Garden Wall

Garden Wall is a mural that is collaborative in both design and implementation. Featuring imagery designed by participants of Color Me Back, the composition is made up of hundreds of colorful depictions of vegetation including flowers and grasses. Each triangle was painted by a participant of the program who was encouraged to create their own interpretation of the imagery and leave their unique mark on the mural. Just as each seedling grows into a unique representative of a particular plant based on its environment, circumstances, and chance; each painting represents the unique talents, vision, and expression of the person who paints it.

The installation of crocheted flowers attached to strips of parachute cloth woven into the fence at the site was the first creative project led by Katie Brown, a former program participant who is now an assistant artist to the program. Brown pitched her ideas to Tomezsko, who helped her develop them into a workshop that she facilitated with CMB program participants. She taught participants how to crochet small flowers by hand and how to weave painted strips of parachute cloth through the chain link fence to create a privacy screen.

Color Me Back is an innovative program that combines participatory art-making and access to social services in a unique model offering individuals experiencing economic insecurity an opportunity to earn wages. Participants can connect, contribute, and engage with peer specialists who can link them with support services, including social and/or behavioral health services, and potential opportunities for longer-term employment while working in the program.

Garden Wall is one mural in a series made in this method. Each mural is different, as more imagery is added and painted by new participants. As an individual mural, Garden Wall is designed and made by the Kensington community. As a part of a series, it showcases the community’s efforts and reflects their ideas and voices.

The Color Me Back program was designed in partnership with the Scattergood Foundation, SEPTA, and Mental Health Partnerships. The initiative is managed by Mural Arts’ Porch Light program, a collaboration with the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services.