Education: The Key to the Future

Education: The Key to the Future by artist Paris Stancell is located in the Nicetown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This mural presents family and spirituality as the essence of a good life and that education is central to both concepts. In the flat shapes that disguise the uneven surface of the wall, a slender figure of a teacher rises, her long hands opening a book into the light of an orange and red sun. Below the teacher in a lively urban scene a family group stands united in front of the viewer. Separated by a undulating yellow bridge, a child reads to younger ones. Influenced by late Cubism, this mural takes on a flattened and abstracted style both contrasting and blending into the surrounding cityscape.