Mural Arts Institute Library
The Mural Arts Institute provides a wide range of tools for community mural making and documentation of public art initiatives. These are available for free and for purchase.
Explore the practice of mural cloth installation! In this video, we offer an in-depth look at the proper techniques for working with mural cloth, from start to finish.
Play Video
Mural Cloth Tutorial
Level Up! Card Deck
Use these cards to take a deep dive into the practice of socially engaged participatory artmaking with and alongside communities. Explore these promising practices and images derived from Mural Arts’ experience by facilitating individual or group learning experiences, reflecting on your own practices, and imagining more equitable experiences.
Learning from the Process: Promising Practices from Mural Arts’ Work in Communities
Mural Arts hired Metris Arts Consulting to create a “learning synthesis” that describes the promising practices embedded in a selection of Mural Arts’ community-based projects in an effort to learn and grow along with the diverse artists, partners and collaborators who have helped build its practice.
Porch Light Study Summary
Porch Light Study Summary provides a brief overview of the findings from research by the Yale University School of Medicine.
FAQ: Mural Production
Find answers to the questions that we receive most often from artists and mural project managers across the globe.
Play Video
Created, Together.
Created, Together. was a National Assembly for artists who work with communities to create art in public spaces. The initial symposium welcomed over 200 artists from across the United States & Puerto Rico to gather in Philadelphia. The gathering inspired a collection of writings, videos, and other resources, shared here, as part of an ongoing dialogue to be continued by other creatives with their communities.
Play Video
Reflecting, Together. Essays
A collection of writings and reflections by creatives who took part in Created, Together.
Video Interviews
Interviews with a diverse group of artists from across the nation who participated in Created, Together.
Question Cards
Explore the prompts that inspired Created, Together. and the participant generated questions that continue the collaborative conversation.
Poetry Reading
Listen to a poem written and read by creatives who investigated “How do my values show up in my work?”
Library Database
Learning Together: A Reflection on the Public Art & Civic Engagement Capacity Building Initiative (Print Friendly)
The MAI will share a comprehensive PACE initiative evaluation (2020-2023) with recommendations for funders, organizers, and arts administrators.
Collective Steps by Andrea Yarbrough
Andrea Yarbrough uncovered stories of Black women, creating a temporary installation reflecting Bronzeville's past, present, and future.
Mural Production
FAQ Sheet
David McShane, Director of Resident Artists and Senior Mural Advisor, answers frequently asked questions on mural production and installation
If You Could
Hear These Walls
Documentary of the ACF Philadelphia, Community Partners, project with Mural Arts.
Porch Light
Study Summary
Porch Light Study Summary provides a brief overview of the findings from research by the Yale University School of Medicine.
Porch Light Final Evaluation Report
The Yale study evaluates Porch Light’s impact on Philadelphia neighborhoods, detailed in the Final Evaluation Report.
My Future
Starts Here
"My Future Starts Here" shares refugee youth stories from Southeast Philadelphia, created by artist Shira Walinsky.
Painting a Healthy City
"Painting a Healthy City" outlines Porch Light’s behavioral health-based mural projects, detailing theory and implementation stages.
Insightful Voices
Insightful Voices is a collection of Broad Street Ministry workshop responses and a guide for replicating the self-reflection sessions.
A Beautiful
Spectrum
A Beautiful Spectrum features participants’ lives at SPIN-NET PACE workshops through their drawings and the words of their loved ones.
MAP & Public Art Archive
The Public Art Archive™ is a growing database uniting global public artworks' histories, contexts, and meanings.
Mural Cloth Training Video
(Trailer video with Captions)
Explore the practice of mural cloth installation! Showing an in-depth look at the proper techniques for working with mural cloth.
Mural Cloth Training Video
(Full video with Captions)
Explore the practice of mural cloth installation! Showing an in-depth look at the proper techniques for working with mural cloth.
Created Together: Symposium Overview
Created, Together. was a national symposium in Philadelphia, October 2023, for artists and creatives, featuring workshops, site visits, and networking.
