Rhythm of Resilience

Rhythm of Resilience is a series of eight murals by Amir Campbell located in Webb Plaza, a commercial corridor along Ridge Avenue in Philadelphia’s Sharswood neighborhood. Each mural is approximately 9 x 10 feet in size and highlights moments from Sharswood’s history. One of the featured murals is a portrait of Bruce Webb, an iconic community member who owned a department store specializing in music and record collections for 40 years, and after whom the plaza is named.

The subjects of the mural represent breaking discriminatory redline practices and decreasing them over time. Campbell reviewed archives and images of Sharswood at the Charles Blockson Collection at Temple University and engaged with residents through two community events, conducting interviews and art activities to inform the direction of his designs.

In October 2026, Mural Arts will dedicate the series alongside two additional public art projects in Webb Plaza: poetry about life in Philadelphia, created by several poets and stamped on concrete sidewalks for passersby to contemplate, and a mural series by Marian Bailey created on the nine columns and four walkways of the Grocery Outlet. These works are part of an innovative, multi-year partnership with the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA)’s Neighborhood Choice Initiative.

Artist Statement

“This eight-panel mural is the artists’ depiction of the living story of Sharswood, North Philadelphia—a place rooted in ancestral Lenape land and carried forward by Black resilience, care, and collective vision. Each panel honors a force that has sustained this community: women who speak and lead with authority; land that remembers and continues to grow; faith that has guided safe passage through uncertain terrain; youth who turn imposed barriers into momentum; fathers who protect and raise with intention; families who cultivate joy in the face of hardship; and cultural stewards who preserve memory so nothing is lost. Together, these images affirm what I know to be true—Sharswood is not defined by struggle, but by renewal, built through love, faith, movement, and the power to remember who we are while imagining who we can become.”

—Amir Campbell

Panel One

Bruce Webb

Webb Plaza itself is named after Bruce Webb, whose legacy includes being a photographer, entrepreneur, and cultural steward; preserving the heartbeat of Sharswood and North Philadelphia. This Panel recognizes record stores not only as places of commerce, but as repositories of repositories of collective history—where voices are stored, stories are kept, and legacy is never lost.

Panel Two

A Stage for Greatness

This panel honors the Pearl Theater and the enduring influence of Pearl Bailey, as symbols of joy, excellence, and Black artistic expression in North Philadelphia. The figures reflect the power of performance, laughter, and storytelling as tools of survival and liberation and theater as a sacred space.

Panel Three

The Soil Remembers

In remembrance of the Lenape tribe and the intertwined history with Ridge Avenue, this panel envisions the neighborhood as living, fertile ground shaped by care, balance, and continuity. The young woman figure represents Sharswood itself—youthful, resilient, and full of potential—while the surrounding figures embody guidance, protection, and intergenerational knowledge.

Panel Four

Guided by Faith

Visualizing the Black church as a spiritual anchor of Sharswood—an institution of refuge, resistance, and guidance. The central figure, holding a Book and gazing upward, reflects faith as both sanctuary and compass. Referencing The Negro Motorist Green Book, the work acknowledges the church’s role as a place of safety and direction for Black travelers navigating hostile landscapes.

Panel Five

Unapologetic-A Declaration

This Panel celebrates revitalization, rebirth, and the enduring power of African American women in Sharswood, North Philadelphia. The central figure raises her finger as an exclamation—affirming women’s rights, self-determination, and the unapologetic voice of Black women who have long shaped the community. Vibrant colors and expressive marks reflect Sharswood’s transformation, honoring its cultural roots while signaling renewal, resilience, and collective hope.

Panel Six

Inherited Lines, New Leaps

This portrayal reclaims the history of redlining and transforms it into a symbol of forward motion. The children represent a new frame of mind and momentum, as they leap freely across the red lines, which were once used to restrict opportunity. The barriers of the past no longer define the future—they propel it.

Panel Seven

Carrying the Future

Tributing the role of Black men in Sharswood as protectors, teachers, and pillars of family and community by showcasing the father and child, expressing strength, presence, guidance, and love. In a neighborhood shaped by resilience, Black fathers along with Mothers have long carried the responsibility of raising future Black men while safeguarding both home and culture.

Panel Eight

Together Always

A vibrant celebration of family, this panel represents the heartbeat of the Sharswood community. Each hue reflects feeling: warmth, hope, tenderness, and resilience. In a community that has long navigated socioeconomic hardship, family becomes both refuge and foundation, creating spaces where love interrupts struggle and joy circumvents the weight of poverty.

Community Engagement

Presenting to community stakeholders

In December 2024, Amir presented his work to the community stakeholders representing Philadelphia Housing Authority, Lower North Philadelphia CDC, Brewerytown Sharswood Neighborhood Association, and Brewerytown Sharswood Community Civic Association. In this meeting, Campbell and Mural Arts received feedback on how to engage the Sharswood community.

Rhythm & Resistance Events

In February 2025, Mural Arts held two Rhythm & Resistance events introducing the upcoming murals in Webb Plaza to the community. Community members were invited to paint and draw on vinyl records—an ode to Bruce Webb, who owned a music and department store—and reflect on a historical timeline and archival photographs of Sharswood. People concluded the event by breaking red sticks, a metaphorical gesture of the red lining collapsing. As research for the project, Campbell also took photos of participants and interviewed them about living in Sharswood.