It's Our City is a project that uses TV, Radio and Web
to promote civic engagement in the Philadelphia region.City-wide Arts Mural Project Begins
Mural Arts Program founder and executive director Jane Golden addresses the crowd in South Philadelphia.
WHYY’s Peter Crimmins attended nearly all of the This We Believe community workshops and gathered stories from dozens of Philadelphians. You can read his story by clicking on this link or listen to the story by clicking on the play button below:
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This year is your chance to be part of an historic & uniquely Philadelphia project
In celebration of twenty-five years of art education, mural-making and working in communities, the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program invites you to participate in our first citywide mural project.
Centered around the theme “This We Believe,” this initiative will provide the opportunity for you to share what you believe about our city. Facilitated community forums in neighborhoods throughout Philadelphia will give audience to your voice, which will in turn direct and inspire two teams of artists who will interpret your vision to create two proposed mural designs. These community-driven designs will be put to a city-wide vote, with the winning mural becoming the canvas for a series of community paint days. The finished mural will be temporarily hung in central locations in Philadelphia, with pieces ultimately being installed all over the city.
Between February and July, there will be opportunities for you to participate in community forums, vote for your favorite mural design, and participate in a paint-day with your family, friends and neighbors.
The Mural Arts Program is partnering with Leadership Philadelphia on this exciting initiative. Over eighty participants from the Leadership Philadelphia Core Class are volunteering on this project and assisting with community organizing and outreach.
Dates and locations for meetings:
| SOUTH Tuesday, February 24 6:30 - 8:30 pm Church of Philadelphia 17th and Snyder Streets (Listen in on the small groups at the South Philly meeting as they talk about their neighborhoods and what they learned from this process) |
WEST Tuesday, March 3 6:30 - 8:30 pm University of the Sciences in Philadelphia Rosenberger Hall 600 South 43rd Street |
| NORTHEAST Wednesday, February 25 6:30 - 8:30 pm John Perzel Community Center 2990 St. Vincent Street (Listen to stories from people who attended this meeting in Northeast Philadelphia.) |
NORTH (NOTE: Rescheduled due to low attendance) Wednesday, March 18 6:30 - 8:30 pm Project H.O.M.E.: Honickman Learning Center and Comcast Technology Labs 1936 Judson Street |
| CENTER CITY Thursday, February 26 6:30 - 8:30 pm WHYY Independence Mall West 150 N. 6th Street |
SOUTHWEST Tuesday, March 10 6:30 - 8:30 pm Meyers Recreation Center 5800 Chester Avenue |
| NORTHWEST (NOTE: RESCHEDULED DUE TO BAD WEATHER ON 3/2) Tuesday, March 17 6:30 - 8:30 pm St. Martin’s Church 8000 St. Martin’s Lane |
Final Report Meeting
Thursday, March 19
6:30 - 8:30 pm
Daily News/Inquirer Building
Broad and Callowhill Streets
During this final meeting, representatives from all of the community forums will help present the information from their area of the city. This will be the final meeting before the artists begin their design phase.
Artist Teams:
Team 1: Kien Nguyen, Eric Okdeh & Michelle Ortiz
Team 2: Phillip Adams, David Guinn, & Damon Reaves
To see work by the artists, we invite you to look at the Mural Arts Program’s new site www.muralfarm.org.
Voting
Check the Mural Arts Program’s website at the end of April/beginning of May for the two designs. You will be invited to vote for your favorite design.
Paint Days
Beginning in June and continuing into the summer, we will be holding paint days for people of all ages to come and join us in painting the winning design!
Dedication and Celebration
The dedication of the mural is planned for September 2009, as part of our 25th Anniversary. More details to follow.
Sponsors and Partners
The Mural Arts Program is very grateful to the following sponsors and partners:
Facilitators:
Chris Satullo
Executive Director of News and Civic Dialogue, WHYY
Harris Sokoloff
Director of the Penn Project for Civil Engagement
Daily News
In-kind donations:
IATSE
Amtrak at 30th Street Station
PREIT & the Gallery at Market East