Created Together: Ballad of Relentless Hope
A poem by Created, Together participants, read by Nathaniel Spencer, reflects values and choices discussed by Israel F Haros Lopez.
Created Together: How Do Our Values Show Up?
"Created, Together" explored how values influence choices in community art, emphasizing reflection and decision-making by project leaders.
Created Together: Who Owns Public Art
"Created, Together" explored who owns and who benefits from public art, emphasizing agency and authority in creation.
Created Together: When Do We Move Beyond Paint & Pedestal?
"Created, Together" symposium explored valuing process over product, emphasizing relationships, resource distribution, time, and social change.
Created Together: Who Identifies the Challenge?
"Created, Together" symposium explored shared decision-making in public art, from identifying challenges to defining solutions.
Created Together: Who Defines Success?
"Created, Together" symposium discussed defining success, measuring change, and prioritizing outcomes in public art projects.
Created Together: Where Do We Prioritize Care for Our Communities?
"Created, Together" symposium explored centering well-being, care, and humanity in public art practices and relationships.
PACE Initiative: Metropolis: A City in Black by Cecil McDonald
Cecil McDonald created a video collage of Bronzeville’s residents, projecting it onto SSCAC’s windows in Chicago.
PACE Initiative: The Rotunda of the Ancestors by Michael Coppage
Michael Coppage led creative exchanges with Louisville students, exploring African Diaspora figures through art-making and portraiture.
PACE Initiative: This is Home by Jaylin Stewart
Jaylin Stewart led workshops at California Community Center, creating a mural that celebrates Black and Brown stories.
PACE Initiative: The Furin Project by Midori Hirose
Midori Hirose led ceramic workshops in Southeast Portland, celebrating AAPI heritage through storytelling, cultural connections, and history.
PACE Initiative: Drink the Water, Remember the Source by Paola De La Cruz and Lillyanne Pham
Paola De La Cruz and Lillyanne Pham created the "Drink the Water, Remember the Source" mural in Southeast Portland.
muraLAB: Art in Action – May 6: Morality of the Moment
Mural Arts’ Reimagining Reentry program addresses mass incarceration’s impact, highlighting urgent issues intensified by COVID-19.
MAI Presents – May 27: Taking Care of Ourselves & Community
Mural Arts supports communities facing food insecurity, substance use, and mental health issues, adapting its approaches to address COVID-19 health
MAI Presents – Towards Repair & Fabrication: Ritual, Art, and Ecologies of Justice
On October 14, 2021, MAI explored racial and environmental justice through art and ritual with Sepideah Mohsenian-Rahman and Katelyn Rivas.
MAI Presents – Judy Baca & Jane Golden
On April 14, 2022, MAI hosted a conversation on muralism's role in collective memory with Judy Baca and Jane Golden.
MAI Presents – Standing Rock: Decolonizing Creative Practice in the Environmental Justice Movement
Join a conversation on Indigenous knowledge, resistance, and creative practices in environmental justice movements with scholars Dhillon and Spice.
muraLAB: Art in Action – May 20: Connecting When We Can’t Gather
COVID-19 public health measures challenge community connections, reshaping Mural Arts' strategies to promote resilience and connectivity.
Initiative Mini Documentary – Memphis, Tennessee: Toxic Behavior
Cities in the Mural Arts Institute’s Arts and Environment Initiative created short videos on local environmental justice.
Initiative Mini Documentary – Akron, Ohio, Arts in the Park
Cities in the Mural Arts Institute’s Arts and Environment Initiative created short videos on local environmental justice.
Initiative Mini Documentary – Kern County, California: How Green Is My Valley
Cities in the Mural Arts Institute’s Arts and Environment Initiative created short videos on local environmental justice.
Initiative Mini Documentary – The East Side Fight
Two short films highlight participatory arts addressing environmental justice in Austin, TX, and Kern County, CA.
Initiative Mini Documentary – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: A Green Future For Grays Ferry
Cities in the Mural Arts Institute’s Arts and Environment Initiative created short videos on local environmental justice.
Initiative Mini Documentary – Detroit, Michigan: Paradise Foods
Cities in the Mural Arts Institute’s Arts and Environment Initiative created short videos on local environmental justice.
