We The People

About the Project

Through this series of six murals, We The People celebrates the best of the American spirit right now, while also reflecting current national concerns. What better place than Philadelphia—the birthplace of the United States and its democratic ideals, and a city with one of the largest public art collections in the country—to ask artists to speak on the state of the nation through murals? Each artwork is a seed of hope for a bright future.

We The People is a project from artists with a wide variety of styles, and offers a chance to inject experimentation into the everyday. Of the six artists involved, only two have previously designed a mural with Mural Arts. Themes range from immigration to education to food justice to the environment, and the exhibition is curated by RJ Rushmore, editor-in-chief of the blog Vandalog.

Artists

• Molly Crabapple: No Borders uses monarch butterflies as a reminder that borders are a human construct, and that all people are interconnected, even across great distances.
• Chris “Daze” Ellis: This Graduate Hospital mural celebrates the power of creativity and education.
• Tatyana Fazlalizadeh: Questioning Whiteness is installed in front of the University of the Arts, where it provokes conversations about race and privilege.
• Dennis McNett: The Raven’s Gift merges nature and mythology to celebrate the public lands and national parks of the United States, whose protection is under threat.
• NTEL: NTEL’s NATIV NTELIGENCE wraps around an entire building for a statement on food and environmental justice. Once several different restaurants, the building is now empty, and the colorful mural is a reminder of the nourishing potential in this space.
• Jess X Snow: A Daughter Migrates Towards the Mother Earth speaks to the movement of immigration, and the way that it intersects with family experience.