About the Project
Home, identity, and displacement are concepts that affect us all in different ways. A new mural from internationally-renowned artist eL Seed explores these themes through his trademark “calligraffiti” style, brightening a West Philadelphia wall and opening up a conversation. This mural is the culminating project of a collaboration between our Art Education program and Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture, a West Philadelphia-based nonprofit committed to presenting and teaching Arab culture through language and the arts. Building on Al-Bustan’s ongoing (DIS)PLACED initiative, through which the nonprofit is working with Syrian refugees and other asylum-seekers, high school students in our after-school program created the site-specific mural—this brings up questions, such as what does it mean to create site-specific art when you’ve lost your home? And how can we come together to help people feel connected?