Session 13 	
Outside the Lines: Some Non-Traditional Art Education Programs in Philadelphia
Tuesday March 10, 1998
Judy Donovan, Moore College of Art and Design (Recorder)

Panelists:  
Thora Jacobson, Executive Director, Fleisher Art Memorial
Michele Grant, Executive/Artistic Director, Prints in Progress
Jane Golden, Director, Mural Arts Program, Philadelphia Department of Recreation

Part I:  The Fleisher Art Memorial

Thora Jacobson discussed the history of the Fleisher Art Memorial, the olde
st free art school in the United States.  The Fleisher Art Memorial was founded by Samuel S. Fleisher in 1899 out of his conviction that all people should have the opportunity for artistic expression and the appreciation of beauty. Fleisher was also the fou!
nder of the Graphic Sketch Club, one of the organizations that came into being around the time of the Philadelphia  Centennial Exposition and was founded on the principles of the Aesthetic movement (to bring "the beautiful" into the daily lives of private
 citizens).  Fleisher's art program was founded in a school in South Philadelphia-the home of his Graphic Sketch Club--in the midst of a community of working-class immigrants.  In 1922 Fleisher bought the Romanesque Revival Church of the Evangelist, which w!
as right next door to his Sketch Club, as an annex to his school.  Fleisher dedicated this deconsecrated church to "the patrons of the busy streets of Philadelphia".  The church, built between 1884 and 1886  included interior decorations by Robert Henri a
nd Nicola DAscenzo.  In 1929, in memory of his mother, Fleisher commissioned an Egyptian-style altar screen for the Sanctuary by Violet Oakley, which depicted scenes from the Life of Moses.  An avid collector, Fleisher continued to add artwork to this build!
ing over the years.

In 1945 the Fleisher school (known as the Fleisher Art Memorial) came under the jurisdiction of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, a relationship that continues to this day.  The programs are all mostly free (for some a nominal fee is 
charged to cover materials).  Over the years Fleisher has introduced many talented but economically disadvantaged students to art profession.  Jacobson reported that some of the students later became permanent faculty at the school.  In the last 10 years ov!
er 25,000 Cambodians have immigrated to the Fleisher neighborhood, which was once nearly all Italian-American.  The change in the neighborhood is  reflected in the emphasis of some of the programs offered at the school.  Fleisher also does programs in con
junction with other city institutions, such as the Ridgeway Library and the Rosenbach museum.   

Part 2:  Prints in Progress

Fiber artist and Artistic Director of Prints in Progress Michele Grant  presented slides of artwork done by the students of the program from its inception to the present while giving an overview of the activities that her organization is undertaking.    Pri!
nts in Progress is an organization established to develop and provide high quality education through the arts and reaches ov
er 1500 children each year.   The organization grew out of outreach educational programs offered in the early 1960's by the Print Club and the Philadelphia Board of Education.  In the early days, printing presses were carried from school to school so that h!
ands-on instruction in printmaking could be taught at each location.  The program expanded first to include prisons, universities and community colleges as instruction sites. Later it expanded into the area of public art, where artwork was taken to librar
ies and corporate headquarters for display.  Today, Prints in Progress has a strong emphasis on transforming communities.  Artwork is created by residents of a community and used to beautify public spaces.  Grant showed slides of the Tile project  which eng!
aged residents of the Germantown section of the city (where Prints in Progress has its headquarters)  to create ceramic tiles that would decorate the exterior of the headquarters property.  Artist Glenda Frye headed this very successful project.  

All 
artwork created by the Prints in Progress is for sale-this is an important part of the program as it helps fund organization activities and creates a sense of community pride.  Images from drawings and paintings created by project participants are often tra!
nsformed into banners, quilts and other small textiles as well as ceramics.  Prints in Progress continues to offer classes four days a week at its headquarters and at the branch locations throughout the city.

Part 3 - Mural Arts Program

Jane Golden,
 a California mural artist who is now the Director of the Philadelphia Mural Arts program began her talk with a fascinating glimpse at the roots of this highly successful program.  The Mural Arts program grew out of the Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Network (P!
AGN), a program founded in 1984 by then mayor W. Wilson Goode to help combat the epidemic of graffiti that was plaguing the city.  PAGN aimed to rechannel the talents of convicted wall-writers/graffiti artists into community-based efforts to paint murals 
in public spaces.  Golden was hired at the inception of this program as a result of her successes in California working with public mural programs.  PAGN would offer art training and hands-on experience of painting public murals for all "wall writers" who c!
ommitted themselves to the program.  

To become "committed" to the Anti-Graffiti program, a wall writer would have to take an amnesty pledge, register their 'tag names' (the name they use to adorn walls and buildings) and do some time scrubbing and rem
oving graffiti from sites in the city.  In exchange for this, they would be given free formal training in art classes, where they would learn the basics of drawing, painting and specific courses on the technique of mural painting.  Classes were given by art!
ists and were free of charge.  After attending classes, students would be involved in actual  painting projects under the supervision of Golden or other guest muralists.  Students who showed up for work on the murals and did good work would later be rewar
ded by being paid for their efforts-to teach them that rechanneling their artistic talents into acceptable projects would enable many of them to make a living doing what they love.

An interesting fact about the wall writers is that most of them are, despite extremely poor educational backgrounds, well-versed in art and art history.  Some of Golden's students told her tales of stealing Art in America and Art News magazines whenever the!
y could so they could learn more about contemporary artists.  They "dev
oured" the books on abstract expressionism that Golden had in her library.  Astonishingly,  many of the students were high school dropouts, yet when it came to wanting to learn about art they had an insatiable thirst for knowledge.  Golden reported that her!
 experience with students like these shows how cutbacks in art education has seriously disadvantaged young people.  Many of the "graduates" of PAGN are now successful business owners, artists and some have gone on to complete advanced college degrees.


In the early 1990's, the Mural program became its own entity under the city's Department of Recreation and became involved in partnerships with the business community. The Mural Arts program no longer works exclusively with graffiti artists, but has expande!
d its student base to include students from the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Fleisher.  There are currently 30 art classes ongoing as part of this program, teaching the basics of painting, drawing and creating murals.  Golden emphasized that community i
nvolvement in the design and placement of these murals is the key to the success of the program.  There is now a waiting list of 3500 groups in the area wanting murals painted as part of this program.  Philadelphia has over 1600 murals in the city created b!
y Golden's programs (PAGN and the Mural Arts Program), the highest number in any city in the United States.  The success of the Mural Arts Program has led to increased funding from state agencies and private businesses throughout the area.