Mural Arts Philadelphia: The 4,000-Mural Public Art City and Jane Golden's 40-Year Project

Mural Arts Philadelphia: The 4,000-Mural Public Art City and Jane Golden's 40-Year Project

Philadelphia is home to more public murals than any other US city — over 4,000 outdoor murals painted on building walls, factory facades, transit infrastructure, and public spaces across the city. The program responsible for the vast majority of these murals is Mural Arts Philadelphia — founded in 1984 by Jane Golden as an anti-graffiti initiative under the Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Network, then transformed over four decades into the largest public art program in the United States. Mural Arts Philadelphia produces approximately 50-100 new murals per year, working directly with community members, professional artists, and Philadelphia neighborhoods to create site-specific public art that addresses local concerns, celebrates local history, and beautifies the urban environment.

The program's significance goes far beyond the visual scale. Mural Arts Philadelphia is widely studied as a model for community-based public art at universities and policy institutions across the United States and internationally. The methodology — combining professional artistic excellence with deep community engagement, addressing topics from civil rights history to immigration to mental health to environmental sustainability — represents one of the most successful examples of art as urban intervention in the contemporary US. Mural Arts has produced documentary films, books, academic studies, and conference presentations; it has consulted with mural programs in Mexico City, Bogotá, Manchester, and dozens of other cities seeking to replicate elements of the Philadelphia model.

For international students attending Philadelphia universities, Mural Arts Philadelphia is a genuinely distinctive feature of the city. Free walking tours run throughout the year covering specific mural districts. Trolley tours with audio narration cover larger geographic areas. The murals themselves are integrated into Philadelphia's everyday urban environment — students walking from Penn or Drexel to Reading Terminal Market for lunch encounter dozens of murals along the way without seeking them out.

This guide explains the history of Mural Arts Philadelphia, walks through the major mural districts geographically, identifies specific notable murals worth seeking out, explains the methodology and community-engagement model, and provides practical visitor information for international students and families.

The Founding Story: Jane Golden and the Anti-Graffiti Network

The 1984 Origins

In 1984, Philadelphia Mayor Wilson Goode established the Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Network (PAGN) — a city program intended to combat the substantial graffiti problem that had emerged in Philadelphia (and most major US cities) through the 1970s-1980s. The PAGN's initial approach was conventional graffiti enforcement: tracking taggers, prosecuting violations, and rapidly painting over graffiti.

Jane Golden — a young artist and Stanford-educated muralist who had worked with the California-based Citywide Mural Program in Los Angeles in the 1970s — was hired by PAGN to lead a different initiative: engaging graffiti writers as legal mural artists rather than prosecuting them as criminals. The theory was that graffiti writers (many of whom were skilled artists, often from working-class or marginalized communities) could be given legal canvases — building walls owned with permission, organized commission processes, paid artistic compensation — and would produce community-affirming public art rather than illegal graffiti.

The initial program was small — a handful of murals per year through the mid-1980s — and focused on direct engagement with established graffiti writers and street artists. By the late 1980s, the program had expanded to include:

  • Professional muralists from outside the graffiti tradition — established Philadelphia and national artists creating commissioned public art
  • Community design processes — engaging neighborhood residents in selecting subject matter, reviewing designs, and shaping the artistic direction
  • Youth education programs — teaching mural painting techniques to high school students and community youth
  • Topic-specific initiatives — murals addressing specific community concerns (civil rights, environmental issues, immigration, mental health)

The 1996 Transition to Mural Arts Philadelphia

In 1996, the program separated from the Anti-Graffiti Network and was reorganized as Mural Arts Philadelphia — a nonprofit organization with mixed public funding (city of Philadelphia) and private foundation support. Jane Golden continued as Executive Director and remains in that role today (2026).

The 1996 transition reflected the program's evolution from "anti-graffiti" approach to mature public art organization. The new organizational identity emphasized:

  • Artistic excellence — Mural Arts murals were produced by professional artists at quality levels comparable to museum-grade public art
  • Community engagement — every mural project included substantial community design input, with residents shaping subject matter and reviewing artistic direction
  • Topic depth — murals addressed substantive social and political topics rather than generic decoration
  • Long-term partnerships — Mural Arts developed continuing relationships with neighborhoods, returning over years to add additional murals, repair existing murals, and support community art initiatives

The Scale Today

By 2026, Mural Arts Philadelphia has produced over 4,000 murals across the city. The program operates on an annual budget of approximately $10 million with mixed public and private funding. Approximately 300 artists work with the program annually — some as commissioned lead artists, others as assistants, others as community mural collaborators. 50,000+ community members participate in mural design processes annually through neighborhood workshops, focus groups, and review meetings.

