IRL: How Mural Arts is Turning Philadelphia into the Mural Capital of the World

On the 142nd episode of Speedify LIVE we head to the streets of Philly on an IRL tour with Mural Arts Philadelphia, the largest public art program in the US.

We’re joined by Chad Eric Smith, director of communications at Mural Arts, to chat about what the organization does, the many community-focused programs they run, as well as how the murals are done.

Here are our 5 takeaways from our tour of Mural Arts Philadelphia:

1. Our IRL setup is the usual: streaming from an iPhone 12 Pro, running Speedify combining the phone’s cellular with the Wi-Fi Hotspot of another phone; mounted on a DJI Osmo 3 Gimbal for stability, using the Rode Wireless Go II mics; and streaming through Larix Broadcaster to Restream, which also allows us to read chat on another phone via a URL. 
2. A lot of the murals are actually done on what’s called parachute cloth! This helps make their creation easier, as well as helps make them last longer by allowing them to withstand weather and other elements better. 
3. Finding artists and deciding on the art are big decisions! Fortunately, Mural Arts has a new Artist Relations Director responsible for connecting with artists; as for the art, anyone can submit ideas on muralarts.org, then after a thorough review it may be selected to become art on the streets of Philly! 
4. One of many community-oriented projects Mural Arts takes part in is Color Me Back, which belongs to the Porch Light Program. Color Me Back is a program in which housing-insecure people, or those with mental health challenges are able to actually work and get paid the same day.
5. Mural Arts Philadelphia runs and participates in a number of community-focused programs: they have a Restorative Justice department, an Art Education Program, the Porch Light Program, the Mural Arts Institute, and even an Environmental Justice Department, where the emphasis is on environmental issues and injustices that tend to often affect areas populated by people of color.