With more than 6,000 murals, Philadelphia has earned a global reputation for its vibrant public art. Jericka Duncan spotlights the artists behind the work and the impact of Mural Arts Philadelphia.

Philadelphia

Philadelphia has established itself as a global center for public art, boasting over 6,000 murals across the city. Artists like Aloysius McIlwain, who has created nearly 400 murals locally and several internationally, contribute to the city's vibrant visual landscape. The Mural Arts Philadelphia program, led by Jane Golden, has played a pivotal role in supporting thousands of artists and transforming the city’s walls into storytelling canvases.

The program also serves as a lifeline for individuals seeking new beginnings, such as Reese Jewel, who found purpose and hope through participating in mural projects. By blending street art, graffiti, and traditional mural techniques, artists of all backgrounds are able to express themselves and inspire others, reinforcing Philadelphia’s reputation as the mural capital of the world.

Why Philadelphia is the mural capital of the world

with miles worth of murals in Philadelphia, you could see why they've become the main attraction. Bold colors, vibrant expressions, backdrops that match the mood of the neighborhood and its people. I just get inspiration from all sorts of environments and just things that happen in life. A wall like this is a canvas for 43 year old Aloysius McIlwain. His pockets stuffed with the paint he sprays in search of reaching a new level and new people through each mural. When I first saw my first mural, I just remembered the scale just being so amazing. I just knew immediately that that's what I wanted to do. And for the last 15 years, he's been creating works of art around Philadelphia. McIlwain paints for clients and himself with nearly 400 murals in the city and about a dozen more around the world, including the Bahamas, Japan and France. Where do you find the time? I don't sleep. That's pretty much it. I don't sleep. It's my job and it's my hobby. How would you describe your style? Well, there are blends of many different genres and styles in there. I have like signature shapes that I call kudoglyphs, which are positive affirmations in symbol form. So all of my artwork has these positive affirmations in there. I just love the fact that he saw the murals before he even started working with us and thought that could be me. And that is exactly right. That's what we want artists to think. Jane Golden has been working with thousands of artists for more than 40 years, starting with the Anti-Graffiti Network. When we started out, it was like we were just sort of feeling our way through it. Nowadays, it's called Mural Arts Philadelphia, the largest public art program in the country. The walls of our city speak to you, tell your stories. I call it the autobiography of the city of Philadelphia. A lot of people that we work with are creative, have talent, but they don't necessarily know it. And so art is, as the kids used to say at Anti-Graffiti, art had become a lifeline for them. Becoming an artist has been a longtime dream of 45-year-old Reese Jewel. It gives people hope. It gives you something to look at. For years, she struggled with addiction. In her attempt to get clean, her case manager called her with a rare opportunity. That weekend, I got a call saying, do you want to come to this program called Color Me Back? It was a mural arts program that my case manager signed me up for. Knowing every day that I come here that I'm doing what I want to do, when I was pretty hopeless thinking that my life was pretty much over. When Jewel picks up her brush in search of the perfect blend of colors, she becomes fixated on the work. It will be her first painting for Mural Arts Philadelphia. What is it like for you to have your own mural? It feels like I'm living a dream. I would get a little bit like imposter syndrome about that, feeling like I should have already been doing it and not wasted my life. But the good thing is I can combine street art, graffiti, and murals all together. And it's not a waste because here you are today. New artists get inspiration from the more experienced ones. Jewel watched as McIlwain put the finishing touches on his latest mural, which shows a little boy eating his positive affirmations. Different paths to mural art connected by a calling to create. I have to get my ideas out or else I feel anxious. I just need a place to put it. I have art. I know it's not alive per se, but it's a living thing. To me, without it, I don't think I would be here.

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