Artist: Marcus Akinlana
ARTsolutely is a tribute to Philly’s arts community, the Francisville neighborhood where it is located and its role in the Civil Rights Movement. The mural is on the side of the Arts Garage, a performance venue for emerging artists. Its owner, Ola Solanke, is depicted in the mural, dressed in blue and playing the African talking drum.
This storytelling mural includes Cecil B. Moore, community members protesting at Girard College, and the Pearl Theatre where jazz greats like John Coltrane and Blanche Calloway performed.
In the mural, the art deco facade of the long gone theatre contrasts with the forbidding ten-foot stone wall that still encloses the grounds of Girard College, site of the landmark civil rights struggle.
Artist: Peter Pagast
This mural celebrates the musical heritage and cultural influence of the Uptown Theater, which opened in the late 1920s as a movie palace and live-performance venue. The musical careers of Ray Charles, the Jackson 5 and the Temptations, among others, were launched here. The mural also highlights Georgie Woods, “The Man with the Goods,” who used his airtime and celebrity to advocate for civil rights.
All That Philly Jazz 