Off The Wall: Fall 2014

INSIDE: Mural Arts Month 2014 pg. 4–5 | journey2home pg. 8 | Interview with Willis Humphrey aka Nomo pg. 10 m u r a l a rts . o r g 1OFF THE WALL ISSUE FALL/WINTER 2014 | MURALARTS.ORG

Some Thoughts from Our Outgoing Board Chair, Joe Goldblum Dear Friends, This fall, we mark a major organizational transition as Joe Goldblum, our Board Chair since 2008, steps down after six years of extraordinary leadership and turns over the gavel to David Pudlin, whom Joe recruited to Philadelphia Mural Arts Advocates. Joe’s energy is boundless, and his vision, entrepreneurial spirit, and generosity have been critical to Mural Arts’ ambitions. David, Joe’s successor as Chair, believes in our mission and comes to the job with a genuine desire to invest in our work and connect us with his broad network of colleagues and friends around the city. We are forever grateful for the work Joe and David have done and will continue to do for Mural Arts.

For this edition of Off the Wall, I am pleased to hand over my customary responsibility of an opening letter to Joe Goldblum, so that he can share his reflections on Mural Arts.

Jane Golden Executive Director Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @muralarts, and like City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program on Facebook!

Top Left: Amplify © 2014 City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program / Benjamin Volta. Union Transfer, 1026 Spring Garden Street. Top Right: Joe Goldblum.

At the September meeting of the Mural Arts Advocates and after six years as Board Chair, I passed the gavel to my able successor, David Pudlin. While good nonprofit governance requires an orderly succession plan and new leaders with new ideas, I exit reluctantly because I have loved being Chair of this incredible organization. Yes, it was hard work – early morning meetings; major crises and creative solutions; financial roadblocks; and always balancing the artistic big-vision agenda with the pragmatic and obtainable. However, what could possibly be more rewarding than working with the indefatigable and ultra-creative Jane Golden and a team that wakes up every day thinking about how to make a positive and sustainable difference to the City of Philadelphia?

What could be more satisfying than leading a board of individuals with deep and varied skillsets who synergistically combine to guide and support the Mural Arts Program? I am truly humbled and thankful to have had this opportunity.

I am frequently asked what are the achievements of the organization in the past six years of which I am proudest.

It would be easy to point to some of the more monumental and groundbreaking projects like Philly Painting in Germantown – a spectacular mural covering over 60 buildings and two city blocks – but I like to highlight two organizational milestones: First, after an intensive strategic planning process in 2013, we were able

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to align our mission and message. The mission was never about the number of murals, no matter how impressive that number became – it was always about using the power of art to transform communities and individuals. The message finally evolved to articulate the mission. “Art Ignites Change,” the core of our new mission statement and the theme of this year’s Mural Arts Month, captures the power of art to start difficult conversations, unite individuals and communities, heal, and empower.

Second, the Mural Arts Program efficiently and effectively uses funds donated and granted to it. As a donor myself, it is very important to me that funds find their way to the intended programs and to the artists, students and underserved communities we work in without being unduly burdened with excessive overhead. Today, Mural Arts is a lean and effective organization that can manage the toughest and most complex projects while simultaneously meeting the highest auditing standards.

I personally do not know of another organization that so effectively leverages donors’ money to make a true difference in Philadelphia. That is something of which we can all be proud.

I look forward with great anticipation to being a part of the next chapter, and wish David Pudlin great success.

Sincerely, Joe Goldblum Mural Arts Advocates Board Member

ASpire: The Dr. Shawn L. White Mural Project Shawn L. White, Ph.D. used his passion for music, love of education, and concern for his community to uplift youth throughout Philadelphia for over twenty years, teaching mostly young black men about making smart decisions regarding their health. White passed away in April 2013 at the age of 41, leaving behind two sons, Asa and Quadry White, to carry on his legacy.

As a teen, White worked as a peer educator to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS. In 2009, the South Philadelphia native began leading the University of Pennsylvania’s barbershop health initiative, SHAPE UP: Barbers Building Better Brothers. The program brought health and wellness information directly to African-American men. It continues today without Penn affiliation in numerous shops throughout the city.

