South Philly Keith Haring Mural Restored

As a resident of South Philly, I can go on and on about all the things I love about living there, but one of my favorites is that there’s a Keith Haring mural only blocks from my front door, at 22nd and Ellsworth streets. That’s why I was thrilled to see this news today, that the mural, titled “We the Youth,” has been beautifully restored by the Philly Mural Arts Program (MAP) and the Keith Haring Foundation. In a press release, MAP said:

The City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program has undertaken the restoration of a mural created by iconic pop artist Keith Haring. We the Youth, originally created in 1987, is the only Keith Haring collaborative public mural remaining intact and on its original site. After months of wall repair and painstaking mural restoration, We the Youth will be returned to Haring’s original intent for the public to enjoy. We the Youth has been an iconic part of South Philadelphia streetscape for more than a quarter of a century. Recent damage to the wall, however, has prompted Mural Arts, with generous funding and support from the Keith Haring Foundation, to engage in intensive restoration of this contemporary work of art. With a new owner recently buying the home in South Philadelphia, the Mural Arts Program agreed to adopt the mural as part of its Restoration Program to maintain important pieces of public art.

The public is invited to attend the mural’s dedication on Sat., Nov. 2 at 1 p.m. For now, check out the video below that details its creation in collaboration with CityKids of New York and Brandywine Workshop in Philadelphia.