have you ever been out driving and out
of nowhere this building catches your
eye and this building has this gigantic
colorful painting on it if so have you
ever wondered where did this come from
you know what was the artists intentions
what if I told you that works like this
can be the results of more than just the
efforts of one person but the collective
efforts of as many as two to three
hundred people I’ve been creating works
of community driven public art in
Philadelphia cities around the country
and the world for two decades I received
my bachelor’s of Fine Arts at Tyler
School of Art and I made a choice to
pursue mural making I found purpose in
creating works of public art by
including people rather than pursuing a
life in the studio for years I hone my
practice with mural arts Philadelphia by
working in schools prisons shelters and
rehabilitation centers and I’ve taken
the lessons from working in those places
and applied them to the outside world
these images are much more than these
final moments that you see they
represent months sometimes years worth
of hard work collaboration and
engagement and these days it’s not
uncommon to see street art festivals in
every major city but the appeal of mural
making has always been its ability to
act as a conduit for relating powerful
stories in a unique way in recent years
I’ve conducted consultation work in
other cities and I’m constantly fielding
questions by students and other artists
looking to demystify the process of
creating public art and I tell them the
seed of my engagement lies in
conversations in interviews and then art
making exercises and during my
information gathering I follow a few
rules for myself engage people with art
making that’s challenging for them but
fun and cathartic and those exercises
that we create they also need to inform
the design in some way
and when I’m interviewing people be in
tune to what they’re saying and be
receptive to the overarching themes in
everyone’s conversation and finally be
without ego allow people the ability to
evolve even my most precious concepts
and ideas I was once a visiting artist
on the island of Maui creating a public
art project and I remember a feeling of
being completely overwhelmed as an
outsider artist in a culture that was
rich in its own visual identity and I
had no idea how I could make an impact
but it became clear to me that with each
conversation people’s positive opinions
of one another were oftentimes rooted in
their ability to be humble and I heard
it all the time
who are you interviewing next are you
gonna love talking this guy he’s worked
a lot of years on the subject and he’s
humble and taught me that I needed to
take a step back and I need to make sure
I’m listening and give this project the
room it needs to develop and grow
organically people say artists live a
life that’s in the studio they’re
insular walled off I mean why does
public art need to be inclusive why does
it have to be different well at the end
of the day this work exists in
communities and the people that live in
those communities they have a voice but
they need to know that their opinion has
value it matters the process of
engagement that leads to a work of
public art gives people a sense of
ownership in the work and the gigantic
paint days that we have these huge
volunteer events that see so many people
come and block large sections of the
mural on cloth in just a short amount of
time they give people a sense of
accomplishment and pride both of these
things are vital to a project success
and I find that murals are far less
likely to be defaced if people feel that
they have a proprietary sense of
ownership over it and it’s not uncommon
to see murals or art to see communities
gather to
rally around and fight against
development that might wipe out a mural
that people see is a point of their
identity now murals have the ability to
relate our fillet of sole loss and and
in trauma to an audience that may be
unaffected I have a completely different
point of view these work seek to promote
empathy and understanding in a world
that can seem more divided than ever and
these effects are quantifiable the Yale
School of Medicine conducted a survey
it’s in the mural arts Philadelphia’s
Porchlight program Porchlight
uses art as a vehicle for individual and
community healing now the study took
place over two years in three different
communities and what they found was
residents living within a mile of a
newly installed mural reported an
increased sense of collective efficacy
trust among neighbors perceive safety
and the overall aesthetic quality of the
buildings in their neighborhoods in a
decrease in stigma towards individuals
with behavioral health and substance
abuse challenges now I’ve worked with
Porchlight for the past two years these
two murals behind me up top
contemplation clarity and resilience and
the bottom the only way out is through
our two projects I conducted with during
a two-year residency at the Kirkbride
Center Kirkbride is an inpatient drug
and alcohol rehabilitation program I
worked with about 20 people one
afternoon a week creating art and mural
making exercises by the end of my
engagement I reached over 250 different
people and I chose to connect with each
individual during this time of positive
momentum in their recovery challenging
them with personally rewarding art
exercises in this case learning how to
draw on paint a realistic self portrait
using a grid now I found people came to
me in the beginning with every excuse in
the book about why they couldn’t do this
but in the end they couldn’t believe I
mean just gonna shoot a few short weeks
they couldn’t believe the results I mean
look at that these exercises were meant
as a way to put our best selves forward
out there into the world and we thought
about how we can transform our
narratives the stories of our lives
I found this work to be so personally
rewarding and it filled me with a
renewed sense of purpose because each
week we were witnessing transformations
you know it wasn’t uncommon to see new
people in the class in their seats
nodding off that afternoon it was warm
in there but but as the week’s
progressed as people slowly wean
themselves off a methadone regain their