White was a close friend of Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, co-founder of the Grammy award–winning band The Roots and a current Philadelphia Mural Arts Advocates board member. “Shawn and I went way back – we used to make music together and talked about our dreams to make it big. And even though we went into different fields, we both made our dreams come true,” says Trotter. “We wanted to keep his dream alive, and what better way than a mural in his neighborhood?”

ASpire includes a mural honoring White created by Ernel Martinez and members of Mural Arts’ Restorative Justice Program, workshops and talks at barbershops and more.

The mural dedication will take place at noon on Saturday, November 1, at 2054 Ellsworth Street in South Philadelphia.

To learn more, visit muralarts.org/collections/projects/ dr-shawn-l-white-mural-project

Philadelphia Mural Arts Advocates is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that supports the mission of the Mural Arts Program. Support from individuals, corporations, and foundations is vital to the Mural Arts Program’s ongoing work.

Donate to the Mural Arts Program:

muralarts.org/support Support the Mural Arts Program through United Way:

Cover image: Home Safe ©2014 City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program / Ernel Martinez and Shira Walinsky. Photo: Steve Weinik

FUNDED BY: City of Philadelphia, City of Philadelphia Department of Human Services, PhillyRising Collaborative, Hummingbird Foundation, JP Morgan Chase, Bryan Weingarten, Lenfest Foundation, I.B.E.W. Local 98, City of Philadelphia Prison System PARTNERS: City of Philadelphia, City of Philadelphia Youth Violence Reduction Partnership, Councilman Kenyatta Johnson, EPIC South, KBI Solutions – Non-Profit Consulting, Universal Audenried Charter School, Universal Companies

Editor in Chief RJ Rushmore

SUPPORT MURAL ARTS!

Donor Choice #12472

Youth paint the ASpire mural, and then talk with professional photographer and mentor Whitney Thomas, during a workshop at the Shear Talent Barbershop in Point Breeze.

Editorial Sara Ansell, Porch Light Program Director Caitlin Butler, Director of Development Almaz D. Crowe, Special Events & Marketing Manager Dr. James Falconi, American Composers Forum – Philadelphia Chapter Julius Ferraro, Project Coordinator Janice Fisher, Copy Editor Virginia Harrison, Manager of Individual & Corporate Stewardship Thora Jacobson, Director, Design Review Amy R. Johnston, Information & Events Specialist Justin A. Langlois, Co-Founder & Research Director, Broken City Lab Cassandra McAllister, Marketing & Special Events Intern Jameson Paige, Project Manager Matt Quackenbush, Development & Database Coordinator Lead Graphic Designer Chellerose Buscarino

Graphic Design Interns Sarah Lownes | Spring Paul

Photography Tim Blackwell | Valerie Caesar | Paul Loftland | Michael Reali Steve Weinik, Lead Photographer, Senior Manager for Digital Media & Technology

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Top: All the Way Live from the 215 Š 2014 City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program / Chris Stain. 2nd & Norris Streets. Bottom: psychylustro Š 2014 Katharina Grosse. Northeast Rail Corridor.

Art Ignites Change October is Mural Arts Month Come Celebrate With Us! Foundation

Sponsored by:* Inventors:

Leader:

Developers: Foundation

Colligas Family ShopRite

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*Sponsors committed as of August 22.

Creators: Lynn K. Manko Neiman Marcus m u r a l a rts . o r g

Mural Arts Month 2014 This October, Art Ignites Change! This is just a taste of the almost daily events planned for Mural Arts Month. For a full and up-to-date listing of events, visit muralarts.org and follow us on Twitter and Instagram @muralarts.

Unless noted, all events are free and open to the public.

Mural Rededication: Tree of Knowledge Wednesday, October 1 1 pm 13th & Market Streets Join Jane Golden, Diane Shoemaker and Michael Webb for the rededication of Tree of Knowledge. Created in 2003 in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Eisenhower Fellowships, and featured on our Mural Mile walking tour, this classic is the latest mural in our collection to be restored to its original vibrancy. Bank of America will join the festivities to officially kickoff Mural Arts Month.

DesignPhiladelphia 2014: Not My Outside World Friday, October 10 6–8 pm Caplan Recital Hall, Terra Hall, 17th Floor, University of the Arts 211 S. Broad Street A conversation on abstraction and social imagination with psychylustro curator Elizabeth Thomas and artist and writer Douglas Ashford, Associate Professor at Cooper Union and former member of Group Material. Part of DesignPhiladelphia, a Center for Architecture event.

