Celebrating 30 years of the Mural Arts Program of Philadelphia

HR 2

Guests: Jane Golden, Eric Okdeh & Salaam Smith

It’s been 30 years since the Mural Arts Program of Philadelphia began as an anti-graffiti program transforming what was seen as vandalism into positive, creative public art. Partnering with city agencies and community organizations, the nation’s largest mural program has created more than 3,800 murals and public art projects in every Philadelphia neighborhood. The Executive Director of the program since the beginning, JANE GOLDEN, has not only seen the transformation of the city’s surface, but of individual’s internal lives. Golden has co-edited a new book of essays with David Updike called, “Philadelphia Mural Arts @ 30.” We’ll look back to what the program has done and towards the future with JANE GOLDEN, Mural Arts staffer and artist ERIC OKDEH, and SALON SMITH, who became a muralist through the local prison system.