sobriety worked on themselves connected
with their peers and participated in our
group we were witnessing these people
become themselves again when it came to
the mural oh one thing I should say we
got a great note from the center about
two months in and our class took place
Fridays before dinnertime and the
counselors started to notice a
correlation between the start of our
program and a noticeable reduction in
incident reports that were piled up on
their desks waiting for them when they
got back on Monday we were getting
results now when it came to the mural
the participants wanted the project to
contain images that spoke to anyone
struggling with addiction but at the
same time containing messages that
appeal to anybody who might be going
through trauma or loss and that they
could relate to it it was important that
we show the variety of faces of people
affected by addiction getting across the
idea to the viewer that this is a
problem that transcends age race creed
or socioeconomic status now I find that
the most effective murals are designed
on a macro and a micro scale mural
should have a clear visual identity and
be recognizable from a distance but at
the same time
they need to contain small details that
draw the viewer in new discoveries that
warrant repeat viewings and that’s why
in addition to quotes an artwork from
each participant in portraits this mural
contains nine QR codes QR codes are
quick read codes that you can scan with
your phone kind of like a barcode in
this case they lead to music and spoken
word narratives by the participants in
our class that they composed along with
Kirk bride’s music therapist Pam Draper
I find the content behind the codes give
people insight into the humanity behind
the addiction now QR codes are an
effective way to connect the viewer to
the process of engagement the larger
process that’s behind the scenes for me
it solved the problem of how I can keep
a project relevant by refreshing the
content behind the codes giving people
deeper insight into our process it
wasn’t the first time I’ve used codes
for this effect in 2012 I created a
mural called family interrupted and it’s
about process or the um the impact of
incarceration on families initially this
was a project without a home devised by
myself and a group of men that has been
that were incarcerated at SGI Graterford
prison as a part of mural arts
restorative justice program this group
this group is made up a brilliant
self-taught artist and I had the
pleasure of working with these men and
teaching them and having them teach me
twice a week for a decade and this
program afforded these guys the ability
to use their talents to devise ways to
give back to their communities this
group of men they’re made up of mostly
lifers some of whom have started their
sentencing at early as 16 years of age
many of whom in this photo of served 30
plus years of their incarceration
now speaking only for myself those
afternoons teaching with this group in
that prison room made me forget about my
surroundings for just those moments
those afternoons we were working
together we were artists in the studio
even if that’s
was a maximum-security prison when it
came to the project we wanted to connect
to families of the incarcerated and
provide them a forum to have their
stories heard and in addition widen our
scope and go citywide and connect with
people with varying degrees of
interaction with the prison system now
to do this we developed 12 mailboxes and
we designed murals for them
place them throughout the state where
people were doing a lot of waiting and
thinking about the issue prison waiting
rooms public defender’s office
Philadelphia City Hall the main branch
of the public library in Eastern State
Penitentiary which is now a museum each
box contained a pen and a pad of paper
explaining our project with written
prompts encouraging people to write and
we received hundreds of replies this way
from people with a variety of
experiences like we had hoped when I
when we were in the middle of this
process I often found myself wishing man
I wish more people could be in these
rooms and hear these stories from these
families I wish more people could read
these mailbox submissions you know maybe
then we could effect change or challenge
people’s preconceived notions of who an
inmate is and who their family is and
how they must feel hours of audio were
cut up into clips and mailbox
submissions were transcribed and posted
on the project website
it was then our challenge to connect
people to this engagement and that’s why
in addition to writing and stories and
images and drawings that compose that
comprise the design this mural includes
22 QR codes that lead people to audio
and resources now installing this work
it gives me the ability to connect with
interested passers-by I live for these
moments when people realize that inmates
and people struggling with addiction are
also capable of producing work that
looks like this you know sometimes my
own family would ask me why am I
doing this I do this because this
provides these people with a sense of
restoration for their communities and
for themselves when I do this I think
about the capacity that people have to
share deeply personal tragic stories in
the spirit of helping other people who
have been going through the same thing
and I feel that I owe it to them to make
sure that these stories continue in the
work when I do this I think about the
men and Graterford men who with
absolutely nothing at their disposal
found the power of art to be a catalyst
for change in their life
these men have received diplomas gotten
college degrees they’ve written books
they’ve connected through so many
outside organizations using art and it
makes me realize that I have no excuse I
owe it to them to continue this work and
to never be cynical or complacent but to
find new ways to connect these stories
to new audience members I’m encouraged
by creating beautiful works of public
art and in the process
seeing like-minded organizations come
together providing resources to people
this ensures a long life for the work of
art and that the impact of our work
doesn’t end once the brush is put down
thank you
[Applause]
