The Voice Of Philadelphia: March 2014

The City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program announces the 2014 Tour Season including two new trolley tour routes and two separate Mural Mile Walking Tour routes.

Philadelphia Re-imagined Landscapes Mural Tour and America’s First Highway Mural Tour are the newest additions to the trolley tour routes that are given each week. The Mural Mile Walking Tour, originally created in 2010, has been divided into two separate routes: Mural Mile North and Mural Mile South, with one of each tour conducted on weekends during the season. Other popular favorite tours such as the Mural Arts Love Letter Train Tour as well as private Experiential Mural Tours will continue in 2014. Press are invited to preview the new tours for 2014 on Tuesday, April 1, at 11 am at the Mural Arts at The Gallery, 9^th & Market Streets, Level 2.

The regularly scheduled trolley, walking, and public transit tours feature experienced guides who lead guests through Philadelphia’s neighborhoods for an intimate look at some of the amazing work that make up the city’s stunning outdoor art gallery, often known as the “City of Murals.” Visitors learn about the mural-making process, the city and neighborhood history, and how the murals are made, and the stories behind them. In 2013, 11,000 people experienced Mural Arts Program tours.

Two New Mural Trolley Tours

Philadelphia’s Reimagined Landscapes Mural Tour travels through Philadelphia neighborhoods Frankford and Kensington to share stories of Philadelphia’s 17^th, 18^th, and 19^thcentury commercial corridors, when the entire industrial area was known as the “Workshop of the World.” Visitors view modern-day murals, listen to their stories, and discover how time changed these reimagined rust belt neighborhoods into reinvigorated 21^st-century residential and creative arts enclaves. America’s First Highway Mural Tour travels along the country’s first highway, Lincoln Highway, also known as Route 30. Visitors learn about how the highway was born, where it started and ended, and view murals that dot the landscape on this tour through culture-rich West Philadelphia.

Two Separate Mural Mile Tours

Mural Mile South explores iconic public art in the heart of Center City, such as Spring by David Guinn and the recently-restored Philadelphia Muses by Meg Saligman. Mural Mile North explores the iconic public art north of Market Street, such as Evolving Face of Nursing by Meg Saligman and How to Make Anything from Something Else by Miss Rockaway Armada. Each two-mile walking tour runs two hours in rain or shine.

“The Mural Arts Program’s works of public art are more than just paint on walls,” said Mural Arts Program Executive Director Jane Golden. “Visitors to Philadelphia from around the country and across the globe have told us how much they appreciate hearing the stories of how projects came to be, the communities who are an intimate part of the process, and how our work changes lives every day. We love when people take our tours, which go into all the neighborhoods of Philadelphia where we create art.”

GENERAL TOUR INFORMATION

Mural Arts Trolley Tour – See the city’s rich culture and history come to life through the lens of the murals. From landmark murals in Center City to off-the-beaten-path streets in Philadelphia’s neighborhoods, the murals show the heart and soul of its residents.

April – November: Saturdays, 10 am – 12 pm

June – July: also Fridays, 10 am – 12 pm

Tours vary each week and include:

· 1^st weekend of month – Center City

· 2^nd weekend of month – Philadelphia’s Reimagined Landscapes (NEW for 2014!)

· 3^rd weekend of month – Mural Arts Masterpieces

· 4^th weekend of month – America’s First Highway (NEW for 2014!)

Open-air trolleys are climate controlled, and tours depart rain or shine. A substitute vehicle may be used if necessary.

Departs from Mural Arts at The Gallery, 9^th & Market Streets, Level 2

Adult $30, Senior $28, Student (with ID) & Youth (under 12) $20, children under 2 free.

Mural Arts Love Letter Train Tour – The Mural Arts Program and Philadelphia native, New York-based artist Stephen Powers (aka ESPO), collaborated to create Love Letter, a public art project consisting of a series of 50 rooftop murals from 45th to 63rd streets along the Market Street corridor in West Philadelphia. The murals collectively express a love letter from a guy to a girl, from an artist to his hometown, and from local residents to their West Philadelphia neighborhood. Guides provide colorful commentary and lead participants off the train to spot murals from train platforms.

Every Saturday, 10:30 am – 12 noon and Sunday, 1 – 2:30 pm, year-round.

Departs from Mural Arts at The Gallery, 9^th & Market Streets, Level 2

$20 per person (includes SEPTA train token)

Mural Mile Walking Tour – Walk Center City Philadelphia’s Mural Mile with an expert guide to get an introduction to the Mural Arts Program’s renowned projects and see the City through the lens of its stunning public art. Learn about historic landmarks, political movements, great places to shop and eat, and the City’s rich arts community.

April – November, Saturdays and Sundays, 11 am

Saturdays – Mural Mile North

Sundays – Mural Mile South

Departs from Mural Arts at The Gallery, 9^th & Market Streets, Level 2

$20 per person

June – August, also Wednesdays, 11 am

Departs from Independence Visitor Center, 6^th & Market Streets

$20 per person

Can’t make the guided tour? Rent an audio guide for $10/person.