Event Partner: University of the Arts DesignPhiladelphia 2014: Southeast by Southeast – Walking Tour and Concert Saturday, October 11 1 pm: Walking tour 3 pm: Concert 1927 S. 7th Street

To learn more about this event, see page 7. Part of DesignPhiladelphia, a Center for Architecture event. Event is free, but you must RSVP to ensure availability of a tour guide and/or concert seating. journey2home illuminates the challenges Event Partners: American Composers Forum – Philadelphia Chapter and of housing insecurity for youth. Join Lutheran Children and Family Services us for the dedication of the mural and transformed shipping container Home Safe by Ernel Martinez and Shira muraLAB: Live Walinsky, and our Second Friday event Tuesday, October 14 Turning Anger into Gold, featuring 6:00–8:30 pm a participatory art activity led by WHYY, 150 N. 6th Street Jared Wood, a two minute teaser of a In partnership with WHYY, we have documentary by Jon Kaufman about enlisted seven extraordinary people to journey2home participants, and an share their insights into how art can intimate story elicitation project led by ignite change in a TED-style evening.

Nema Etebar. To learn more, turn to Event Partner: WHYY page 8.

Mural Dedication: journey2home Friday, October 10 4–7 pm 42nd Street & Lancaster Avenue

Philly DJ Mural Block Party Friday, October 17 6–8 pm 13th & Chestnut Streets

Second Friday Open House at the journey2home shipping container.

A family-friendly party featuring live entertainment from the city’s top DJs along with the best and brightest youths of Scratch DJ Academy, food trucks and more.

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Mural Dedication: ASpire: The Dr. Shawn L. White Mural Project Saturday, November 1 12 noon 2054 Ellsworth Street Meet us in South Philadelphia to celebrate ASpire, a mural project honoring the legacy of the late Dr. Shawn L. White, aka “Air Smooth.”

White was a community leader, father, and educator who led health initiatives aimed at young African-American men in Philadelphia, raising awareness of HIV/AIDS and STI prevention. To learn more, turn to page 3.

Partners: City of Philadelphia, City of Philadelphia Youth Violence Reduction Partnership, Councilman Kenyatta Johnson, EPIC South, KBI Solutions – Non-Profit Consulting, Universal Audenried Charter School, Universal Companies Restoration of Tree of Knowledge funded by the City of Philadelphia | journey2home funded by City of Philadelphia Department of Human Services, Hummingbird Foundation, The Patricia Kind Family Foundation | Presented in cooperation with Amtrak, psychylustro has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, The National Endowment for the Arts, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Fierce Advocacy Fund, PTS Foundation, AT&T, Philadelphia Zoo, Joe and Jane Goldblum, David and Helen Pudlin, halfGenius, and The Beneficial Foundation with support for the exhibition publication from the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation. Media: WHYY’s NewsWorks.org is the project’s content partner, and Metro Newspaper is a media partner | Southeast by Southeast funded

by City of Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health & Intellectual disAbility Services, Hummingbird Foundation, Philadelphia Refugee Mental Health Collaborative. Concert funded by William Penn Foundation — Community Partners through a grant to the American Composers Forum | Philly DJ Mural funded by the City of Philadelphia Department of Human Services | ASpire: The Dr. Shawn L. White Mural Project funded by City of Philadelphia, City of Philadelphia Department of Human Services, PhillyRising Collaborative, Hummingbird Foundation, JP Morgan Chase, Bryan Weingarten, Lenfest Foundation, I.B.E.W. Local 98, City of Philadelphia Prison System.

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Looking to the Future The Mural Arts Program is a place where ideas are generated and projects continually developed that align with our core values and mission while pushing us in new directions. Here is a taste of what we are working on behind the scenes for 2015.

We will continue to explore Philadelphia’s rich DJ culture through our Art Education program. The first major public event in this exploration will be on October 17 when we host a city-wide block party to celebrate DJs and youth artists learning about the art via instruction from Scratch DJ Academy. The project will culminate in a mural honoring the DJ community.

Mural Arts is collaborating with People’s Emergency Center and muraLAB alumnus Justin A. Langlois of Broken City Lab to establish the Neighborhood Time Exchange: West Philadelphia, an exciting new artist residency for 2015. For every hour a Time Exchange artist-in-residence spends in the studio, he or she will also offer an hour of time back for community-directed projects.

