Center City Emergency Hubs

Collaborating with local businesses and organizations during the pandemic, Mural Arts Philadelphia helped Philadelphians practice safe distancing. Space Pads, temporary vinyl floor tiles set at six foot intervals, were each designed by a local Philadelphia artist. The brightly-colored tiles, designed in sets of 5 or 10, were a mix of abstract patterns, affirmations like “we got this,” and some proffer health guidelines like “wash your hands” and, the very literal, “stand six feet apart.”

Space Pads were installed at the Center City Emergency Hubs, the site of “Step Up to the Plate,” large public spaces around City Hall, LOVE Park and the City Municipal Building, as well as at the that were used on weekday afternoons to host free meal service for the neighborhood. The overall goals of this project were to amplify accurate health information, create beauty and spread heartfelt messages of encouragement and solidarity. This was achieved by creating wayfinding signage to direct people towards hand washing stations and detailing proper hand-washing techniques, and providing information and encouragement with bi-lingual signs.

Sites included:
-Philadelphia City Hall (North apron), 1400 John F. Kennedy Boulevard
-LOVE Park, 16th Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard
-Municipal Services Building, 1401 John F. Kennedy Boulevard
-SEAMAAC, 1711 South Broad Street

Location Note: Projects no longer on view at this location (temporary projects).