The murals cover a vast geographic range — every Philadelphia neighborhood has at least some Mural Arts work, with concentrations in South Street, the Center City commercial district, North Philadelphia, West Philadelphia, Northern Liberties, Fishtown, Manayunk, and South Philadelphia.

Mural Arts Methodology: How a Mural Gets Made

The Mural Arts process for creating a mural is structured and substantial. A typical mural project takes 9-18 months from initial community engagement to dedication.

Phase 1: Community Engagement (3-6 months)

Mural Arts begins with neighborhood selection — typically through a request from a neighborhood organization, a community development corporation, or a city council member, but sometimes initiated by Mural Arts based on specific topical or artistic priorities. Once a neighborhood is selected, the community engagement phase begins:

  • Public workshops with neighborhood residents discussing concerns, history, identity, and aspirations
  • Topical focus groups with community organizations, religious institutions, schools, and cultural groups
  • Site selection — identifying available walls with appropriate visibility, durability, and community connection
  • Subject matter development — collaborative work with the community to develop the mural's themes and content

Phase 2: Artist Selection (1-3 months)

Mural Arts typically uses commissioning processes to select the lead artist. The artist may be:

  • A Mural Arts staff artist — Mural Arts employs several full-time muralists who work across multiple projects
  • A commissioned independent artist — selected through application processes responding to project briefs
  • A collaborative team — including a lead artist plus community artists, students, and volunteers

The artist is selected based on portfolio relevance, community fit, and artistic vision. Mural Arts pays standard professional rates — typical compensation for a major mural project is in the $30,000-150,000 range depending on size and complexity.

Phase 3: Design Development (2-4 months)

The artist works with community members to develop the design through multiple drafts:

  • Initial sketches based on community input from Phase 1
  • Community review of preliminary designs with revisions
  • Color studies and detail development
  • Engineering review for the wall surface, lighting, and longevity
  • Final approval by Mural Arts staff and community partners

Phase 4: Painting (2-4 months)

The actual painting process varies based on technique:

  • Traditional brush-and-acrylic — direct painting on the wall using scaffolding and lifts
  • Parachute cloth pre-painting — large-scale designs are painted on parachute cloth in a Mural Arts studio, then attached to the wall using polymer adhesive (a technique allowing more controlled painting environments and easier removal/replacement of murals)
  • Mosaic-and-tile work — for some specialty installations
  • Mixed media — combining painted elements with sculpture, lighting, or other physical features

Painting includes community participation — residents, school students, and volunteers help with selected painting elements alongside the professional artists.

Phase 5: Dedication and Documentation (1 month)

Each completed mural is dedicated with a community ceremony, formal documentation in the Mural Arts archive, photo documentation, and inclusion in the Mural Arts walking tour database.

Major Mural Districts and Notable Murals

South Street and Society Hill

South Street — Philadelphia's primary cultural-and-entertainment commercial corridor between 6th and 11th Streets — holds dozens of Mural Arts murals. The corridor is reachable on foot from Penn or Drexel via the Schuylkill River Trail and Locust Walk (about 25-minute walk), or via SEPTA Subway-Surface Trolley to 13th Street.

Notable South Street murals:

  • "How Philly Moves" by Meg Saligman (2012) — at the Philadelphia International Airport but with a smaller version at South Street and 8th Street; depicts dance and movement across Philadelphia communities
  • "Dr. J Slamming" at South Street and 13th Street — celebrating Julius Erving and Philadelphia 76ers basketball history
  • Various smaller murals throughout the South Street corridor on building sides

Center City Commercial District

The Center City office and commercial district holds substantial mural work along Market Street, Walnut Street, Chestnut Street, and the side streets between them.

Notable Center City murals:

  • "Garden of Delight" by Eric Okdeh at 1100 Market Street — large-scale botanical mural
  • "Sounds of Philadelphia" at 13th and Pearl — celebrating Philadelphia music history
  • "Wisdom Stories" at 13th and Cherry — Asian American community mural

North Philadelphia and Temple University Area

North Philadelphia — the predominantly African American neighborhood north of Vine Street — holds some of the most powerful Mural Arts work, addressing Civil Rights history, the Great Migration, contemporary urban challenges, and community resilience.

Notable North Philadelphia murals:

  • "A People's Progression Toward Equality" by Ezra Wube at Cecil B. Moore and Broad Streets (Temple campus) — depicting African American civil rights history
  • "How We Fish" by Eurhi Jones at Susquehanna and Broad — celebrating community sustainability
  • The "Common Threads" mural cycle by Meg Saligman across multiple North Philly walls — connecting different neighborhood histories

West Philadelphia

West Philadelphia — particularly along the 40th Street corridor running south from Market through Spruce — holds several major murals connecting Penn's University City context to the surrounding Black and immigrant communities.

