The Mural Mile

On our tour we saw many different murals commissioned by the city. They add to the city's beauty and history. On the tour we saw many different pieces and styles of murals and it reminded me of the amount diversity in the city, itself. However, part of me couldn't help but think about the rougher parts of Philly, and what they would look like if some of the money used for the murals could've gone towards them instead. Why not invest that money into bettering the school systems, the parks, recreational facilities, etc.? Why not put that money to use to better the rougher, lower income areas FOR the people who ALREADY live there? Why not help those who already inhabit those areas rather than put art into an already decent area? Art is important, but I feel as if they could've spent the money on other important things.

-"What about being in Philadelphia is a new experience for you?"
A new experience for me in Philadelphia was going on the mural mile tour. In Chicago there are various different subsections, each with their own look and feel. There is West Loop, South Side, North Ave., tons of various places within the city borders, and they all are completely different from each other. I felt that same way in Philadelphia. In Chicago, there is an area that could be considered the “art district” of the city but it’s not officially dubbed so. In Philadelphia, on our mural mile tour, I felt as though we were right in the heart of the art district. I had never seen that many murals, that many large scale pieces of commissioned art in the same place before. While walking throughout the tour I noticed the variety among all of the art pieces. Chicago has a great deal of different art as well, but it isn’t displayed in the city in the same way. Yes, there are lots of pieces, but they’re completely scattered about, geographically. They aren’t displayed with the same pride as Philadelphia’s were. It was a new experience seeing so much art in the same area. I thought it was really cool to see how beautiful it made the city and how much it brightened up the surrounding buildings. Hearing the stories behind each one was very interesting and I thought the various methods used to create each one was cool. My favorite was a more whimsical one that looked like silly monster faces.Leggi altro