General Information

Description

Graffiti is a common sight on city structures throughout the United States, but the Mural Arts Program is

taking what is commonly a crime and using it to change the face of city art and arts education.

Keywords

Graffiti, Art, Public Art, Philadelphia, Tagging, Children, Kids, Students, Teachers, Artists, Murals,

Mural Arts Program, Jane Golden, Mosaic, Ceramic, The Roots, Spray Paint, Jamee Grigsby, Nasir

Stewart, Brianna Dunn, Engagement, Motivation, Graduation, Graduation Rates, Innovation, Education,

Learning, Teaching, Education Nation

Citation

MLA

"Philadelphia Program Turns Graffiti into a Public Art Education." Craig Melvin, correspondent. NBC

Today Show. NBCUniversal Media. 13 June 2013. NBC Learn. Web. 8 September 2018

Philadelphia Program Turns Graffiti into a Public Art Educationhttps://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/browse/?cuecard=65016

Source: NBC Today Show Resource Type: Video News ReportCreator: Craig Melvin Copyright: NBCUniversal Media,

LLC.Event Date: 06/13/2013 Copyright Date: 2013Air/Publish Date: 06/13/2013 Clip Length 00:02:48

Page 1 of 3© 2008-2018 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

APA

Melvin, C. (Reporter). 2013, June 13. Philadelphia Program Turns Graffiti into a Public Art Education.

[Television series episode]. NBC Today Show. Retrieved from https://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-

12/browse/?cuecard=65016

CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE

"Philadelphia Program Turns Graffiti into a Public Art Education" NBC Today Show, New York, NY:

NBC Universal, 06/13/2013. Accessed Sat Sep 8 2018 from NBC Learn:

https://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/browse/?cuecard=65016

Transcript

Philadelphia Program Turns Graffiti into a Public Art Education

CRAIG MELVIN, reporting:

To stop graffiti gangs tagging the city of brotherly love, officials started getting creative.

MAN: A lot of colors, really complex, really layered.

MELVIN: They harnessed that talent and energy to help thousands of young people transform their

neighborhoods and themselves.

GIRL: Well, it feels like I’m kind of famous. If I’m working in the industry, and somebody’s seen my art,

they were like, hey, that’s you.

MELVIN: Bridges and sides of buildings became places to promote peace and celebrate equality.

JANE GOLDEN (Executive Director, Mural Arts Program): We saw that murals could be a catalyst for

positive social change in a very real way, and that inspired us just to do more.

MELVIN: Since 1984, Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program has connected students with teachers and

world renowned artists to design and paint more than 3,800 murals citywide. Jane Golden oversees the

process.

GOLDEN: We’re using mosaic and ceramic. We’re working with light and sound and new technology.

We’re working with photographers and video. Then we grid out the wall, and part of it is sketched on the

wall. Part of it is on parachute cloth and created in studios all over the city.

MELVIN: Their most recent mural is a tribute to Philly’s favorite sons and Grammy winning artists, The

Roots.

AHMIR-KHALIB THOMPSON: This is like one of the greatest moments of-- of our career.

MELVIN: What started as an innovative way to reach spray can street artists is now open to all children

as young as nine and old as 22. More than 30,000 have taken part. Some are budding Michelangelos, but

others, like Jamee Grigsby, weren’t quite sure.

JAMEE GRIGSBY (Teacher, Mural Arts Program): At first I didn’t really know where I was going with

this whole art thing. I just knew I wanted to do it. And, you know, being part of the program has really

changed me.

MELVIN: Grigsby recently graduated from art school and is now a teacher with the Mural Arts Program,

Page 2 of 3© 2008-2018 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

and she’s helping launch a new art project.

NASIR STEWART (Student, Mural Arts Program): We did it so kids could be interested in doing this

stuff in the trash can. So basically, so we put designs on it.

MELVIN: Dozens of the menacing solar trash compactors sit on city street corners.

GRIGSBY: So good.

MELVIN: Organizers insist this is about more than sketching, drawing, and painting, there’s math,

problem solving, and teamwork too, which has provided a boost to their education.

BRIANNA DUNN (Principal, Laura W. Waring School): The skills that they’ve learned through art class,

they tie into the classroom for motivation and engagement, and it actually helps increase their

achievement.

MELVIN: While giving them invaluable life lessons.

STEWART: Even if I mess up, just keep on going. All you have to do is just fix it up a little bit.

GIRL: I learned that everything is not going to be perfect or turn out the way you want it to be.

GOLDEN: And in a world that is disconnected, right, and sometimes seen by barriers and divisions and

borders, this is something that is unifying.

Page 3 of 3© 2008-2018 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.