Notable West Philadelphia murals:

  • "Origins" by Eurhi Jones at 39th and Walnut — addressing African and African American identity
  • The Chinatown North murals along 9th-10th Streets between Vine and Spring Garden — connecting Chinatown to Northern Liberties history

Northern Liberties and Fishtown

Northern Liberties and Fishtown — the post-industrial neighborhoods north of Center City along the Delaware River — have been substantially gentrified since the 2000s, and Mural Arts has worked actively in these neighborhoods to preserve community memory and address gentrification's effects.

Notable Northern Liberties / Fishtown murals:

  • "The Common Sense of Things" by Lori Tomaszewski at 5th and Spring Garden — addressing intergenerational community
  • The Frankford Avenue murals along the Frankford Avenue commercial corridor

South Philadelphia and the Italian Market

South Philadelphia — the historically Italian, Mexican, and Vietnamese neighborhood south of Snyder Avenue — holds substantial Mural Arts work, with particular concentration around the 9th Street Italian Market corridor.

Notable South Philadelphia murals:

  • "Frank Rizzo" at 9th and Christian — controversial mural commemorating the divisive Philadelphia mayor (Mayor 1972-1980, also Police Commissioner during the volatile 1960s); the mural was removed in 2020 after sustained community advocacy noting Rizzo's documented history of police brutality and anti-Black racism. The site is now a Mural Arts memorial space discussing the history of the original mural's commission and removal
  • The Mexican community murals along South 9th Street, celebrating Mexican immigrant heritage
  • The Vietnamese community murals in South Philadelphia along Washington Avenue

Manayunk

Manayunk — the Northwest neighborhood with substantial industrial-era textile mill heritage — holds Mural Arts work celebrating industrial history and contemporary neighborhood identity.

Notable Manayunk murals:

  • "Spirit of the City" at Main Street Manayunk — depicting Manayunk's industrial-era heritage

Major Single-Wall Projects and Highlights

A few specific Mural Arts projects deserve standalone mention for their artistic ambition or topical significance:

"Common Threads" by Meg Saligman (2014)

Common Threads — at 2015 Vine Street — is one of the largest single murals in the Mural Arts collection, depicting multi-generational community connections across Philadelphia neighborhoods. The mural integrates photographs and painted figures in a complex composition that took the artist 18 months to complete with community participation.

"How Philly Moves" by Meg Saligman (2012)

The largest mural in the Mural Arts collection — covering 77,000 square feet at the Philadelphia International Airport's Cell Phone Lot — depicts dance and movement across Philadelphia communities. The mural took 18 months to complete with 150+ community participants including dancers from across Philadelphia. It is the largest mural in the United States by surface area.

"Black Cowboys" by Yuriy Bidnenko at the Philadelphia 76ers Practice Facility

Black Cowboys — celebrating the substantial but often-ignored history of African American cowboys in the American West — is on the side of the 76ers Practice Facility in Camden, NJ (just across the Delaware from Philadelphia, accessible via PATCO Speedline from Center City).

The Cecil B. Moore Memorial Mural

Cecil B. Moore — discussed in the Black Philadelphia history guide — is honored through several Mural Arts works, with the largest at Cecil B. Moore Avenue and Broad Street depicting his civil rights leadership and the Girard College integration campaign.

The Frank Rizzo Removal (2020)

The 2020 removal of the Frank Rizzo mural at 9th and Christian was a landmark moment in Mural Arts Philadelphia history. After sustained community advocacy from the South Philadelphia African American community, civil rights organizations, and the broader Philadelphia public discussing Rizzo's documented record of police brutality during his tenure as Philadelphia Police Commissioner (1968-1971) and Mayor (1972-1980), Mural Arts Philadelphia collaborated with the building owners to remove the mural. The site is now a Mural Arts memorial space that includes:

  • Discussion of the original commission in 1995 (when the mural was created)
  • Discussion of the community advocacy for removal (2017-2020)
  • Discussion of the institutional decision to remove
  • Reflection on public art's relationship to historical reckoning and contested historical figures

The Rizzo mural removal is widely studied in arts administration, public history, and civic engagement programs as a model for how public art organizations can engage controversial historical figures and respond to community advocacy. Mural Arts Philadelphia has been recognized internationally for the thoughtful handling of the removal process — including documentation, community engagement, and post-removal interpretation.

