Follow this guide to learn about Philadelphia’s finest!
There’s an abundance of street art all over Philadelphia, earning the city its name as the Mural Capital of the World. From murals to sculptures to statues; here’s your guide to why you should be appreciating public art in Philly and some ideas for how to do that.
Public art is so deeply ingrained into Philly culture that a lot of people born and raised here, myself included, don’t pay attention to it. Just the Mural Arts Philadelphia program alone has painted around 4,000 public artworks since 1984.
The Mural Arts program states that its goals have always been to connect with the neighborhoods in Philly and most importantly, the people in them. A lot of murals carry messages about what’s important to the community that they’re in.
Just last year, artist Tom Judd painted his Portal to Discovery, an art installation at the 5th Street/Independence Hall stop on SEPTA’s Market-Frankford Line. The piece depicts portraits of eighteenth and nineteenth-century Philadelphians as well as landscapes of the city. This piece is located under Independence Hall and carries the message of history throughout the city and it quickly becomes something that many subway goers see on a daily basis.
The Mural Arts program even has an ongoing tour in Philly that they refer to as the “Mural Mile”; a mile throughout Center City that takes people on a tour of all the street art in the area. Tourists, newcomers to Philly, or even those born here are always welcome to explore the art in the city and can print a Mural Mile map for themselves: https://www.muralarts.org/self-guided/
The Mural Mile focuses on murals that have significance to the area of the city they’re in. The murals “Philadelphia Muses” and “Theater of Life” by Meg Saligman are perfect examples.
In addition to murals, Philadelphia is home to all kinds of sculptures and statues with even 250 statues carved throughout City Hall alone. Many of the statues represent important historical figures to Philadelphia, such as the statues of William Penn, Octavius Catto, or even dedications in City Hall, like the Fallen Fireman’s Plaque.
Tourists and those who live in Philly are always welcome to tour City Hall and the surrounding Dilworth Park area which holds events all year long: CCD Parks | Events Calendar (centercityphila.org).
There are public works of art everywhere in Philadelphia. One notable place is the Philadelphia Magic Gardens, an outdoor mosaic installation, located on 10th and South Street. The space is used as a public art gallery and community arts center as well as a display space for artist Isaiah Zagar’s public mosaics and murals.
Public museums are absolutely essential to the Philadelphia area just like other works of public art. While most Philly public art is outside, many museums in the area have an extensive collection of art that’s important to the city. Some of the more notable museums in Philly like the Philadelphia Museum of Art have collections that represent all different stories of the world, but more locally based museums like the Mummers Museum highlights the art that’s unique to Philly.
There’s always so much art to see in Philly; it’s all over this city and it’s integral to its history of it. Newcomers and natives of Philadelphia alike are more than welcome to begin exploring public art at any time.