July 29-August 4, 2004

cityspace

Painting Philadelphia

by Tasha Kates

Murals, like mirrors, are reflections of the communities that surround them. The true sentiment revealed in each one can be difficult to understand without a translator. Thankfully, the public can now interpret these paintings with the help of the Mural Arts Program's new biweekly tours.

Mural Arts, a city agency that designs, creates and showcases murals in Philadelphia, is expanding its tour schedule. The tours, which are kept to just 35 people on each trip, have been filling up fast. To keep up with the demand, the program will host two-hour, open-air trolley tours every Wednesday in September and October in addition to its weekly Saturday dates.

The increased number of people signing up for the tour is indicative of more tourism and art appreciation in the city, says Mural Arts tour director Marisa Starr.

Starr says people began demanding more information about each piece in the late '90s. The program responded in 1998 with a series of tours. For $18 ($15 for seniors), tour takers can travel through Center City and North, South and West Philadelphia while experienced docents explain the history behind each mural and facts about mural making.

Mural Arts blossomed from the Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Network in 1984 to help eradicate graffiti in the city. The program employed graffiti artists to create elaborate murals to cover tagged buildings. Since its inception, the program has produced more than 2,400 murals, making Philadelphia the city with the most in the country.

Kevin Gardener has been with Mural Arts for four years as a finance director, volunteer and docent. He says visitors are often surprised by the murals' diversity and history.

People tend to respond well to the murals, Gardener says. "You get to see so much of the city that you might not know about."

Each year, the tour routes change a little as the program is expanded by additional murals.

Mural Arts creates 100 murals annually for neighborhoods that apply for them. Any neighborhood that wants a mural must meet as a community and decide on an artist, site and theme. From start to finish, a mural can take anywhere from a few months to a year to complete. Starr says the new murals on the tour routes don't displace the more popular murals, such as the eight-story tall Common Threads at Broad and Spring Garden. She says the popularity of the murals has kept the program alive.

"We keep going because of the support from the community," Starr says.