Team One WINS!

Our Team's design has officially won the first ever Citywide Mural Competition! Massive thanks to everyone who voted and to those people who reached out and spread the news of the project and our design to friends and family. There are literally too many to list right here, but I will make my way around to thanking all of you personally. Over 4500 votes in total were cast. We could not have done it without your support!

I also want to thank my teammates Michelle and Kien for being equally as obsessive and working hard to make this design a possibility.

View Michelle Ortiz' work here.

Much respect to Team Two (David Guinn, Phillip Adams, and Damon Reaves) whom Ive known and worked alongside for years.

Team one

Click design to Enlarge

Since receiving news of our win, there has been some press.

Valerie Russ of the Daily News wrote two articles on the project. The first taking place during the voting and the second after our design was chosen.

Article One
Article Two

Peter Crimmins of WHYY interviewed my team after news of the win. There's audio of that somewhere; Ill update this post when I find it. For now, here is a link to the article he wrote.

WHYY Write-up

Peter's article lists the scheduled Citywide Paint days where we will have prepared sections of our mural that anyone (regardless of skill level, or age) can participate in helping us paint. These are great events to bring the kids out to. They are as follows...

Sunday, June 21 at the Allens Lane Art Center, 601 W. Allens Lane, 10 am – 1 pm.

Saturday, June 27 at the John Perzel Community Center, 2990 St. Vincent Street, 10 am – 1 pm.

Sunday, June 28 at Wall St. International, 1431-39 N. 52nd Street, 10 am – 1 pm.

Wednesday, July 1 during Sunoco Welcome America! in all four city squares simultaneously from 1 – 3 pm:

*Rittenhouse Square, 18th and Walnut Street
*Logan Circle, 19th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway
*Washington Square, 7th and Walnut Streets
*Franklin Square, 6th and Race Streets

Saturday, July 18 at Colombus Square, 12th and Wharton, 10 am - 1 pm.

Saturday, July 11 at The ARC/PDDC, 2350 West Westmoreland Street, 10 am – 1 pm.

Additional paint days will be scheduled in Southwest Philadelphia.

For more information on the paint days please visit

www.muralarts.org/thiswebelieve or call 215-685-0729.

The finished mural will be hung temporarily in two central locations in Philadelphia: first in the North Waiting Room at 30th Street Station and then the Gallery at Market East. At the end of the exhibition, pieces of the mural will be installed in neighborhoods all over the city. In late September, the mural will receive a final dedication, celebrating the culmination of the 25th Anniversary.

Please come out, and thanks again for participating!

VOTE TEAM ONE!

Voting for the Citywide Mural Competition has officially begun! Anyone can vote online for our design on all of the following three sites.

Click on the links below to vote

MuralArts.org

6ABC

philly.com

If we win, the final Mural which stands at a whopping 30ft x 105ft will be hung at 30st Station for a month, and then broken up in seven pieces and hung at the Gallery at Market East for another month. In the end the mural will be further divided and installed in locations around the city accompanied by a plaque showing the full design and credits.


Mock-up of the 30th St. Station Installation


Team Statement:
Philadelphia is a city where past and present co-exist.
Our mural design evokes an awareness of our city's history through archival photographs, poetry and personal stories from everyday people that live in the city.
Our goal was to portray nostalgia and memory along with the evolving nature of the people and neighborhoods.

The design shows visions of history, industry, identity, diversity, community, social activism, struggle, survival and progress that are relevant to the the Philadelphia experience.
Overall, we reflected the triumphs and hardships that make Philadelphians unique and resilient.

I must say that this is the most work I've ever put into one of my mural designs. Our team worked tirelessly on creating a mural layered with meaning, infused with individual stories, informed by the voices of the participants, and history. In the end our mural provides the viewer with a wealth of stories, and new discoveries in its imagery.

... now for some closeups. (Needs Flash to view... download it here


Click on a Panel for a larger view




Detail Slideshow




If you're left wondering what this competition is all about here is a blurb from the project managers at Mural Arts.

In celebration of twenty-five years of art education, mural-making and working in communities, the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program invites you to participate in our first city-wide mural project.

Centered around the theme "This We Believe," this initiative has provided an opportunity for people throughout the city to share what they believe about Philadelphia. Community forums held and facilitated in neighborhoods throughout Philadelphia, and attended by two teams of artists, gave voice to the audiences. The two teams of artists listened, researched and interpreted what they heard and distilled their responses in these two mural designs. It is now your chance to vote on your favorite design. The winning mural will become the canvas for a series of community paint days throughout June and July. The finished mural, painted on over 2500 sq. feet of cloth, will be temporarily installed in 30th Street Station and then at the Gallery at Market East.

The winning mural will be announced the week of May 18th.

Community Paint Days will be held throughout the city in June and July. All are welcome! Specific dates and locations will be announced along with the winning mural.


Please Vote Team One!