Murals in Philadelphia

When I first entered our civic media class, I had very little idea as to what we we would be doing in class. I figured it would be similar to my ethics in communications. I went into the class with limited, previous knowledge and an open-mind. When google searching civic-media it is tough to find a direct definition. Throughout the semester we researched many definitions, and were showed different examples of how something could be defined as civic media. From ignite talks, to the change-maker project, our class had a hands-on opportunity to explore the many aspects of civic media. This experience helped to lead me to my own conclusions as to what civic media actually is. Civic is defined as a city or town, and media is defined by mainstreams of communications.

I define civic media as communities of people coming together, to raise awareness of certain issue through many different mediums. Civic media requires action. I believe that civic media has a strong sense of passion behind it. Those who are civically involved feel strong sense of community, have a drive to better their neighborhoods, and want to unify people of communities to help work for the cause at hand. Civic media can go beyond what we traditionally define as media. When asked how the concept of civic media is different from mass murals I immediately think of our class’s mural project.

For our mural project we drove through various neighborhoods in Philadelphia to see the murals. Not only did we just look at the murals, but we immersed our self into the neighborhoods culture in which the murals were located. We walked around and took time to analyze and take pictures of each mural. I think driving by a mural is a completely different experience than getting up close to the mural and being able to feel the surroundings of the neighborhood in which the mural is located. Philadelphia is such a big city, and it’s incredible to think how different each neighborhood in the city is. From Rittenhouse Square to Kensington each neighborhood is so different, yet they all have the same mailing address. Walking around outside of the mural, made the mural feel more real to me.

Each was about a powerful issue, and many of the issues the murals were about are not issues for me and my peers. Seeing how powerful these murals are made me realize how lucky I am, and how important it is to give back to your city. You could see how much the mural meant to the creators. Each mural we looked at was so well-done, and had so much meaning. Each mural had a message, and I was very impressed at the amount of effort that was put into each mural we saw. After reading about the “City of Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program,” I learned that they aim to “empower artists to be change agents, stimulates dialogue about critical issues, and builds bridges of connections and understanding… Our work is created in service of a larger movement that values, equity, fairness, and progress across all of society.”

It is clear that these murals exist to bring awareness and to help bring the community together. I think that murals can really help people living in neighborhoods where there is a lot of controversy, because the murals physically show issues that are prominent in a specific area. The audience for the murals is not only intended for residents of a specific neighborhood, but I think that everyone living in Philadelphia should go on a mural tour and educate themselves about their surrounding issues. I believe that if everyone went on a mural tour, and understood the deep reasons behind each mural, Philadelphia would be a better place. Every neighborhood, rich or poor has its problems, and murals raise awareness, and show the issues in a beautiful, visually appealing way.

The most powerful mural I saw was the one about children who have fathers in jail. The issue itself is so sad and powerful. What really made this mural so moving was the pictures that each child drew. I thought it made this mural so personal and emotional. It really made me think about how different their lives are from me and my peers. This mural was a perfect example of civic media, because it brought awareness to an issue, drew a diverse audience, and it clearly helped bring people together to help fight the issue at hand. Even though these murals and their messages were not distributed through traditional media platforms, they still help start a conversation, and more importantly they physically bring people together in order to better their communities.