Philadelphia Murals

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“Keeping It Philly”

Mural Arts Philadelphia 

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Content and images by: Caressa Losier

During the Murals Arts Philadelphia Tour in 2016, we saw the all-time favorite Philadelphia murals in Center City. But murals in this city are far too widespread and diverse to limit yourself to just one part of town. That’s why we returned this year and expanded our journey through other parts, like North & South Philly, Fishtown, Germantown, and many more. Below are some of the best Philadelphia murals we discovered during our art adventure the second time around.

Curing Community

“Curing Community” covers the entire building of this local North Philly pharmacy with a barrage of colorful plants, herbs and antidotes. This is the third time the business has been painted and the artist, Cesar Viveros drew inspiration from community stories of herbal remedies and medicine.

All the Way Live from the 215

Aqui y Alla

Legacy

This 10,000 square-foot mural contains over 1 million small glass tiles on its right side. See #MelanatedMurals and learn the story of “Legacy” by Erick Okdeh.

Soul of the Black Bottom

ASpire: No Limits

This South Philly mural honors the life of Philadelphia native and community HIV/AIDS advocate, Dr. Shawn L. “Air Smooth” White. See #MelanatedMurals for more information on “ASpire: No Limits” by Ernel Martinez.

Your Own Channel

Theatre of Life

400 gallons of paint, 5,000 marbles and 10,000 glass pieces make up Theatre of Life by Meg Saligman. This mural intensifies the staged dramatics of theatre to convey more than what meets the eye. The two large hands holding marionette sticks in the mural appear to be maneuvering all of the characters and orchestrating the entire show.

Why We Love Coltrane

Why do you love John Coltrane? See #MelanatedMurals for more information on what inspired  one of the most famous Philadelphia murals “Why We Love Coltrane” by Ernel Martinez.

Peace is a Haiku Song

Atlas of Tomorrow

Philadelphians can now test their fate  with this Center City mural via an ancient Chinese device called the I Ching. “Alas of Tomorrow” by Candy Chang  uses the concept of art as a meditation and features a six-foot dial that spins and can land on 64 different outcomes. The artist collaborated with Mural Arts Philadelphia, Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services (DBHIdS) and it consists of over 200,000 finger-painted dots.

A Celebration of Poetry

See #MelanatedMurals for more information on “A Celebration of Poetry” by Parris Stancell.

Common Threads

“Common Threads” is one of the most well-known Meg Saligman murals in the city of Brotherly Love.  Young Philadelphia students got into character to embody historical figurines that were once owned by Saligman’s grandmother . The mural was created in 1998 and occupied 8-stores – which made it Mural Arts Philadelphia’s tallest mural at the time.

Pulling Out

Located in Philadelphia’s Fairhill neighborhood, “Pulling Out” by Cesar Viveros shares a very special message about addiction with youth in the community. In the mural, kids are playing in front of a torn Marlboro cigarette box alongside used cigarettes.

Personal Renaissance

Rippling Moon: An Urban Fairytale

Evolving Face of Nursing

This 6,500 square-foot mural pays tribute to all the dedicated nurses and it includes the faces of over 100 nurses in the industry.  To better celebrate their stories, artist Meg Saligman interviewed several practicing nurses to create this mural. By day it is the mural you see above and by night, LED-lights transform this wall into a whole new masterpiece.

Gateway to Chinatown

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