by Lexi Bissonnette
“Art saves lives,” said play write P.E. King. But what about when art can be viewed as a negative? How do you change it back into something positive? Mural Arts in Philadelphia is doing just that.
Graffiti. It’s a prominent problem in any major cities. From tagging to art works, graffiti artists don’t care much where they are leaving their mark so long as it’s public. But not all graffiti is bad and Mural Arts Philadelphia is a program that uses graffiti artists to paint the city- in positive ways.
Mural Arts is the United State’s largest public art program and works to display art all over the city. The program helps people who need structure and discipline gain it through art. It began in 1984 to spearhead an anti graffiti movement in the city. The city’s mayor at the time reached out to mural artist Jane Golden to help the program reach graffiti artists and change what they do. It wasn’t until 1996 that the program turned into Mural Arts. This year will mark the 30th anniversary of the public arts program with a festival this summer.
The program is about more than simply painting something on a wall, bus or even train! This program is 100% free and works with over 100 communities and 2,000 youth sites to being art into the lives of people who need it and stop negative graffiti in the city. Along with helping graffiti artists it also helps change the conception of graffiti from a negative art form into a positive one.
Some work from the programming residents of the local area include The North Philadelphia Beacon Project, The Porch Light Initiative, the mural outside of the Philadelphia Zoo and the We Are Youth restoration wall at 22nd and Ellsworth. Their most current project is the Love Letter Train Tour that will be on rooftops across the city and can be viewed every Saturday and Sunday all year long from the train system. Not to mention an actual train painting project with artist Katharina Grosse that will open in Spring 2014.
To find out where all the projects are located and how you can be involved check out http://muralarts.org
