Mural Arts Philadelphia

Public art & civic engagement - for over 40 years, Mural Arts has worked with communities to create a collection that has made Philadelphia "the Mural capital of the world." We serve geographic and affiliated communities throughout the entire city of Philadelphia and produce approximately 120 public art projects annually. Mural Arts leads projects designed to address the unique local needs of different communities, with the common threads of producing exceptional artwork and artists engaged in deeply rooted community practices as the infrastructure for change. We work closely with key stakeholders throughout the project development phase to channel their experiences, identities and ideas into the direction of each project.

Restorative justice - Mural Arts serves between 50 and 75 justice-impacted individuals annually through the guild, the rec crew, prison programs and other restorative justice themed projects. Participants in the guild and rec crew develop career skills through daily workshops and exposure to career/education pathways. The rj programs further provide supportive relationships, and non-judgmental spaces where returning citizens and other justice-impacted people can reimagine themselves as valuable and capable. We use a trauma-informed approach to support individual members, while striving to restore justice-impacted communities throughout Philadelphia.

Porch light - Mural Arts' porch light department situates art and human connection at the heart of recovery, resilience, and healing throughout Philadelphia. In collaboration with a carefully selected cohort of public health clinics and social service agencies, porch light employs a deeply collaborative creative process, led by highly qualified artists, in order to achieve tangible social benefit for people, communities, and organizations. Mural Arts has collaborated closely with the department of behavioral health and intellectual disability services (dbhids) to design programs since 2007. Porch light also leads color me back, Mural Arts' same-day work and pay program, which was established in 2019 and has reached over 1000 participants that are experiencing housing or economic insecurity.

Art education - Mural Arts' art education program provides free art education and integration courses for over 2000 youth (age 10-18) at 15 partner sites and offers art activities at recreation centers across Philadelphia. In many cases, we provide the only opportunity for our students to engage with the Arts. Afterschool programming tracks vary by type and difficulty, including beginner and intermediate muralism, entrepreneurship, and a muralism track targeting court-involved youth. We also deliver a multi-year in-school model that pairs teaching artists with core subject teachers, a mobile van (murals on the move) that brings art and creative practice to recreation centers, and paid summer apprenticeships for alumni.

Tours program - Mural Arts offers public and private tours of the world's largest outdoor art gallery, where people explore the murals, artistic processes and community histories that inspire our work. Patrons weave through the diverse neighborhoods of Philadelphia, getting great view of the city by foot, by vehicle, by train, by segway, or virtually. Patrons can take in the iconic imagery that makes Philadelphia the Mural capital of the world and learn about Philadelphia's beautiful visual history from professional tour guides.