In the Fall of 2015, we will hold Open Source: Engaging Audiences in Public Space, curated by Pedro Alonzo. Open Source is a groundbreaking exhibition of public art that will challenge a variety of contemporary artists, street artists, community-based public artists, and Mural Arts to engage with each other in new ways.

The Porch Light Program is developing a signature project connected with “My Brother’s Keeper,” an initiative launched by President Obama “to address With these projects and many more coming up, we will continue persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color with our dual mission to use art to ignite change and to play a and ensure that all young people can reach their full potential.” leadership role in advancing the field of public art.

A recent grant from The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage will allow our Restored Spaces Initiative to undertake a new series of community-based works with curator Lucía Sanromán and the cooperative Cohabitation Strategies (CohStra). Beginning this fall, CohStra will come to Philadelphia to identify a series of sites where they will create “cultural interventions” that will aim to spark future community collaborations with the Mural Arts Program.

book your tour!

TROLLEY

WALKING

TRAIN

PROJECTS DESCRIBED HERE FUNDED BY: City of Philadelphia Department of Human Services, City of Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health & Intellectual disAbility Services, The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, The National Endowment for the Arts and the Surdna Foundation through gifts to People’s Emergency Center, The City of Philadelphia, Bank of America, Hummingbird Foundation

DISCOVER public art in a new way with a tour of Philadelphia’s famous murals! Experience the city’s diverse communities, and hear behind-the-scenes stories on each project.

Private group tours are also available – trolley, walking, train and step-on, as well as a unique experiential painting activity!

All proceeds from tours benefit Mural Arts programs. The Tours Program is sponsored by:

Mural Arts at The Gallery 9th & Market Streets 215.925.3633

tours@muralarts.org muralarts.org/tour

purchase our new book!

Buy your copy today at muralarts.org/support/shop

“Reading these chapters, gazing at these many images, we enter into the dwelling-place of beauty and meaning that is Mural Arts.” —Arlene Goldbard, Writer, Social Activist Jane Golden and David Updike, eds. Philadelphia Mural Arts@30. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2014. Print. Cover design by Anthony Smyrski.

If You Could See – and Hear – These Walls To shine a new light on our existing work, Mural Arts has partnered with the American Composers Forum – Philadelphia Chapter to present If You Could Hear These Walls, a community engagement project featuring residencies, new music written for Philadelphia murals and performances to celebrate both mural art and community identity.

Fourteen Philadelphia composers are creating compositions inspired by three murals – Henry Ossawa Tanner: Letters of Influence painted by Keir Johnston, Peace is a Haiku Song painted by Josh Sarantitis and Parris Stancell and Southeast

by Southeast painted by Shira Walinsky and Miriam Singer.

Composers are also engaging members of the communities surrounding the murals by teaching them about music, composition and performance and, in some cases, involving them directly in the composition or performance of their music. Finally, they will present their music at each mural site.

Of particular note will be the event at the Southeast by Southeast project – a collaboration led by our Porch Light Program between Mural Arts, the City of Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services and the Philadelphia Refugee Mental Health Collaborative. Before the concert, enjoy a guided walking tour and book release to learn about the vibrant Burmese, Bhutanese and Nepali communities and the community’s stunning public art.

To learn more, visit muralarts.org Southeast by Southeast FUNDED BY: City of Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services, Hummingbird Foundation, Philadelphia Refugee Mental Health Collaborative CONCERT SERIES FUNDED BY: William Penn Foundation — Community Partners Program, through a grant to the American Composers Forum CONCERT SERIES PARTNER: American Composers Forum — Philadelphia Chapter Top: Southeast by Southeast © 2013 City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program / Shira Walinsky & Miriam Singer. 7th & Emily Streets. Middle: Peace is a Haiku Song © 2012 City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program / Josh Sarantitis & Parris Stancell. 1425 Christian Street. Bottom: Henry Ossawa Tanner: Letters of Influence © 2012 City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program / Keir Johnston. 2019 N. College Avenue.

Concerts in the If You Could Hear These Walls series Saturday, October 11 Southeast by Southeast Walking Tour and Concert 1927 S. 7th Street Walking tour begins at 1 pm Concert begins at 3 pm Presented as part of DesignPhiladelphia 2014.

