Ministry of Awe Founder Talks Murals, Philly Grit, and Being an Artist in 2026 America

Meg Saligman / Photograph by Stevie Chris

The founder of Ministry of Awe — Old City’s wild new six-story immersive arts space — talks L&I, ICE, and her surprisingly gross contribution to the new venue.

My full name is … Margaret Louise Saligman. My mom, who grew up in Ridley Park, was named Louise.

I was raised in … Olean, a small, deindustrialized oil and steel town in upstate New York.

I wound up in Philly … because my uncle Billy had a houseboat at Penn’s Landing that I could live on for free. That was in 1989. Now I live in a condo at the end of Pier 5. Oddly, I have never left the foot of the Ben Franklin Bridge.

My first job was … serving soft-serve ice cream.

I got my big break … after I sent Jane Golden, then of Philadelphia’s Anti-Graffiti Network, a letter. And one day I got a call to go paint a mural at 21st and Reed on the side of a church that had become a target for graffiti. I happen to be really good at painting big, so I have spent my life painting murals and using scaffolding as a jungle gym for adults.

The Common Threads mural by Meg Saligman / Photograph courtesy of Mural Arts Philadelphia

The Philly work of mine that most people would be familiar with is … Common Threads, a 7,500-square-foot mural of students at Broad and Spring Garden.

When I was a kid, I wanted to grow up to be … a trash collector. I would see the guys jumping around outside all day, and it looked amazing.

I decided to become an artist … after my junior-high art teacher, Marilyn Reynolds, painted a watercolor flower and I thought, Oh my God, if I could ever do that, it would be my wildest dream.

Meg Saligman’s We Will Not Be Satisfied Until mural in Chattanooga, Tennessee / Photograph courtesy of Visit Chattanooga

My biggest mural is … in Chattanooga, Tennessee on MLK Boulevard. It’s called We Will Not Be Satisfied Until. It’s all about reimagining, reclaiming, and reinventing. And it’s 44,000 square feet.

Ministry of Awe is … a six-story piece of art where people can experience one another creatively, where we can all share in our humanity.

Our building was originally … an 1870 bank, with a lot of the ornamental work inside designed by a young Frank Furness. There are a dozen historic banks within two blocks of here, in the neighborhood where modern banking was created.

I got the idea … from an immersive experimental event I did in my old studio at 8th and Bainbridge that L&I shut down because I wasn’t supposed to have a bunch of people in there.

Meg Saligman’s at the Ministry of Awe / Photograph by Melissa Kelly

Being an artist in the United States in 2026 is … super fun. Art is always fun. And when the shit hits the fan, the artists matter even more.

My go-to karaoke tune is … What is that song called? [Hums tune for a while before one of her employees overhears and tells her the name.] Ah yes, it’s “Pink Pony Club.”

Philly is the perfect home for me … because of the balance of grit, loyalty, and spirit.

One of the biggest challenges to opening Ministry of Awe was … zoning rules and L&I.

My next project is … doing a mural this summer in honor of the 250th along the Girard exit of the Schuylkill.

The farthest I have been from Philly is … India. Been there three times. Going to Iceland next with my four kids!

When I want to relax, I … binge a series. I was going to try to come up with something more creative, but it would be a lie. I loved Task.

One bad habit I cannot break is … biting my nails. Since the beginning of this project, I’ve been saving them, and they are all on exhibit. So gross.

I’d like to end this interview by saying … fuck ICE.

Published as “One of Us: Meg Saligman” in the April 2026 issue of Philadelphia magazine.