Art, Commerce, and Social Transformation: Public Art And the Marketing of Philadelphia

Abstract

The field site for this US-based ethnography is the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The overwhelming presence of murals in the urban landscape calls into question how these figurative wall-sized paintings improve the lives and neighborhoods in which these paintings are found. With Philadelphia suffering the consequences of deindustrialization and neoliberal globalization, characterized by high poverty and inequality, and consistently low rankings in quality of life indicators by the national media, what role do murals play in change? Do murals mask urban problems by literally painting over blight, and, therefore distract from vital issues? Alternately, are murals a beacon of hope in an aging post-industrialized city? How do these murals contribute to the city - socially, culturally, and economically? This research study employs the following in its methodology: archival research, participant observation, interviews, visual and audio documentation, web site analysis of the Mural Arts Program's public transcript, and documentation of contemporary media coverage of the MAP and tourism related economic strategies. Over the course of its almost thirty-year history, the MAP has seen its mission shift from dealing with erasing graffiti, to helping transform (i.e. empower and motivate) communities and individuals, as a way to deal with poverty and increasing political and economic inequality. As globalization placed pressures on cities to compete in a global economy, new urban branding practices changed the scale of operations from place-based local communities (that focused on rehabilitating "at-risk" populations) to the city as a whole (city-wide murals and related projects/events), that increased local media coverage and brought the MAP to the attention of national media outlets - the kind of publicity necessary to advertise Philadelphia as an "urban brand," "The City of Murals." The promotion of Philadelphia as "The City of Murals" is premised on art having a "social life" by virtue of human interaction, and therefore, has the capacity to engage, captivate, and transform - its "value" is in being commodified and consumed. At the same time, the consumption of particular art objects and experiences demonstrates "taste" and marks social difference and maintains social hierarchies.