Mural Arts Program

The Mural Arts Program is amazing! If you're ever in Philly I would highly recommend going on a tour. So I guess I should explain what it is -

I would see murals around our neighborhood every few blocks and when we would go different places in the city. I soon noticed that in the corner of the murals it said 'Mural Arts Program'. So I did a quick google search and found out about the program. There are almost 3000 murals that have been painted in the city of Philadelphia.

My mom came to visit this summer, so it was a perfect chance to take her on the tour. Obviously I'm a little late on posting about this adventure, but it works out because October is mural arts month as it's the programs 25th anniversary.

We learned a lot on the tour and I can't wait to go on another one. Since there are so many murals, they break up the tours by neighborhood throughout the month. We toured North Philadelphia. The murals are in the heart of the neighborhoods and the neighborhood we toured was predominately Hispanic, which can be seen through some of the murals. I didn't know that it was such an involved process to complete the murals. I learned that they interview people in the neighborhoods to get a feel for what is going on in the community and often ask for influential people in the neighborhood to include in the murals. After the interviews and information gathering, they plan the murals. Most murals are done by 1 artist, but some of them get help to actually paint the murals. I don't remember all the details, but there are a few techniques that the artist can employ to complete the murals. Once the mural is completed there is usually a revealing in the neighborhood in which they have gathering and dedication.

I was really impressed with all the murals. Some of them are even 3D with stones and sculptures in them. I had a hard time picking the murals for this post, but they were all beautiful. I found out a lot of information during the tour, but I can't wait to go on another tour in a different Philly neighborhood.