Sunday, October 12, 3 pm Peace is a Haiku Song 1425 Christian Street Saturday, October 18, 3 pm Henry Ossawa Tanner: Letters of Influence 2019 N. College Avenue

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Giving voice to homeless youth During the 2010–11 school year, at least 2,000 homeless youth were enrolled in Philadelphia public schools, a chronic issue that we have seen reflected in our Art Education program.

Shari Hersh, who once led the Art Education department at Mural Arts, recalls, “Kids would suddenly stop attending, and later they’d be in touch with us. At any given time, a surprising number of our youths were not securely housed.”

As Joe Willard of journey2home partner People’s Emergency Center points out, “It’s very hard to identify youth homelessness in Philadelphia or in any local jurisdiction.”

Young people are resilient: they double up in apartments, live in abandoned buildings and move frequently. All of this makes them challenging to track and count, which in turn makes it difficult to fund programs to help them.

Hersh, now a senior project manager at the Mural Arts Program, was inspired to tackle the issue of youth homelessness and housing insecurity in Philadelphia; the result is journey2home, a project led by artists Shira Walinsky, Ernel Martinez and Jared Wood, and directed by Hersh. journey2home has involved a year of workshops with housing–insecure youth, monthly public events in West Philadelphia at a storefront space on Lancaster Avenue and a modified shipping container located in a park at 42nd Street and Lancaster Avenue, and Home Safe, a new mural at 42nd and Brown Streets designed by Ernel Martinez and Shira Walinsky and painted by workshop participants.

Dr. Carolyn Cannuscio of the University of Pennsylvania and Elisabeth Perez-Luna of WHYY have conducted countless interviews with youth participants in journey2home to help share their stories. In an interview with Dr. Cannuscio, Sherrieff McCrae, one of the youths who painted Home Safe, discussed his own journey. In foster care from age five to 14, he was then introduced to “group homes, changing schools a lot, living in different environments.”

An aspiring filmmaker even when he was living “in the streets,” McCrae was once on the Philadelphia Youth Commission, representing the voices of Philadelphia’s young people. “That’s the last job I had doing video,” says McCrae, “but I ain’t got no more equipment. That’s when everything started going downhill.” At the time of the interview, McCrae was couch surfing with a friend of a friend and struggling to provide for his three children and their mother.

Now, McCrae is able to rent a room of his own and is taking video editing classes at Scribe Video Center in West Philadelphia. journey2home has provided paid work to over 50 youths, including McCrae.

Storytelling is the backbone of journey2home’s work. Through art, participants gain an outlet for sharing their experiences, shining light on an otherwise invisible issue.

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Top: Filmmaker Jon Kaufman (left) records journalist and producer Elisabeth Perez-Luna (right) at a Second Friday event at journey2home. Bottom: Neighborhood youths enjoy screenprinting emergency care pouches at a journey2home open house.

Mural Dedication: journey2home Friday, October 10 4–7 pm 42nd Street & Lancaster Avenue The project will continue into November, when Hersh, her colleagues and select participants will present journey2home’s art and stories in Harrisburg at a national summit on homelessness.

To learn more, visit journey2home.org Funded by: City of Philadelphia Department of Human Services, The Patricia Kind Family Foundation, Hummingbird Foundation Partners: WHYY/Elisabeth Perez-Luna, Penn Center for Public Health Initiatives/Dr. Carolyn Cannuscio, People’s Emergency Center

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Uniquely Youth-Driven Public Art Our Art Education department has a unique approach to developing civic-minded young artists. Many of our programs allow students to see their artwork being put to use across the city by combining art instruction with the production of youth-driven public art projects. Here are three examples of what our students achieved this summer. To learn more, visit muralarts.org/ programs/art-education

1 The mural The Power of Positivity was designed and painted by our students for Art Education site partner Congreso. With guidance from teaching artists Patricia Barrera and Brad Carney, students developed their own mural design and presented it to the Congreso community for consultation before installation.

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2 The Asian Arts Initiative invited Mural Arts teaching artist Bonnie Whitfield to lead a project to improve the appearance of their back alley, Pearl Street. Shuttered windows and doors along Pearl Street were replaced with bright, vibrant patterns designed by Whitfield in collaboration with students. In this photo, students collaborate on a design.