of nowhere this building catches your
eye and this building has this gigantic
colorful painting on it if so have you
ever wondered where did this come from
you know what was the artists intentions
what if I told you that works like this
can be the results of more than just the
efforts of one person but the collective
efforts of as many as two to three
hundred people I’ve been creating works
of community driven public art in
Philadelphia cities around the country
and the world for two decades I received
my bachelor’s of Fine Arts at Tyler
School of Art and I made a choice to
pursue mural making I found purpose in
creating works of public art by
including people rather than pursuing a
life in the studio for years I hone my
practice with mural arts Philadelphia by
working in schools prisons shelters and
rehabilitation centers and I’ve taken
the lessons from working in those places
and applied them to the outside world
these images are much more than these
final moments that you see they
represent months sometimes years worth
of hard work collaboration and
engagement and these days it’s not
uncommon to see street art festivals in
every major city but the appeal of mural
making has always been its ability to
act as a conduit for relating powerful
stories in a unique way in recent years
I’ve conducted consultation work in
other cities and I’m constantly fielding
questions by students and other artists
looking to demystify the process of
creating public art and I tell them the
seed of my engagement lies in
conversations in interviews and then art
making exercises and during my
information gathering I follow a few
rules for myself engage people with art
making that’s challenging for them but
fun and cathartic and those exercises
that we create they also need to inform
the design in some way
and when I’m interviewing people be in
tune to what they’re saying and be
receptive to the overarching themes in
everyone’s conversation and finally be
without ego allow people the ability to
evolve even my most precious concepts
and ideas I was once a visiting artist
on the island of Maui creating a public
art project and I remember a feeling of
being completely overwhelmed as an
outsider artist in a culture that was
rich in its own visual identity and I
had no idea how I could make an impact
but it became clear to me that with each
conversation people’s positive opinions
of one another were oftentimes rooted in
their ability to be humble and I heard
it all the time
who are you interviewing next are you
gonna love talking this guy he’s worked
a lot of years on the subject and he’s
humble and taught me that I needed to
take a step back and I need to make sure
I’m listening and give this project the
room it needs to develop and grow
organically people say artists live a
life that’s in the studio they’re
insular walled off I mean why does
public art need to be inclusive why does
it have to be different well at the end
of the day this work exists in
communities and the people that live in
those communities they have a voice but
they need to know that their opinion has
value it matters the process of
engagement that leads to a work of
public art gives people a sense of
ownership in the work and the gigantic
paint days that we have these huge
volunteer events that see so many people
come and block large sections of the
mural on cloth in just a short amount of
time they give people a sense of
accomplishment and pride both of these
things are vital to a project success
and I find that murals are far less
likely to be defaced if people feel that
they have a proprietary sense of
ownership over it and it’s not uncommon
to see murals or art to see communities
gather to
rally around and fight against
development that might wipe out a mural
that people see is a point of their
identity now murals have the ability to
relate our fillet of sole loss and and
in trauma to an audience that may be
unaffected I have a completely different
point of view these work seek to promote
empathy and understanding in a world
that can seem more divided than ever and
these effects are quantifiable the Yale
School of Medicine conducted a survey
it’s in the mural arts Philadelphia’s
Porchlight program Porchlight
uses art as a vehicle for individual and
community healing now the study took
place over two years in three different
communities and what they found was
residents living within a mile of a
newly installed mural reported an
increased sense of collective efficacy
trust among neighbors perceive safety
and the overall aesthetic quality of the
buildings in their neighborhoods in a
decrease in stigma towards individuals
with behavioral health and substance
abuse challenges now I’ve worked with
Porchlight for the past two years these
two murals behind me up top
contemplation clarity and resilience and
the bottom the only way out is through
our two projects I conducted with during
a two-year residency at the Kirkbride
Center Kirkbride is an inpatient drug
and alcohol rehabilitation program I
worked with about 20 people one
afternoon a week creating art and mural
making exercises by the end of my
engagement I reached over 250 different
people and I chose to connect with each
individual during this time of positive
momentum in their recovery challenging
them with personally rewarding art
exercises in this case learning how to
draw on paint a realistic self portrait
using a grid now I found people came to
me in the beginning with every excuse in
the book about why they couldn’t do this
but in the end they couldn’t believe I
mean just gonna shoot a few short weeks
they couldn’t believe the results I mean
look at that these exercises were meant
as a way to put our best selves forward
out there into the world and we thought
about how we can transform our
narratives the stories of our lives
I found this work to be so personally
rewarding and it filled me with a
renewed sense of purpose because each
week we were witnessing transformations
you know it wasn’t uncommon to see new
people in the class in their seats
nodding off that afternoon it was warm
in there but but as the week’s
progressed as people slowly wean
themselves off a methadone regain their
sobriety worked on themselves connected
