Steve Powers’ “A Valentine For Mae V. Cowdery” Mural Dedication

Join Mural Arts Philadelphia, City of Philadelphia Office of Clean and Green Initiatives, and Center City District to celebrate Steve “ESPO” Powers’ latest mural in Philadelphia with a special poetry reading by past and present Philadelphia Youth Poet Laureates.

A renowned Philadelphia-born artist known for his iconic Love Letter mural series, ESPO returns to the city with a new work inspired by Mae V. Cowdery (1901–1948), a Philadelphia poet whose writing was part of the Harlem Renaissance. A Valentine For Mae V. Cowdery features lines from Cowdery’s poem “Nameless,” wrapped across several buildings on Ranstead Street in Center City.

The mural is ESPO’s contribution to Throughlines, a citywide public art exhibition that invites us to explore how democracy has taken shape in Philadelphia from 1776 to the present.