Golden has heard from her new friends in Hanoi as well. The Ford Foundation will be sending Thuy to Philadelphia to observe the Mural Arts Program in action.
And there has been movement on the Strawberry Mansion project.
The meeting Golden dreaded turned out to be a civil discussion. More than half the people who showed up were Golden's advocates, testifying about how murals improved their community's aesthetics and morale. The critics offered constructive suggestions, asking MAP to do a better job of reaching out to the whole community before settling on a design.
"We've developed new policies," Golden said. "So a lot of good came out of it after all."
On Thursday, she got a call from one of her harshest critics. "We had a good conversation," she said. Golden assured the woman that the project wouldn't go forward until everyone was happy.
"Then," she said, "I invited her on a mural tour."
Jane Golden's Favorite Murals
Common Threads (1998)
By Meg Saligman
Broad and Spring Garden
Tribute to Jackie Robinson (1997)
By David McShane
2803 N. Broad St.
Autumn (2001)
By David Guinn
Ninth and Bainbridge
Peace Wall (1998)
By Jane Golden
and Peter Pagast
Restored by Peter Pagast, 2006
1308 S. 29th St.
Artsolutely Awesome North Philly (2007)
By Marcus Akinlana
1516 Parrish St.
Healing Walls: Inmate's Journey (2004)
By Cesar Viveros-Herrera & Parris Stancell
3049 Germantown Ave.
Healing Walls: Victim's Journey (2004)
By Cesar Viveros-Herrera & Parris Stancell
3065 Germantown Ave.
Holding Grandmother's Quilt (2004)
By Donald Gensler
3912 Aspen St.
Urban Horseman (2005)
By Jason Slowik
and Keir Johnston
3222 W. Montgomery Ave.
A Celebration of Poetry (2004)
By Parris Stancell
1531 W. Girard Ave.
See videos and Jane Golden's favorite murals at
Contact staff writer Melissa Dribben at 215-854-2590 or mdribben@phillynews.com.