with their peers and participated in our
group we were witnessing these people
become themselves again when it came to
the mural oh one thing I should say we
got a great note from the center about
two months in and our class took place
Fridays before dinnertime and the
counselors started to notice a
correlation between the start of our
program and a noticeable reduction in
incident reports that were piled up on
their desks waiting for them when they
got back on Monday we were getting
results now when it came to the mural
the participants wanted the project to
contain images that spoke to anyone
struggling with addiction but at the
same time containing messages that
appeal to anybody who might be going
through trauma or loss and that they
could relate to it it was important that
we show the variety of faces of people
affected by addiction getting across the
idea to the viewer that this is a
problem that transcends age race creed
or socioeconomic status now I find that
the most effective murals are designed
on a macro and a micro scale mural
should have a clear visual identity and
be recognizable from a distance but at
the same time
they need to contain small details that
draw the viewer in new discoveries that
warrant repeat viewings and that’s why
in addition to quotes an artwork from
each participant in portraits this mural
contains nine QR codes QR codes are
quick read codes that you can scan with
your phone kind of like a barcode in
this case they lead to music and spoken
word narratives by the participants in
our class that they composed along with
Kirk bride’s music therapist Pam Draper
I find the content behind the codes give
people insight into the humanity behind
the addiction now QR codes are an
effective way to connect the viewer to
the process of engagement the larger
process that’s behind the scenes for me
it solved the problem of how I can keep
a project relevant by refreshing the
content behind the codes giving people
deeper insight into our process it
wasn’t the first time I’ve used codes
for this effect in 2012 I created a
mural called family interrupted and it’s
about process or the um the impact of
incarceration on families initially this
was a project without a home devised by
myself and a group of men that has been
that were incarcerated at SGI Graterford
prison as a part of mural arts
restorative justice program this group
this group is made up a brilliant
self-taught artist and I had the
pleasure of working with these men and
teaching them and having them teach me
twice a week for a decade and this
program afforded these guys the ability
to use their talents to devise ways to
give back to their communities this
group of men they’re made up of mostly
lifers some of whom have started their
sentencing at early as 16 years of age
many of whom in this photo of served 30
plus years of their incarceration
now speaking only for myself those
afternoons teaching with this group in
that prison room made me forget about my
surroundings for just those moments
those afternoons we were working
together we were artists in the studio
even if that’s
was a maximum-security prison when it
came to the project we wanted to connect
to families of the incarcerated and
provide them a forum to have their
stories heard and in addition widen our
scope and go citywide and connect with
people with varying degrees of
interaction with the prison system now
to do this we developed 12 mailboxes and
we designed murals for them
place them throughout the state where
people were doing a lot of waiting and
thinking about the issue prison waiting
rooms public defender’s office
Philadelphia City Hall the main branch
of the public library in Eastern State
Penitentiary which is now a museum each
box contained a pen and a pad of paper
explaining our project with written
prompts encouraging people to write and
we received hundreds of replies this way
from people with a variety of
experiences like we had hoped when I
when we were in the middle of this
process I often found myself wishing man
I wish more people could be in these
rooms and hear these stories from these
families I wish more people could read
these mailbox submissions you know maybe
then we could effect change or challenge
people’s preconceived notions of who an
inmate is and who their family is and
how they must feel hours of audio were
cut up into clips and mailbox
submissions were transcribed and posted
on the project website
it was then our challenge to connect
people to this engagement and that’s why
in addition to writing and stories and
images and drawings that compose that
comprise the design this mural includes
22 QR codes that lead people to audio
and resources now installing this work
it gives me the ability to connect with
interested passers-by I live for these
moments when people realize that inmates
and people struggling with addiction are
also capable of producing work that
looks like this you know sometimes my
own family would ask me why am I
doing this I do this because this
provides these people with a sense of
restoration for their communities and
for themselves when I do this I think
about the capacity that people have to
share deeply personal tragic stories in
the spirit of helping other people who
have been going through the same thing
and I feel that I owe it to them to make
sure that these stories continue in the
work when I do this I think about the
men and Graterford men who with
absolutely nothing at their disposal
found the power of art to be a catalyst
for change in their life
these men have received diplomas gotten
college degrees they’ve written books
they’ve connected through so many
outside organizations using art and it
makes me realize that I have no excuse I
owe it to them to continue this work and
to never be cynical or complacent but to
find new ways to connect these stories
to new audience members I’m encouraged
by creating beautiful works of public
art and in the process
seeing like-minded organizations come
together providing resources to people
this ensures a long life for the work of
art and that the impact of our work
doesn’t end once the brush is put down
thank you
[Applause]
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