A unique, exposed-brick home in Northern Liberties opened its doors for a special, two-day tour this week. The whimsical property contains an open floor plan, fireplace, ornate light fixtures and comes fully furnished with artwork from up-and-coming Philly creatives.
The home is not actually up for sale; it’s part of an annual student exhibition for Mural Arts’ Art Education program.
The show, “No Place Like Home,” which was presented Wednesday and Thursday this week by the Huddle Gallery, contained artwork from more than 100 students around the city, ages 11 to 18, who attend the organization’s after-school art courses.
“Our theme this year is ‘No Place Like Home,’ and so we decided to turn the gallery space into our version of a little house,” said Natalie Gearin, Mural Arts’ art education administrative and program manager. “It’s looking really beautiful. We have a bedroom, a kitchen, living room, all that good stuff.”
This was no ordinary house. Not only did students get to create drawings and paintings for the small dwelling, but many craft projects were on display — giving the entire show a Wonka-esque vibe. Paper flowers decorated one of the “home’s” beams from floor to ceiling; painted cotton clouds hung in the air. A repurposed fireplace and mantle was decorated with bright tiled patterns. Papier-mâché pets sat in place.
Jane Golden, founder and executive director of Mural Arts, spoke in front of a packed crowd at the galleries’ opening on Wednesday to champion student work.
“We’re living in precarious times right now,” Golden said. “Sometimes you think, ‘Oh, the world is so crazy,’ but what roots us is a feeling of home. And, it’s my desire that Mural Arts is a home for you. We believe really deeply and passionately and relentlessly that all young people in the city of Philadelphia should have access to art education, and that is not something we should negotiate or compromise around.”
Building identity through art
The Trump administration recently proposed a $12 billion cut to the U.S. Department of Education (about 15% of the budget), including a $4.5 billion reduction in K-12 funding, per the New York Times. And this March, WHYY reported that Philly’s school district is facing a budget shortfall and is underfunded by $1 billion annually. Unfortunately, when education programs face cuts, art programming is sometimes the first to go.
Research shows that art programs can be extremely beneficial when it comes to a student’s sense of self and may actually impact their performance in other school subjects. One study revealed that middle school students who elected to take arts classes also showed stronger performances in math and reading in earlier grades. Another demonstrated that ”arts integration naturally leads students to interact with academic content in ways that promote long-term retention.”
The Mural Arts Education program conducts multiple surveys a year to see how their programs are impacting student’s daily lives.
“Season after season, every single year, overwhelmingly, [they say] in their own words, it increases their community engagement, and it strengthens their relationship with their peers,” Gearin said. “Consistently, I see that they report they feel that they’re better at collaborating with their peers. They feel they’re better at problem-solving. They feel that their ability to take feedback and incorporate it into what they’re doing has improved.”
Gearin explained that these tools don’t just affect a student’s artistic and academic proficiencies, they are life skills that make an impact at home, at work, and with friends and loved ones.
Rebecca Miller, a lead teaching artist at the program, was grateful for the program because it gives creatives like herself gainful employment, but also because of how it is shaping students.
“There’s something about having your own space that’s not school where there’s a million other kids … This is a space where they can go outside of those roles and kind of build their own identity away from that,” Miller said. “I think that that is just a really important way for students to grow, to have another adult or another several adults that they’re interacting with.“
‘It’s really just helped me so much’
17-year-old Sy’Ana Trippett said they are extremely grateful to participate in classes with Mural Arts and be a part of the “No Place Like Home” exhibition. Trippett, who does not have preferred pronouns, has been interested in art ever since they “could pick up a pencil.”
“It’s really just helped me so much, and I love it,” Trippett said of the program. “I’m a pretty anxious person, so coming in and doing art and having to be at dedications, speaking and sharing my art was a huge step outside of what I would usually do.
“But, I’m very glad that I did it. That initial feeling of feeling out of place, it’s kind of gone now. And I feel like it’s helping me a lot with my anxiety.”
Trippett is in the Mural Arts Advanced Placement Program – the class that created the papier-mâché pets for the exhibition. They are inspired by the surrealist movement and wanted to include an element of horror into the fantastical student house. The pet they created is a cross between a beetle and a dog.
Students, teachers and parents picked up special T-shirts celebrating the show at the event’s entrance. Trippett created the design and won a contest to have it featured on the clothing. Their grandfather, Tyrone Williams, wore the shirt proudly around the exhibition.
“She never ceases to amaze us,” Williams said. He has been championing his granddaughter’s artistic talent since they were quite young, never throwing out their work and compiling a portfolio. He enrolled Trippett into the Mural Arts program.
“Last summer, I was trying to find out what she could do that would interest her, because she’s an introvert. And so, you have to really search around for her interest and art just excites her.”
Marlen Flores Jimenez, 17, another advanced student, echoed the social impact of the program in a speech on opening night. Jiminez explained that as a child, she was very artistic, but for many years did not participate in art programming.
“Mural Arts has given me a space to be that kid again,” she said. “They have also helped me with my social skills, as I can sometimes hide in my social shell. Through their welcoming nature, I was able to make friends who bring out my bubbly side.”
No Place Like Philly
In many ways, the show’s “No Place Like Home” theme was apt. Not just because the gallery was decorated as a house, but because the playful nature of the decor and artwork gave the space a somewhat magical and Ozian vibe.
The large chandelier at the exhibition was created with translucent panels made by hundreds of students all across the city. All the pictures and paintings contained the charm of artwork that comes only from the mind of a young person.
The “living room” of the exhibition featured a funky vintage box television set – painted yellow and drawn all over. It is a collaboration from students at Edmonds Elementary. Many VHS sets were strewn in front of it. The piece seemed to share the same DNA as a vintage television set displayed at the gallery earlier this month from street artist Taped Off TV.
“It’s interesting because these students are quite young, and they’ve created this giant floor-model television that is like TVs that they’ve never seen before, because they’re too young to have seen these clunky old TVs,” Gearin explained. “So it’s their interpretation of a TV from 20 years ago.”
Trippett hopes that they can continue to nurture their artistic abilities as they head into their senior year next fall.
“I’m just excited for her future,” Williams said. “Art allows you to see where they’re at and where they can go.”
On their end, Trippett is thinking about pursuing a career in the animation industry.
“I’m looking to be a storyboard artist,” they said. “I do want to go to college. It’s a big decision, and I’m mostly just looking into it and trying to figure out how to go about it … Honestly, I want to be able to make money from my art and do what I love, and I want to see where everything takes me.”
