Philly’s 15 Favorite Murals of 2016
Hey y’all, Conrad Benner from Streets Dept here for a special Guest Post exploring Philadelphia’s 15 favorite new murals of 2016. What a year it has been for muralism in Philadelphia!
The list below is ordered by the votes you’ve all been unknowingly (hehehe) casting all year long across Mural Arts’ social media channels with your likes, comments, clicks, and shares.
So without further ado, let’s see what murals you all loved most this year…
15. Henry Bermudez at Circle Thrift in Fishtown
Henry Bermudez’s mural outside Circle Thrift on Dauphin street at Frankford avenue adds some much-beloved color to the streets of Fishtown. Selfie, anyone?
14. Isaac Lin at Swanson Walk in South Philly
In the late-summer of 2016, South Philadelphia’s Snyder Plaza underwent a metamorphosis into Swanson Walk: new buildings, new stores – and, in an exciting twist, a brand new art zone, thanks to a new partnership between Mural Arts and The Goldenberg Group.
Isaac Lin joined Steve Powers, Joe Boruchow, and Peter Ferrari as the first group of artists to bring bright colors and fascinating patterns to the walls of the plaza!
13. Ryan Beck in the Spring Arts Mural District
2016 also saw the creation of Mural Arts first-ever outdoor rotating gallery with the Spring Arts Mural District! The inaugural participating artists from this collaboration between Mural Arts and Arts + Crafts Holdings hail from Philadelphia and around the world, and represent a new wave of emerging talent, including this mural from Ryan Beck and others by Matt Moore, Kid Hazo, Miriam Singer, Andrew Jeffrey Wright, Hawk Krall, and Martha Rich.
12. Sarah Folger in the Navy Yard
What happens when students from Mural Arts’ Art Education Program combine forces with artist Sarah Folger? This beautiful shipping container mural outside Franklin Square Capital!
11. Aissulu Kadyrzhanova on Pearl Street in Chinatown North
In a collaboration between Mural Arts and the Asian Arts Initiative, artist Aissulu Kadyrzhanova painted this brilliant temporary street mural along Pearl Street in Chinatown North… More street murals please, Mural Arts – I absolutely love this!
10. Joe Boruchow at Swanson Walk in South Philly
Created by long-time South Philly resident and legendary street artist Joe Boruchow, watch a little video here to learn more about the inspiration behind this six-panel series paying tribute to that stretch of South Philadelphia under I-95!
9. Andrew Jeffrey Wright in the Spring Arts Mural District
A mural on stairs?! Who knew such an unusual location for a mural could bring so much joy. But that’s what Andrew Jeffrey Wright’s stair mural behind 990 Spring Garden street in the Spring Arts Mural District has done. Honestly, it’s hard not to see a person react instantly with a smile when they first come across it.
8. NDA at The Fillmore in Fishtown
Easily one of my personal favorite rising stars in the muralism world, NDA can paint no mundane mural. And his temporary piece outside The Fillmore in Fishtown last winter can speak to that!
Check out some behind-the-scenes photos of the creation of this mural here.
7. Keith Haring at 990 Spring Garden for Truth to Power
Brought to Philly by Arts + Crafts Holdings, Mural Arts partnered for the temporary install of this iconic Keith Haring banner titled, “City Kids Speak on Liberty”, for Rock The Vote’s ‘Truth To Power’ art exhibit during the DNC. Naturally, it quickly became an Instagram favorite.
6. Martha Rich in the Spring Arts Mural District
Titled Can we call this life?, artist Martha Rich took quotes from fans off Instagram to add to the pieces’ speech bubbles. So many awesome new selfie-height murals in 2016, hope y’all are ready for a new Facebook profile pic!
5. James Daniel Burns Above 13th Street in the Gayborhood
Found nested above 13th street (near Locust) in the Gayborhood, this stunning mural by artist James Daniel Burns is titled Sanctuary and it quite literally sends my heart aflutter. Amazing!
4. Candy Chang on South Street
The Atlas of Tomorrow: A Device for Philosophical Reflection is an interactive installation on South Street by artist Candy Chang that translates the I Ching into a public tool to help people examine their lives.
Click here to learn more about this insightful mural and how it works!
3. Brad Carney at The Oval on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Titled Rhythm and Hues, this 25,000 square foot temporary mural painted at The Oval on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway was the winning design of Philadelphia-based artist Brad Carney and for a couple of months this summer was the talk of the town!
2. David Guinn and Drew Billiau on Percy Street in South Philly
The mural that broke the Internet. What started as an artistic answer to a neighborhood’s concerns over the safety of a narrow alley in South Philly became much more when art and civically-minded websites across the country started to hold up David Guinn and Drew Billiau’s Electric Street installation as a great example of the positive effects of art can have in our public spaces.
1. Mat Tomezsko on the Avenue of the Arts
Of course, THE most talked about and photographed mural of 2016 was without a doubt the awe-inspiring, mile-long mural that Mural Arts installed with artist Mat Tomezsko down South Broad Street for the DNC.
Titled 14 Movements: A Symphony in Color and Words, after its completion Mural Arts filmed a poetic video with Philadelphia Poet Laureate Yolanda Wisher walking up the mural which you should definitely watch here.
Can’t wait to see what Mural Arts does in 2017!