Our student-designed series of trash-eating Litter Critters have been decorating BigBelly trash bins around the city since 2011, and the latest installment will appear this fall. The new designs were developed by students at Lenfest Center, Waring Elementary and Southeast by Southeast with the help of teaching artists Sovansuny Uy, James Grigsby and Sarah Folger.

Funded by: Agnes Irwin School Youth Philanthropy Group, Christopher Ludwick Foundation, City of Philadelphia Department of Human Services, Comcast, Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation, Fondation d’entreprise Hermès, Forrest and Frances Lattner Foundation, Freire Charter School, Hearst Foundation, Hummingbird Foundation, IBM, Keystone Property Group, Lincoln Financial Foundation, PECO, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, Philadelphia Youth Network, Seed the Dream Foundation, Surdna Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, TD Charitable Foundation, Victory Foundation m u r a l a rts . o r g

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One-on-One with muralist Willis Humphrey aka NOMO For the better part of the last decade, artist, designer and educator Willis Humphrey aka Nomo has been building a deep body of work with Mural Arts.

His latest, Staircases and Mountaintops: Ascending Beyond the Dream, will be dedicated in October, as part of Mural Arts Month and is described in more detail on page 11.

Happy birthday!

[Laughs] Thanks.

After the military, I went to school for graphic design and have been working professionally as an artist for 15 years. I started doing murals about seven years ago. With graphic design, I was doing some creative stuff . . . but it was usually corporate, so I was being creative, but there wasn’t a soulful connection with the artwork.

How does the collaboration work with the PPS team?

I design the mural with input from the community and Mural Arts. I have the framework set up, and the guys from PPS learn the system of production, from the priming to the preparation to the painting.

I painted the children’s wall with more colorful hues and tones for vibrancy and energy, but it’s basically a geometric pattern of staircases and mountaintops.

How did you start with Mural Arts? The staircases represent a mode of elevation in society or in oneself, and I went through the Muralist Training the mountaintops are symbolizing the Program with Dave McShane about heights that you can get to, but they’re seven years ago. It was like, this is very geometric. Once you learn how to where I can merge my art that I like feel the space and cut the lines sharp, to do, and get paid, and be a part of anybody can be proficient. community engagement and have a voice with a broader range of people.

I’m homing in on this [looks to another Can you tell us about your current project?

Willis Humphrey aka Nomo

Other recent projects with Mural Arts include A Mother’s Love, a mural that reflects on the challenges of violence and the power of a mother’s love in our society, and Our City, Our Vets, which, in partnership with Warrior Writers and Phillip Adams, sought to support veterans returning to our city. We sat down with Willis at his studio to talk about his beginnings, current work and process.

I’ve been working with the Philadelphia Prison System through the Restorative Justice Program. It’s been a motivating experience, working with those guys, to get to know them. People have preconceived notions of how certain populations are. All of us do. But once you really get to work with and know them, they’re really solid guys.

part of the mural he’s working on in the Amber Art & Design studio]. This will be on a new senior citizens center as part of a project with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Recreation Center. They wanted to focus on the legacy and history of AfricanAmericans. This is going to be a fulllength shot of the front line of a march, optically coming out into the street.

Thanks so much for your work, and thank you for your time.

Tell us a little about yourself and your work.

I was born in Biloxi, Mississippi. My dad was in the Air Force. I moved around quite a bit. We lived in Italy, Texas, Japan, Arkansas . . . a little bit of everywhere. Every three to four years we would relocate.

I’ve been doing art since I was 9 or 10 . . .

I just turned 40.

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Willis Humphrey aka Nomo paints Staircases and Mountaintops: Ascending Beyond the Dream at the Amber Art & Design studio.

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Martin Luther King, Jr. Recreation Center Makeover

Top: Mosaics by Jonny Buss. Bottom: Mural by Willis Humphrey aka Nomo. Staircases and Mountaintops: Ascending Beyond the Dream. In progress, August 2014.

Last spring, PhillyRising Collaborative and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Recreation Center in North Philadelphia approached the Mural Arts Program about renovating the older murals at the Center. Following their meeting, Mural Arts gathered a team to create Staircases and Mountaintops: Ascending Beyond the Dream, a continuation and expansion of the work Mural Arts’ Restorative Justice Guild Program was already doing at the facility.

