Class project creates new mural for community

The Mural Arts Program added one more wall to the more than 2,300 murals across Philadelphia on Saturday.

The newest mural was designed by a class of Penn students as part of a community day clean-up of the playground on the 3700 block of Mount Vernon Street in the Mantua section of West Philadelphia.

The class, called "The Big Picture: Mural Arts in Philadelphia," is offered through the School of Design and the Urban Studies Department. A site was selected from the Mural Arts Program waiting list and students worked with the community to design the murals.

The design features silhouetted figures jumping to reach the stars and will complement a larger mural on the corner of 37th and Mount Vernon streets that is still being completed by the students. Both murals focus on the theme of making the night safe again in the neighborhood.

The murals are not the only changes the neighborhood has seen. Over the past couple weeks, broken benches were replaced, new lighting was installed and swing sets were repaired, courtesy of the Mural Arts Program and private donors.

On Saturday, all of the playground equipment was painted in shades of blue to go with the nighttime theme of the mural. Children were making use of the swings and slides even as volunteers were painting.

Community members said they were excited to see the park become usable again. One resident said, "It's about time they did something down here. They fixed the gates up and got rid of the drug boys."

Neighborhood resident Kay Hughes was happy about the clean-up but had mixed feelings about its lasting success. "I've been here for 13 years and this playground has been a mess since the day I got here," she said. "I'm worried it's not going to be this way for long."

"It's clear that you have to go beyond mural painting," said Mural Arts Program Director Jane Golden, who is one of the class' teachers. "But the mural is a catalyst for positive change."

She added that city programs like Safe Streets and the Neighborhood Transformation Initiative were also starting to have a positive impact on the neighborhood.

Golden and co-instructor Donald Gensler said they hope that the class will show students the importance of getting out of the classroom and into the communities that need them.

"It's an incredible opportunity to see real urban change happen," Golden said. "I hope there is a ripple effect that goes beyond the class."

Students in the class agreed. "It's a way to apply what I'm learning to an environment that I will probably work in some day," College junior Naomi Levine said.

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