Soaring Towards Limitless Possibilities: The James Rhoads School Murals
The James Rhoads School is a School District of Philadelphia public elementary school located in the Mill Creek area of West Philadelphia. It has approximately 440 students in grades K through 8. In the spring and summer of 2022, the exterior of the school underwent a dramatic transformation as the School District of Philadelphia partnered with the Philadelphia Eagles to provide new playground equipment, synthetic turf fields, and landscaping. Mural Arts Philadelphia covered large portions of the exterior of the school building with murals. This project started in March 2022, when Rhoads was chosen to be the 2022 recipient of the Eagles annual playground build and transformation. Mural Arts, together with the school leadership committee, brainstormed ideas for the mural designs, and suggestions for subject matter in the mural included owls (the school mascot), the notion of “soaring” as a metaphor for the limitless possibilities that come with learning, and imagery related to setting high goals and moving towards dreams. From this emerged the overall theme: Soaring Toward Limitless Possibilities.
The murals carry this theme around the exterior walls of the building, inspired by and featuring drawings created by Rhoads student in response to various drawing prompts. The students’ drawings featured themselves playing in a new magical playground. imagining their futures and flying towards their dreams. They also made many drawings of owls. These works not only inspired the final designs, but some individual drawings are featured in the murals, as well.
The mural designs include:
-The corner of 50th and Parrish St. is a focal point of the project. The design for this section features a large owl in a flower garden. The flowers represent the garden of learning that is the Rhoads School, and the owl represents the wisdom gained as students travel through their grade-school journeys. Rising from the flowers are students’ drawings of butterflies and bees (important pollinators in the garden world, and a metaphor for how the students will collect and spread the knowledge they acquire as lifelong learners). One of the flowers in the garden is a thistle – which is an extremely hardy flower that can survive in rough climates – meant to be a symbol of overcoming adversity – another important life skill that students gain as they learn to navigate challenges. To the left of the owl is a full moon and a bird flying in front of it towards the rest of the 50th Street lower walls. These walls feature letters of the alphabet and images that start with the letter – (so for example “a” is for “acorn” – which is a symbol of great potential (because a single acorn can give rise to a mighty oak tree which in turn can give rise to a whole forest). The alphabet and related images are the basic building block for all the future learning that lies ahead of the Rhoads students.
-As the wall turns the corner and heads down Ogden Street, the designs feature an owl soaring in front of a moon, re-emphasizing the “soaring toward limitless possibilities” theme.
-To the right of the main owl and garden mural, as the wall goes down Parrish Street towards the school’s main entrance, there are more student drawings of themselves flying towards their dreams. The drawings form a wave that emanates from a plane soaring above and just to the left of the main entrance. Just to the right of the main entrance is a flying rocket, and in its vapor trail are more student drawings of themselves flying toward their dreams (and toward the school entrance, which is a portal to resource and learning). Below the plane and rocket is the text of the theme (“Soaring Toward Limitless Possibilities”) and just below that is a mandala pattern (also featured on the largest playground mural). Mandalas are intertwining circular and symmetrical images found in many cultures throughout history that symbolize how we can connect outwardly to all the other elements in the universe and inwardly to our deeper selves. There are student drawings of an owl head in the center of the mandala on either side of the door (including one that is wearing a graduation cap), and there are also student drawings of flowers below the plane and rocket to re-emphasize the garden of learning theme.
-The walls that continue further on down Parrish Street feature numbers, the other basic building block of elementary learning. The numbers are counting down from ten to one from the tail of the rocket (to refer to the fact that this elementary school can be the launch pad for these young lifelong learners). Math skills open up the whole universe of math and science – and interspersed around the numbers are symbols from these fields (such as a clock – which measures time, a molecule, an atom, and a computer circuit board). At the end of the number line is a Sankofa, and African symbol of the importance of learning from the past.
-The next wall is a large windowless wall that faces the Playground and 49th Street. This wall is a focus area for a larger section of mural, which rises to about 21 feet. This mural features a crest with the school name and “Limitless Possibilities” written on it, as well a student drawing of a soaring rocket. Behind the crest is a large owl with spread wings, holding a pencil in its talons. On either side of the wall is a figure kicking a ball: a boy at play dreaming of his future, and an Eagles Player kicking off a football – to represent how a solid education is key for a successful life game plan. Behind the owl and kickers, the design features a large intertwining circular mandala, again referencing interconnectedness as a key to learning. At the base of the mural is a dream garden which contains flowers with student drawings of their aspirations (what they want to be when they grow up) floating out from the flowers. Flying off in either direction from the dream garden are birds, which symbolize the youngsters’ dreams taking flight.
-The other two playground walls (that form an L shape around the new playground structures) continue the theme of dreams taking flight, combining birds with images of kids actively at play and challenging their bodies physically. As the kids are climbing and stretching and reaching, the birds are soaring around them. One portion of the wall has the large letters of the word “soar” to help emphasize this meaning, and the letters also provide the playing figures with a structure to climb on and run around. From the back end of the word “soar” is a Philadelphia Eagles player running for a touchdown – representing how goals can be achieved through creative learning and play. Some of the birds and kids at play are student drawings that were done in the mural envisioning workshops.
-Mosaic patterns are installed on some table tops in the new playground by mosaic artist David Woods, echoing the mandala-type patterns in the murals.
-And on the interior of the building, the image of the owl and moon from the Ogden Street portion of the mural is reproduced with the text of the theme encircling it. This imagery is located behind the stage and serves as a backdrop for any events and assemblies in that space.
Since 1999, the Philadelphia Eagles (as the Philadelphia Eagles Youth Partnership from 1999-2015) has funded an annual Playground Build that includes the entire Philadelphia Eagles organization, including players, coaches, and staff members, with a Philadelphia school community to transform asphalt school yards into beautiful, imaginative and safe spaces for play and recreation. Mural Arts Philadelphia joined this partnership between the Eagles and the School District of Philadelphia in 2002. Mural Arts leads the development and production of the murals and mosaic tables that are part of these projects. Once a school is selected, Mural Arts leads an introductory pep rally at the school, as well as drawing workshops and after-school art programs with students to involve the school community in developing a theme for the project. Murals are then designed around the theme, often incorporating student drawings and artwork. The projects also include installations of play structures and a mini Eagles turf field in addition to the colorful murals and mosaic tables.