a design artist does not have experience creating large scale murals. Since we have been making murals and working with Mural Arts for over 20 years, we know the ins and outs of the organization along with the most efficient way to create a mural. We work well with other artists and try to keep their vision intact while offering advice and solutions. We are also versatile and able to adapt to different artistic styles from graphic designs with text to figurative realism.

Tell us about some of your recent projects:

We have been really busy in 2024 helping artists turn their designs into murals. We have worked on about eight projects this year. We worked on a mural designed by Walé Oyejide titled The Mother in West Philly, and we painted a mural designed by MZ Icar titled Ride Out in West Oak Lane. More recently we repainted a mural Freedom Now! honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The original mural, painted by Cliff Eubanks, was covered by new construction. We also worked with George A. Morton to create a mural based on Henry Ossawa Tanner’s famed masterpiece The Thankful Poor.

What do you hope to do as artists in the future?

We want to continue to use our skills to create exciting and memorable murals, whether it’s working collaboratively with other artists or creating our own designs. We want people to have access and experience the largest art gallery in the world, because sometimes they don’t have resources to go to museums.

What is your favorite part about working on Mural Arts projects?

It is never boring. We constantly meet new artists and people from communities all over Philly and we are continually challenged by every project that comes our way.