Love Light: A Public Art Project by Anthony Carlos Molden

Philadelphia Fellowship for Black Artists grant awardee Anthony Molden is embarking on a new project with Mural Arts to transform blighted urban areas into clean and vibrant spaces.  Using some of the very trash that was once an eyesore and turning it into a beautiful work of art, Molden’s Love Light project aims to inspire the community to reclaim and have pride in their neighborhoods and to contribute to the vibrancy of the city and bring positive energy.

Philadelphia has an abundance of neglected lots which beg for this transformative treatment. The communities who will be engaged were selected by the artist based on the potential impact of the project on each neighborhood.

Molden will work with Restorative Justice program participants and local community members to return ownership of spaces impacted by neglect and urban blight to impacted communities. We want to

support the neighborhoods in which Love Light will take place in addition to making our neighbors feel included and invested in the development of such a project. Participants will use found objects from site clean-up to create meaningful, sculptural installations with Molden. These sculptures will be installed on the selected lots across the city as a way to beautify formerly blighted spaces. Molden hopes that the creation of an urban art oasis and public art series will return ownership of spaces impacted by neglect and urban blight to impacted communities.

Molden has begun the design portion of the project this past Winter 2023/2024, and will embark on clean-up and installation in the Spring months of 2024. We will be organizing a community clean-up day, so keep an eye out for more ways to get involved in Love Light. The community unveiling will happen in late spring or early summer, including a performance by Ursula Rucker. More information to follow in the coming months!

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