Calligraffiti in West Philly with eL Seed

Yup, you heard us. Calligraffiti is a combination of calligraphy and graffiti styles, and it’s a specialty of French-Tunisian artist eL Seed. If you saw eL Seed in conversation with Philadelphia’s own Conrad Benner (@streetsdept) this past weekend, then you know he’s at work on a mural project in West Philly with our Art Education students. Located at the intersection of Market and Preston Streets, the mural is the culminating project of a collaboration between Art Ed and Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture, a local nonprofit committed to presenting and teaching Arab culture through language and the arts. We love Al-Bustan’s mission, and we’re so excited to work together.

eL Seed’s new mural builds on Al-Bustan’s ongoing (DIS)PLACED initiative, exploring themes of home, identity, and displacement across Philadelphia’s racially and ethnically diverse communities. The collaboration has been driven by storytelling and community engagement, bringing generations together from the West Powelton community. Together, the artists, students, and community will plant the foundations for communication and learning, creating visual art through language.

Join us this Saturday, November 18, to unveil the mural—we can’t wait to see it.

Major support for Al Bustan’s (DIS)PLACED initiative is provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. Additional support is provided by The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture. Partners include Mural Arts Philadelphia, Penn Global, Philadelphia History Museum, Nationalities Services Center, and HIAS Pennsylvania.