How to Experience Philadelphia's Murals

Free Walking Tours

Mural Arts Philadelphia offers free guided walking tours during weekends from spring through fall. Tours cover specific neighborhoods and themes:

  • South Street and Society Hill mural tour — 90 minutes, covering 8-10 murals
  • North Philadelphia mural tour — 2 hours, covering Civil Rights history murals
  • West Philadelphia mural tour — 90 minutes, covering Penn area and West Philly community murals
  • Mural Arts Trolley Tour — 90 minutes, covering broader geographic range
  • Self-guided audio tours — available through the Mural Arts mobile app

Tour scheduling at muralarts.org/tours.

Self-Guided Walking

For students wanting to explore independently, the Mural Arts mobile app provides:

  • Interactive map of all 4,000+ murals
  • Filtered searches by neighborhood, theme, or artist
  • Audio narration for most major murals
  • Walking route suggestions for specific districts
  • Mural history and artist information

Photography

Photography of murals is generally welcomed — Mural Arts considers photo documentation part of the public art experience. Visitors are asked to:

  • Avoid commercial use without artist/Mural Arts permission
  • Respect private property when photographing murals on private buildings
  • Tag #muralartsphiladelphia when posting on social media

TOEFL Connection: Public Art Vocabulary

For TOEFL preparation, engaging with Philadelphia's mural arts provides immersive context for vocabulary on:

  • Public art and community engagement — terms like "community-based art," "site-specific work," "public realm," "civic art"
  • Visual arts terminology — composition, palette, scale, mixed media, mural technique, installation
  • Urban geography and urban renewal — neighborhood character, gentrification, adaptive reuse, place-making
  • Civic and political engagement — community advocacy, public-private partnerships, contested history, historical reckoning

The 2026 TOEFL Reading and Listening sections include passages on visual arts, public arts policy, and urban planning at increasing rates. Direct experience with Philadelphia's mural arts provides cognitive context that supports academic engagement with these topics.

Mural Arts and Philadelphia Universities

Penn

The University of Pennsylvania has a long-standing relationship with Mural Arts Philadelphia. Penn's Center for Africana Studies, Annenberg School for Communication, and the Wharton School's Social Impact Initiative have all hosted Mural Arts events, sponsored mural projects, and conducted academic research on the program. Penn architecture, urban studies, and arts students frequently complete capstone projects engaging Mural Arts work.

Temple

Temple University — particularly the Tyler School of Art and Architecture — has formal partnerships with Mural Arts. Tyler students participate in Mural Arts internships, and Tyler faculty collaborate with Mural Arts artists on community projects.

Drexel

Drexel University's Westphal College of Media Arts and Design has Mural Arts collaboration through the Westphal community engagement programs.

Other institutions

The Philadelphia Foundation, the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage, and the Philadelphia Cultural Fund all provide funding to Mural Arts. The Free Library of Philadelphia maintains the Mural Arts archive and research collections.

Why Mural Arts Matters for International Students

For international students attending Philadelphia universities, Mural Arts Philadelphia is one of the most distinctive and accessible features of the city:

Visual immersion — students walking through Philadelphia neighborhoods encounter dozens of murals daily, providing constant visual engagement with community-centered public art

Cultural context — the murals' subject matter (Civil Rights history, immigrant heritage, contemporary urban issues) provides direct cultural context for understanding contemporary American urban life

Free or low-cost access — most Mural Arts walking tours are free; the murals themselves are entirely free to view; the mobile app is free

Direct community engagement opportunities — international students can participate in Mural Arts community workshops, paint-day events, and educational programming, building local community connections

Academic relevance — for students in art, urban studies, sociology, public policy, social work, or related disciplines, Mural Arts is a directly studied program with substantial academic literature

For families considering Philadelphia as a study-abroad destination, the Mural Arts experience adds a distinct dimension to the city's identity beyond the standard tourist attractions. Murals run through every Philadelphia neighborhood, integrated into the everyday urban environment. A student walking from Penn to Reading Terminal Market for lunch passes 6-10 murals along the way without trying. A student living in Northern Liberties or Fishtown lives among murals as everyday visual context.

Strategic Summary

Mural Arts Philadelphia is the largest public art program in the United States by mural count, by community participation, by topical depth, and by international influence. The program is the most distinctive single example of community-based public art in contemporary US practice. The 40-year continuity under Jane Golden's leadership represents one of the longest-tenured arts administration tenures in US public arts.

For international students attending Philadelphia universities, Mural Arts is directly accessible, free of charge, immersive, and academically relevant. For families considering the city, the murals add substantial visual and cultural depth that distinguishes Philadelphia from other US university cities.

The 4,000+ murals are not decoration — they are sustained community engagement with Philadelphia's history, identity, and aspirations made visible on the city's walls. Understanding the murals as such is understanding contemporary Philadelphia in one of its most visible and accessible forms.

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