We Are All Neurons

During his 2013 State of the Union speech, President Barack Obama announced his support of a new Initiative to map the human brain. Inspired by The BRAIN initiative, Volta Studio and Mural Arts Philadelphia’s LEAPs students merged art and science to discover the many connections between art, creativity, and the brain. Students worked with artist Benjamin Volta to visualize their own brains as interconnected idea machines. They drew hundreds of neurons, and they worked together to design a colorful vinyl wrap for a subway car on SEPTA’s Market-Frankford Line (Blue Line).

Every human brain contains over 100 billion neurons. These individual neurons connect with each other to form trillions of connections. We Are All Neurons looks to use art and design to celebrate the fact that we are all connected to each other and that every human being is connected to a vast history and every growing wealth of art, ideas, and knowledge.

About LEAPs:
As part of our efforts to create opportunities for emerging artists, Mural Arts created LEAPs (Local Emerging Artists Projects). Mural Arts’ Art Education program offers local artists opportunities to create small, unconventional projects in partnership with students. Students visit artists’ studios and work side-by-side with them to create temporary works of art. Each project is unique and works to expose students to contemporary art practice.

Location Note: This temporary project is no longer on view.