My Murals

I've always been a big fan of Philadelphia's Mural Arts Program. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, the Mural Arts Program is a city-wide non-profit project which matches artists and small Philly communities, and together they create a meaningful mural. Enlisting the help of people in neighborhood of all ages, the Mural Arts Program has produced over 2,800 murals all over the city, often with a special meaning to the community that helped paint it (murals depicting neighborhood heroes, for example).

The Mural Arts Program has inspired Philadelphians and visitors, brought communities together, helped overcome racial divides and tensions, given "at-risk youth" and lifelong residents alike a renewed sense of neighborhood pride and connection to a community, and become a national model and a local treasure. That plus a dramatic reduction in graffiti and ongoing art education programs for almost 2,000 at-risk youth.

Recently the New York Times published a story about the project, which one night was even the top front-page headline on their website. I can't think of a more deserving human interest story to spotlight, and I wanted to share it with my readers.

In a broader context, I think the Mural Arts Program is important because it highlights the extraordinary impact local communities and civic pride have on the urban landscape, which is, unfortunately, deteriorating all across America. Problems can't just be solved at the top. The best kind of city leadership is the kind that inspires the citizenry to take action themselves, as happened in Philadelphia under Ed Rendell and is happening again under Michael Nutter. You can't hire a fixer for a city in any election, but the residents themselves can "take back the streets" and reclaim a city. The Mural Arts Program is a wonderful archetype of how to turn weaknesses into strengths, occupants into citizens, urban blight and graffiti into hope and art.