Another brand new tour, in partnership with the City of Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services, will launch later in 2014. The Mural Arts Program’s Porch Light Project has created a series of powerful murals that showcase how participatory public art can be used in addressing a variety of behavioral health challenges. Porch Light murals included on this tour are Personal Renaissance by James Burns, The Color of Your Voice by Ernel Martinez and Kier Johnston, and It Has To Be From Here… Forgotten but Unshaken by Betsy Casañas. This new tour will be offered on select dates in 2014, with the schedule to be determined. Check muralarts.org/tours for most up-to-date information. The tour is also available, as are each of the tours, for private groups.

Advanced reservations for all tours are STRONGLY recommended but not required. Tickets are available online at www.muralarts.org or by phone at 215-925-3633. For private group tours and specialty tours, please call 215-925-3633x16.

A host of private options are available for groups or individuals looking for a special individualized experience. An Experiential Mural Tour allows guests a behind-the-scenes experience with the Mural Arts Program. First, take a guided Mural Arts Tour. Then, come to the Mural Arts Program’s artist studio to meet a mural artist, under whose instruction guests participate in the painting of a current mural project. This tour is perfect for corporate groups, conferences, teambuilding, civic associations, school groups, and family reunions of all sizes. The Experiential Mural Tour is a uniquely Philadelphia experience, and a great way for groups to put their mark on “The City of Murals.” Available for private group tours only. Departs from Mural Arts at The Gallery, 9^th & Market Streets, Level 2. Call 215-925-3633x10 for more information.

The Mural Arts Program is the nation’s largest public art program, dedicated to the belief that art ignites change. For nearly 30 years, the Mural Arts Program has united artists and communities through a collaborative process, rooted in the traditions of mural-making, to create art that transforms public spaces and individual lives. Mural Arts engages communities in 50 to 100 mural and public art projects each year, including a restoration program that maintains the collection. The murals also create unique project-based learning opportunities for thousands of youth and adults in the Art Education for Youth, Restorative Justice, and Behavioral Health programs. The Mural Arts Program has created over 3,600 murals and works of public art, earning Philadelphia international recognition as the “City of Murals.” Each year, 14,000 residents and visitors tour the Mural Arts Program’s outdoor art gallery, which has become part of Philadelphia’s civic landscape and a source of pride and inspiration. For further information, call (215) 685-0750 or visit www.muralarts.org. Follow along on social media at: twitter.com/muralarts, youtube.com/phillymuralarts, or on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/MuralArtsPhiladelphia.

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The voice Of Philadelphia is Sponsored by

Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists presents

Monitoring Hollywood VI:

Black Film Power or Black Stereotypes?

From Independent films, 12 Years a Slave to Being Mary Jane

Navigating the Landscape of New Black Hollywood

Night Catches Us (Still Photo)

Media Personalities, Actors, Directors, Activists Join for an Evening of Conversation

Solomon Jones, Jennifer Lewis-Hall, actor Christopher Mann, Dr. Anthea Butler, Rel Dowdell & more

Wednesday, March 26, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at WHYY, 150 N. 6th St. Free and open to the public

On Wednesday, March 26, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at WHYY, Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists presents Monitoring Hollywood VI: Black Film Power or Black Stereotypes? Navigating the Landscape of New Black Hollywood. Media personalities, scholars and actors will give critical analysis on Black directors and media makers of 2013 and how they portrayed African Americans on screen. The free event is co-sponsored by WHYY/NewsWorks.org.

Black directors are making great strides in film and television with Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave taking home the Oscar for Best Picture, Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o possibly breaking down the barriers in Hollywood for dark-skinned black actresses and Lee Daniels' critically acclaimed film,The Butler, was a tour-de-force. On the television side, popular shows such as Being Mary Jane, Scandal and reality shows which have black creators are also extremely successful.

However, some feel that black media makers are not utilizing their power, too dependent on Hollywood and are obsessed with being validated by the establishment. Some even argue that black directors depict the same stereotypes and practice colorism in their casting that the black community has fought against for years.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and RSVP is strongly encouraged at www.pabjmonitoringhollywood6.eventbrite.com

Panelists:

Solomon Jones (NewsWorks, Essence Magazine best-selling author)

Jennifer Lewis-Hall (PHL-17 morning anchor, network journalist NBC's Early Today show, CNBC and more).

Rel Dowdell (director Train Ride, Changing the Game)

Christopher Mann (actor, HBO The Wire, House of Cards, Law & Order Special Victims Unit)

Nakia Dillard, (actor, Night Catches Us co-starring Kerry Washington, The Underground Kings, Law Abiding Citizen with Jamie Foxx, Cover directed by Bill Duke)

Dr. Anthea Butler (Associate Professor University of Penn, Africana Studies & Religious Studies, frequent contributor MSNBC's Melissa Harris Perry Show

Michael Coard (attorney/activist, host of Radio Courtroom WURD 900AM)

Bobbi Booker from the Philadelphia Tribune and WRTI 90.1FM will serve as moderator

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The Voice Of Philadelphia is Sponsored By