Murals that tell a story

I have never thought much of murals until I came to Philadelphia and started noticing buildings that had huge beautiful pictures on them. I thought they were just there for show and to make the city look lively and nice. If it wasn’t for this class, I probably would have never realized that each one has a true and significant meaning to them and it’s more than just something that covers a building. Each one conveys a certain message. Obviously I don’t know the meaning behind every single one but the mural tour we went on allowed me to focus on a few that really stood out to me. These murals are a type of civic media that is different from the norm. These are visual forms of civic media that are there for the public to view and multiple people contribute to each piece. There were four specific murals that really stood out to me:

The first mural that stood out to me was The Peace Wall on 29th and Wharton. This was completed on December 31 of 1997. This mural has to do with racial violence that was going on in a neighborhood and people were so against it so Jane Golden wanted to try and use her voice and opinions via making this. It was beautiful to see in person and a great message is being conveyed — that people of all colors can come together and it will be alright .It was about having the community come together and end this racial violence.

The second mural that stood out to me was FACT (Fathers and Children Together, on 55th and Woodland. The FACT helps fathers who are currently in jail reconnect with their children. These fathers hope that they can encourage their children to pick education over going to jail for something stupid. This mural was created to visually show that message. In FACT, a lot of art sessions take place so having this mural is very fitting. FACT mural was created Ernel Martinez. The bond between father and children is very important here.

The third mural that stood out to me was Bridging the Gap on 5741 Woodland, created by Willis Humphrey. This mural was created to convey the message that the communities of the West African immigrant and African Americans could come together and not be so hostile towards each other. Willis thought building relationships was very important and he wanted other people to see that. This was a community effort as well because people wanted to show that they could overcome differences and issues that were present.

The fourth mural that stood out to me was the Building Brotherhood mural on 40th and Chestnut. It was completed recently on November 15th, 2015 and was inspired by Obama. It is meant to bring out the message that boys of color can interact with one another and it is encouraged. It is supposed to raise much-needed awareness of the the current obstacles that are faced by boys of color.