Initiative Mini Documentary – Austin Texas: The Master Plan
Cities in the Mural Arts Institute’s Arts and Environment Initiative created short videos on local environmental justice.
Initiative Mini Documentary – We Are Here/Estamos Aquí
Two short films highlight participatory arts addressing environmental justice in Austin, TX, and Kern County, CA.
Initiative Mini Documentary – Philadelphia PA: Plastic Baggage
Cities in the Mural Arts Institute’s Arts and Environment Initiative created short videos on local environmental justice.
Initiative Mini Documentary – Santa Fe, New Mexico: Interwoven
Cities in the Mural Arts Institute’s Arts and Environment Initiative created short videos on local environmental justice.
Art & EJ Symposium 2022: Earth Justice and Blues Epistemologies: Our Life-Sustaining Cultural Practices
The Mural Arts Institute hosted events exploring environmental justice and art, highlighting transformative cultural practices and public art.
Art & EJ Symposium 2021: Opening Symposium Remarks
This free symposium explored how arts and cultural practices intersect with environmental justice, addressing challenges amplified by COVID-19.
muraLAB: Art in Action – May 13: Rapid Response
The pandemic prompted Mural Arts to innovate at art and public health intersections for safer city spaces.
Art & EJ Symposium 2021: Closing Keynote: The Story of a New Economy
This free symposium explored how arts and cultural practices intersect with environmental justice, addressing challenges amplified by COVID-19.
Art & EJ Symposium 2021: Closing Remarks
This free symposium explored how arts and cultural practices intersect with environmental justice, addressing challenges amplified by COVID-19.
Art & EJ Symposium 2022: Indigenous Sonic Agency
The Mural Arts Institute hosted events exploring environmental justice and art, highlighting transformative cultural practices and public art.
Art & EJ Symposium 2022: A Legacy of Work: Generational Enviornmental Art and Activism in East Austin
The Mural Arts Institute hosted events exploring environmental justice and art, highlighting transformative cultural practices and public art.
Art & EJ Symposium 2022: Rolling on the River
The Mural Arts Institute hosted events exploring environmental justice and art, highlighting transformative cultural practices and public art.
Art & EJ Symposium 2021: Art of Activism: Live from Austin
This free symposium explored how arts and cultural practices intersect with environmental justice, addressing challenges amplified by COVID-19.
Art & EJ Symposium 2021: Water is Life Reflections from an Environmental and Cultural Emergency
This free symposium explored how arts and cultural practices intersect with environmental justice, addressing challenges amplified by COVID-19.
Art & EJ Symposium 2022: Part II – Film Screening and Conversation
The Mural Arts Institute hosted events exploring environmental justice and art, highlighting transformative cultural practices and public art.
Art & EJ Symposium 2022: Part I – Opening Remarks and Two Panel Discussion: Practicing a More Just Future & Aqua Marooned!
The Mural Arts Institute hosted events exploring environmental justice and art, highlighting transformative cultural practices and public art.
Art & EJ Symposium 2021: Practicing Environmental Justice for a More Just Future Interactive “Implosion” Demonstration
This free symposium explored how arts and cultural practices intersect with environmental justice, addressing challenges amplified by COVID-19.
Art & EJ Symposium 2021: Film Festival
This free symposium explored how arts and cultural practices intersect with environmental justice, addressing challenges amplified by COVID-19.
Art & EJ Symposium 2021: Clean Air + Equity During a Global Pandemic
This free symposium explored how arts and cultural practices intersect with environmental justice, addressing challenges amplified by COVID-19.
Art & EJ Symposium 2021: Climate and the Carceral State
This free symposium explored how arts and cultural practices intersect with environmental justice, addressing challenges amplified by COVID-19.
Art & EJ Symposium 2021: Land & Liberation
This free symposium explored how arts and cultural practices intersect with environmental justice, addressing challenges amplified by COVID-19.
Art & EJ Symposium 2021: Opening Keynote: The Cultures of a Just Transition
This free symposium explored how arts and cultural practices intersect with environmental justice, addressing challenges amplified by COVID-19.
