What would be written in the Declaration of Independence if people from all walks of life came together to write it today? <\/p>\n
You can find out on April 16, when Mural Arts Philadelphia and the Free Library of Philadelphia present ‘Printmaking by the People: Posters for a Reimagined Declaration of Independence<\/a>.<\/a>‘ The exhibition, running through August 2026, will feature hundreds of vibrant and compelling posters created by Philadelphians who were asked to share their own visions of \u201clife, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.\u201d This special exhibition is part of ‘Printmaking by the People’ \u2014\u00a0the largest 2026 public art and engagement project in Philadelphia and inspired by the 250th anniversary<\/a> of the country\u2019s founding.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been so rewarding to witness how passionate Philadelphians are about the core values that shape our society, and how excited they are about making posters that bring their big ideas to life,\u201d said Jane Golden, Executive Director and Founder of Mural Arts Philadelphia. \u201cWe\u2019re commemorating\u00a0 a milestone in our nation\u2019s history in an unexpected and joyful way, and inviting new voices and perspectives into the conversation, with great hope for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n The artwork in the exhibition was created at workshops throughout 13 neighborhoods in 2024 and 2025, and was led by 35 local artists. More than 1,000 people attended these workshops and used various printmaking techniques to bring their ideas to life, including some of the same techniques used during the American Revolution. As a result, hundreds of unique posters and prints representing a diverse assemblage of aspirations for our nation, our city, and ourselves will be on display.\u00a0<\/p>\n ‘Printmaking by the People’ opens at the Parkway Central Library\u2019s Heim Center for Cultural and Civic Engagement on April 16 with a free opening reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The reception will include a pop-up printmaking station, and attendees will also see a new temporary installation by Philadelphia artist s\u0101gar kam\u0101th of nine colorful banners inspired by the exhibition titled ‘Reconciling Time: in pursuit of Tomorrow with dreams of Liberty in hand.’<\/p>\n \u201cThe Free Library is proud to host ‘Printmaking by the People’ during this important year of reflection on the American promise,\u201d said Kelly Richards, President and Director of the Free Library of Philadelphia. \u201cOur libraries are places where people connect with art, ideas, and each other \u2014 and this exhibition and banner display invite Philadelphians to engage with the evolving promise of democracy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe everyone has a creative voice \u2014 and by tapping into the traditions of broadsides, newspapers, and poster-making, we\u2019ve helped people create something that\u2019s fresh, yet resonant with our history,\u201d said Todd Bressi, Public Art Project Specialist, Mural Arts Philadelphia. \u201cThey are riding on the shoulders of Benjamin Franklin, the great WPA artists, and even contemporary artists like Shepard Fairey, in creating urgent messages for this pivotal time.\u201d<\/p>\n ‘Printmaking by the People’ is presented by a curatorial team that includes Todd W. Bressi (Public Art Project Specialist, Mural Arts Philadelphia), Suzanna Urminska (Curator of Exhibitions, Free Library of Philadelphia), and David K. Coleman, Jr.\u00a0 (Exhibition Designer and Curatorial Advisor). The exhibition will continue throughout the Semiquincentennial year with a major public art installation in the spring and summer, inspired by participant posters and designed by printmaker Rhonda Viscusi-Babb.<\/p>\n For those who missed the workshops, you can still get involved in ‘Printmaking by the People’ this summer. Mural Arts will co-host a free drop-in printmaking workshop with the Association for Public Art<\/a> (aPA)\u00a0 at Cherry Street Pier on First Friday, June 5, from 5 to 8 p.m., in conjunction with ‘Let Freedom Ring,’ an aPA project with artist Paul Ram\u00edrez Jonas.\u00a0<\/p>\n ‘Printmaking by the People’ is made possible by the Philadelphia250 and the Philadelphia Funder Collaborative for the Semiquincentennial and the City of Philadelphia, with lead partners Free Library of Philadelphia and Visit Philadelphia. For a complete list of project partners, advisors, and workshop host organizations, visit muralarts.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\t\tKeywords<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tMural Arts,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Printmaking by the People,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Declaration of Independence.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What would be written in the Declaration of Independence if people from all walks of life came together…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":692916,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5132],"tags":[5229,17539,53850,1448,2830,1311,290131,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-692915","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-declaration-of-independence","10":"tag-mural-arts","11":"tag-pa","12":"tag-pennsylvania","13":"tag-philadelphia","14":"tag-printmaking-by-the-people","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-united-states-of-america","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116319325272245332","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=692915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692915\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/692916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=692915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=692915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=692915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}