Personal Renaissance

At JEVS Human Services in North Philadelphia, which provides methadone, counseling and other addiction treatment services, muralist James Burns worked with clients to develop a mural entitled Personal Renaissance, that illustrates the path to recovery from addiction. The mural’s symbolic imagery, which includes city buildings, machinery cogs, the cross section of a house and a vessel offered solemnly to the viewer, was inspired by the clients’ poetry, which they wrote in workshops led by Ursula Rucker, a spoken-word artist. Mural Arts Philadelphia reached out to the neighborhood surrounding JEVS, inviting community residents to work alongside clients to create the mural. This project provided a unique occasion for neighbors of JEVS to enter the facility, learn about the valuable services it provides, and make a personal connection to those in the recovery community. The mural was sponsored by the City of Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services.