“We BeLieVe aRT iGNiTeS CHaNGe”
(Mission of the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program)
ART:
Art is a form of expression that can be communicated in a variety of different forms. Art can tell a story about someone’s life, it can engage the public about an issue prevalent in a community or society today, or it can be a snap shot, or glimpse of what is going on in someone’s mind. Art is something that is meant for the public to explore and indulge in to create something bigger than one’s self. Civic media, in a sense, is a form of art. Civic media takes a part of life today that is not perfect and projects the issue onto a form of media that can be displayed for hundreds of people. Civic media takes issues that are sometimes hard to deal with and brings them to the public’s conversation. Some civic media is confronted with backlash; some initiates change, while other topics brought up through civic media make people think in a different way and open their eyes up to the discrimination or hardship that certain groups of people face. Civic media is meant to start a conversation. It is not meant to be light and simple; instead it takes social issues and expresses them to make people see.
CIVIC MEDIA: MURAL ARTS PROGRAM
Philadelphia is a metropolitan area in which there are many social issues regarding discrimination, social injustices, human trafficking, homelessness, gun violence, and that is just the beginning. Some of these issues are swept under the rug as those who are not directly involved with the issue may forget that they exist. In order to combat this problem of naiveness, Philadelphia has taken these issues to the streets through its Mural Arts Program, aimed at bringing communities together and sharing a part of the culture and hardship that the communities within certain neighborhoods of Philadelphia face. Since its establishment in 1984, the Mural Arts has been beautifying Philadelphia, as its original purpose was to combat the graffiti that was beginning to be widespread throughout the city. Since this initiative began, the program has expanded, bringing communities that are at odds together, involving people trapped in the criminal justice system and engaging people who without this program, their voice may never be heard.
FATHERS AND CHILDREN TOGETHER (FACT) MURAL DEDICATION
One mural in particular that expresses a lesser-known issue in the criminal justices system is “Fathers and Children Together (FACT) Mural Dedication”. This mural addressed the issue that incarcerated parents are able to spend minimal time with their children, if any time at all. With the little guidance, children are more likely to wind themselves up in the criminal justice system as well. This was created to bring children together with their fathers who are incarcerated as the fathers communicate to their children the hopes and dreams that they have for them. The hope that their children will choose education over incarceration is shown and the hope that children will see their fathers not as a criminal, but rather as a mentor and support system for their children. These fathers’ hopes for their children does not differ from any other father’s hopes for their children’s future. Fathers want the best for their kids; they want to give them unconditional love, and they want their children to seize every opportunity that they can. Just because a father is in prison does not change his hopes for his family. This mural is a form of civic media because it shows this commonality among fathers. It also shows the difficulties that fathers who are incarcerated face to guide their children along the right path in life.
THE PEACE WALL
The Peace Wall is a mural that was created in a neighborhood where tensions were high between different races. Mural Arts director, Jane Golden, went door to door, asking residents of Gray’s Ferry to become a part of this project and their end creation was a masterpiece. This mural symbolizes the drive that this community has to put aside their differences to end the racial divide that is tearing their neighborhood apart. The residents who worked on this mural worked side by side with people of different races that in a different setting, they may not have gotten along with. This media is dedicated to this neighborhood as it communicated the coming together of different people for a common purpose. The quote along the side of the mural speaks to the peace that this neighborhood longs to have and that under God, they are all the same children, no one better than the other.
OUR CITY, OUR VETS
Not all of the murals in Philadelphia address racial differences within the city or other social issues pertaining to the city alone. “Our City, Our Vets” tackles the struggle that veterans face when they return from war with PTSD. This mural shows the difference between soldiers going off to war and coming back home. It is a welcome of open arms to the soldiers who have served our country and to show that they are not alone in their struggle, emphasizing that they have the support of the community behind them. This specifically is a form of civic media as it allows the community to understand the experiences that veterans faced. It serves as a reminder of the hardships that soldiers face ever day, and reinforce that after combat, the war in their minds is not over.
IMPACT:
Civic Media allows communities to come together for a common purpose. It allows communities to fight for what they believe in. It allows communities to have a home and to communicate to others what is important to them. Civic Media engages people in a way that mass media does not, as it gives communities something to fight for and gives them hope that they can make a difference. The murals throughout Philadelphia serve as a reminder of the social issues that are prevalent today while lighting the city up with color. The fact that these murals are kept in good condition, without having other forms of graffiti on them show that their importance is prevalent to a mass number of people. They serve as a representation of community, of hope and of peace that Philadelphia strives to someday find within all of its different neighborhoods.