The facility is a cornerstone of this community, encompassing an entire city block, and boasting a full-size gym, classrooms for after-school and full-day programs, a large playground and sports fields. New murals and mosaics will help draw attention to the services this city resource provides.

Lead artists Willis Humphrey aka Nomo and Jonny Buss, along with Guild participants, met with the local community on several occasions to gauge the type of mural they wanted in their neighborhood. After numerous collaborative discussions, Humphrey created a design for both the front of the building and the side facing the playground, inspired by the civil rights movement and Dr. King’s pivotal role in the fight for equality.

Abstract mountains and stairs symbolize activists’ arduous journey to attain their full rights. At the front of the facility, the team installed a brand new, intricate mosaic by Buss that enlivens the space and serves as a symbol of welcome.

To learn more, visit muralarts.org Mural Dedication: Staircases and Mountaintops: Ascending Beyond the Dream Thursday, October 23, 2 pm Martin Luther King, Jr. Recreation Center 2101 Cecil B. Moore Avenue FUNDEd by: City of Philadelphia, Hummingbird Foundation, JP Morgan Chase, Bryan Weingarten, Lenfest Foundation, I.B.E.W. Local 98, City of Philadelphia Prison System PARTNERS: City of Philadelphia, City of Philadelphia Youth Violence Reduction Partnership, PhillyRising Collaborative, Martin Luther King, Jr. Recreation Center

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Donor Profile: The Dow Chemical Company Mural Arts is pleased to announce a new comprehensive partnership with The Dow Chemical Company.

Mural Arts and Dow will work together to create a public art project led by artist Ben Volta in conjunction with the 2015 Philadelphia Science Festival, of which Dow is the presenting sponsor. The project will engage more than 50 youth and provide a unique opportunity to develop science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programming that explores connections between art and science.

the important STEM education, environmental and economic needs of our communities.”

The partnership with Dow will also include employee paint days, neighborhood clean-ups and a technical exchange. The Mural Arts team will be meeting with experts from Dow in September for a hands-on training session on the latest in paint ingredients. The quality and durability of Mural Arts’ projects are an important aspect of how communities are served, and Mural Arts is eager to bring Dow’s expertise to this part of the work.

Dow is excited to partner with Mural Arts, emphasizes Land.

“There is a hope we can mobilize and inspire the minds of “Dow’s spirit, belief and commitment to improve the quality of life of its communities has existed for more than 100 years,” future scientists for years to come,” he explains. “Through our explains Justin Land, Dow’s Public Affairs Manager. “Through partnership, we look forward to providing expert advice on paint and its application to Mural Arts staff, with hopes that our comprehensive DowGives efforts, we utilize the time, talent and resources of our company and employees to address each mural will remain vibrant for future generations.”

Patron Profile: Jim Colligas Burns was selected, and created Our Urban Landscape, a mural that represented the diversity of the store’s South Philly neighborhood.

“I wanted to communicate to the community at-large that we are a business that serves everyone, no matter their race or ethnicity,” Jim says. “Since the mural was created, business has been up 40 percent, and the number of African-American and Asian customers has increased. I attribute this success to the mural. It’s beneficial for any business to have a mural on its building because it says you care about people and you care about their city.”

Jim Colligas

When Jim Colligas bought a ShopRite supermarket at Front and Snyder Streets in South Philadelphia in 2005, he saw more than an opportunity to serve a community with his store.

He also saw a way to bring his neighborhood together.

Jim and his wife, Suzanne, had long been fans of the Mural Arts Program. What started as curiosity grew into admiration for the art of mural making and a deep understanding of the power of murals as storytellers.

One large façade of the store facing I-95 seemed like the perfect spot for a mural, so owner/operator Jim worked to fix up the property and contacted Mural Arts about putting a mural on his store. After a thorough process, artist James

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Jim’s generosity to Mural Arts has continued long after his store’s mural was complete. When a member of Mural Arts’ crew showed Jim and Suzanne a number of murals that needed restoration work, the couple decided to direct their gifts toward restorations to ensure that as many of the public works of art remain as possible. Because of their deepened relationship with Mural Arts and obvious passion for our mission, Jim was asked to serve on the Board of the Philadelphia Mural Arts Advocates.

