Johnston and Martinez solicited community participation in both the design and execution of this mural through a series of public meetings and public paint days. The artists created the work using sheets of Polytab, a nonwoven material also known as “parachute cloth,” which was then patched together like wallpaper to create a seamless installation. The flexibility of the material made it possible to work on the mural indoors and allowed Johnston and Martinez to bring the artmaking process out into the community. Each section of Polytab was marked in advance by the artists with an outline of the design, a kind of “paint-by-numbers” format that allowed individuals of all skill levels to come together and participate on the project simultaneously.

About Keir Johnston and Ernel Martinez

For more than 20 years, Keir Johnston and Ernel Martinez have been creating murals that creatively bring awareness to pressing social issues for participants and the broader public of passersby alike. Johnston and Martinez are founding members of Amber Art and Design in Philadelphia, an organization of like-minded artists committed to creating spaces for dialogue capable of effecting measurable and positive change for historically underserved communities. Focusing on collaboration and communication, these artists produce work that is informed and in part physically created by those communities where the work will reside.