05/14/2015
The catalytic role that murals can play in the life of a city and the importance of bringing all the stakeholders in the process through collaboration:
Jane Golden started by asking people in the (marginalized) community a simple question: "What do you want?" Their response at the time: "'Well, no one ever asks us what we want. Things are either not done or done to us.'"
The murals the Philadelphia's program went on to produce reflected the values and histories of the communities in which they were painted. "This was not art that was parachuted down from the sky or imposed on people," she says. "This was what is called today co-creation, co-collaboration. It was working together and it was really valuing the opinion of the people who were there."
Should public murals prioritize the vision of the artist, the will of the community, or both?