“Once we started supporting Mural Arts financially, we became passionate about Mural Arts’ entire body of work,” Jim says.

“Visiting the offices on Mount Vernon Street and seeing what kids in the Art Education program are doing after school, we got caught up in it. My store now participates in a program to hire people who have just been released from prison because we were inspired by Mural Arts’ Restorative Justice Program.

We believe art really does ignite change.”

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We Rise! Children, Trauma, and Resilience Š 2013 City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program / Josh Sarantitis. 701 N. Broad Street.

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1 Wall Ball 2014 was outstanding! Union Transfer was filled with more than 650 of Mural Arts’ supporters for a night of celebration we will never forget. Our thanks to Wall Ball Co-Chairs Dan Astolfi, Hilda Bacon, Margelle Liss and David Pudlin. Congratulations on the most successful Wall Ball yet! 2 Shepard Fairey (Tony Goldman Visionary Artist Award recipient), Jane Golden and Mural Arts Advocates Board member Joe Goldblum at Wall Ball 2014. 3 Mayor Michael Nutter greets Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Connor Barwin at Wall Ball 2014. 4 Mural Arts Advocates Board member David Pudlin​​with​​Dr. Debbie Schiller at Wall Ball 2014. 5 Shepard Fairey poses with Mural Arts staff, teachers and alumni at Wall Ball 2014. 6 Shepard Fairey spins at the Mural Arts Young Friends after-party “Off The Wall Ball.” 7 Everett and Elaine Gillison enjoy the world premiere of psychylustro by Katharina Grosse. 8 Painters, partners, sponsors, friends and fans gather for a group photo to commemorate the world premiere of psychylustro by Katharina Grosse. 9 The Really Awesome Art Show featured Offering of the Wombat, a Viking ship created by visiting artist Dennis McNett with youth in Mural Arts’ Art Education program at Asian Arts Initiative. 10 Philadelphia Mural Arts Advocates Joe Goldblum and Tony Schneider with mural artist Jon Laidacker and Executive Director Jane Golden at the dedication of the Philly Rowing Mural. 11 Councilman Bill Greenlee (center), City Council President Darrell Clarke, Jane Golden and neighborhood youth celebrate the dedication of a new mural by David McShane at 30th & Jefferson Playground. 12 The family of renowned community organizer Herman Wrice gathers with Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell (center) to celebrate the dedication of a new mural by David McShane honoring Wrice’s memory and legacy. 13 Chip Thomas and Ursula Rucker show some love at the dedication of You Go Girl, a new mural by Thomas based on Rucker’s photo and poetry. 14 Ben Volta, David Hummel, Shondell Revell, Russel Craig, Robyn Buseman, Jane Hummel, Jesse Krimes, Jane Golden and Councilman Mark Squilla celebrate the dedication of Amplify, a new mural at Union Transfer by Volta with the Restorative Justice Guild Program. 15 Roland Kassis of Domani Developers speaks at the dedication of Shepard Fairey’s new mural Lotus Diamond at 1228 Frankford Avenue. 16 Mural artist David McShane shakes hands with Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy at the 2014 playground build at Prince Hall Elementary School.

17 Mural Arts Advocates Board member Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter (third from left) and students from Audenried High School kick off ASpire, a new mural project inspired by the life and legacy of Dr. Shawn L. White. 18 Judy Cassidy and family (left) with Jon Laidacker and Jane Golden (right) at the dedication of Penn-Crisp Gym Honors P.O. Chuck Cassidy. 19 Artist Jesse J. Gardner speaks at the dedication of Tribute to Lt. Robert Neary and FF. Daniel Sweeney standing next to fellow artists David McShane (left) and Kien Nguyen (right). 20 Mural Arts hosted a paint day in the East Parkside “Promise Zone” during the Wawa Welcome America Festival!, with lead artist Delia King. To learn more about the projects and events featured in this section, visit muralarts.org.

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The Lincoln Financial Mural Arts Center at the Thomas Eakins House 1727-29 Mount Vernon Street Philadelphia, PA 19130 215-685-0750 | muralarts.org

This October

Mural Arts Month 2014 muralarts.org

Power of Positivity Š 2014 City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program / Brad Carney with Youth in Mural Arts’ Art Education program. Congreso. 216 W. Somerset Street.