By Mary Kane
Art is healing and no one can testify to its power more than Jane Golden, of the Mural Arts Program in Philadelphia. It started as an anti-grafitti program and soon mushroomed into a way for spray can artists to do something positive.
Will Ursprung, an Artists Equity member and art therapist at the Graterford prison, was instrumental in getting the Mural Arts Program for Graterford prison off the ground. AE hosted a speaker at our annual meeting in April of 2018 to talk about this wonderful program providing art experiences for incarcerated prisoners giving them opportunities to create murals and feel the healing power of art.
Mural Arts Philadelphia is a unique public private partnership with the City of Philadelphia. It is the nation’s largest public art program, dedicated to the belief that art ignites change. For over 30 years, Mural Arts has united artists and communities through a collaborative and equitable process, creating nearly 4,000 artworks that have transformed public spaces, people and practice. Mural Arts aims to empower people, stimulate dialogue, and build bridges of understanding with projects that attract artists from Philadelphia and around the world, and programs that focus on youth education, restorative justice, mental health and wellness, and public art and its preservation. Popular mural tours offer a firsthand glimpse into the inspiring stories behind Mural Arts’ iconic and unparalleled collection, which has earned Philadelphia worldwide recognition as the “City of Murals.”
Please watch this video of Jane Golden speaking at the Graterford prison recently,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae-QQddWZZs 14 min
Healing Walls (Victim's Journey) by Cesar Viveros & Parris Stancell. Photo by Jack Ramsdale
Autumn Revisited by David Guinn. Photo by Steve Weinik.
New Bella Vistas Walking Tour May 13 | 5:30pm–7:00pm