This We Believe: Living in the Presence of History
From beginning to end, This We Believe was about meaningful collaboration among Philadelphians with varied perspectives.
Project leaders envisioned a massive artwork that could be temporarily displayed in its entirety, then divided into pieces and installed in different parts of the city. People across the city contributed to a deliberate, democratic, and dialogic process that generated the content for the mural. Finally, many hands helped physically make the artwork.
The completed mural, This We Believe: Living in the Presence of History, was dedicated on September 25, 2009. It was hung temporarily in two central locations in Philadelphia: first in the North Waiting Room at 30th Street Station and then the Gallery at Market East Mall. The mural was widely celebrated as a success, and lessons from the project continue to resonate.
Even so, only one portion of the mural has found a long term home. Panel 4 is on view at Anna B. Pratt Elementary School, 2200 N 22nd Street. View the mural in its entirety and learn about its significant process of creation in the online exhibition (link below).