District Attorney Artist-in-Residency
In 2020, Mural Arts' DA Artist-in-Residence program, with Fair and Just Prosecution, advanced criminal justice reform through artist James Hough.
Reimagining Reentry Fellowship
The Reimagining Reentry Fellowship supports artists impacted by incarceration, documenting their work and the program’s impact.
Porch Light Storefronts: Southeast by Southeast and Kensington Storefront
Explore how Mural Arts’ storefront model, or Hub spaces, connects communities with art and essential services.
Learning from the Process: Promising Practices from Mural Arts’ Work in Communities
Mural Arts hired Metris Arts Consulting to create a learning synthesis highlighting promising practices from Mural Arts' community arts projects.
Mural Arts / Moore Picturing a Place
Mural Arts Philadelphia and Moore College hosted “Picturing a Place” to discuss community asset mapping and ethical artist practices.
PACE Initiative Case Study: Collective Steps by Andrea Yarbrough
Andrea Yarbrough uncovered stories of Black women, creating a temporary installation reflecting Bronzeville's past, present, and future.
PACE Initiative Case Study: Metropolis : A City in Black by Cecil McDonald
Cecil McDonald created a video collage of Bronzeville’s residents, projecting it onto SSCAC’s windows in Chicago.
PACE Initiative Case Study: The Rotunda of Ancestors by Michael Coppage
Michael Coppage led creative exchanges with Louisville students, exploring African Diaspora figures through art-making and portraiture
PACE Initiative Case Study: This is Home by Jaylin Stewart
Jaylin Stewart led workshops at California Community Center, creating a mural that celebrates Black and Brown stories.
PACE Initiative Case Study: The Furin Project by Midori Hirose
Midori Hirose led ceramic workshops in Southeast Portland, celebrating AAPI heritage through storytelling, cultural connections, and history.
PACE Initiative Case Study: Drink the Water, Remember the Source by Paola De La Cruz and Lillyanne Pham
Paola De La Cruz and Lillyanne Pham created the "Drink the Water, Remember the Source" mural in Southeast Portland.
Art & EJ Symposium 2022: Tributaries
The Mural Arts Institute hosted events exploring environmental justice and art, highlighting transformative cultural practices and public art.
Level Up! Deck of cards
Use these cards to explore socially engaged art practices and methods for individual or group learning and reflection.
Seeds of Justice: Cultivating Community through Art & Land Based Practices
This zine shares descriptions of the teams, EJ issues, and projects of the second Art & EJ Initiative.
Reflections on Playgrounds for Useful Knowledge
"Playgrounds for Useful Knowledge" tested new community engagement methods. Four essays explore its challenges and learnings through process-oriented research.
Getting to the Roots: An Interdisciplinary, project-based learning unit designed for middle school students living in and around Philadelphia
This project-based unit for middle and high school students exploring climate justice through art, science, and service.
Uprooted/
reRooted
Uprooted/reRooted at William Cramp Elementary successfully addressed environmental racism, transforming spaces through community-driven, collaborative efforts.
Playgrounds for Useful Knowledge
"Playgrounds for Useful Knowledge" tested new community engagement methods. Four essays explore its challenges and learnings through process-oriented research.
Our Park/Southwark
Our Park/Southwark showcased community-led redesigns of Southwark’s outdoor spaces through collaboration, equity, and collective artistic practices.
ASpire: No Limits
"ASpire: No Limits" highlights Mural Arts’ process of engaging communities to tell stories of significant local figures and impacts.
Peace Is A Haiku Song 101: Art and Writing Activities
This tool offers arts and writing activities, inspiring curriculum connections across art, language arts, and social studies classrooms.
The Roots 101: Art and Writing Activities
This tool offers lesson plans to inspire cross-disciplinary student assignments in art, language arts, and social studies.
Norris Homes Philly: Documenting a Neighborhood During Profound Change
Jennie Shanker collaborated with Norris Homes residents on a mural commemorating the community before its 2020 demolition.
Micro to Macro
Mural Arts collaborates with students, schools, and communities, exemplified by the transformative "Micro to Macro" yearlong school partnership.
