Walls of fame

Driving down Broad Street or Passyunk Avenue, it’s impossible to overlook the beautiful paintings splashed on the sides of buildings. The murals feature artists, performers, former mayors, community activists and more.

But whatever or whoever is portrayed in these pieces of art, they have one thing in common: the way they brighten and unify a community.

The city’s Mural Arts Program (MAP), which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, has completed the most murals of any public art program in the nation. Since 1984, the program, run by the Department of Recreation, has installed 2,400 indoor and outdoor murals.

"We usually complete about 100 indoor and outdoor murals each year," said Jane Golden, the Mural Arts Program’s director and founder.

October is Mural Arts Month, and the city is celebrating with special lectures, dedications, exhibits and tours. A dozen murals will be dedicated this month alone, Golden added.

Among them is Everyday Heroes, a mural already completed at Murphy Recreation Center, Fourth and Shunk streets. Artist Jason Slowik used muted colors to depict more than two dozen less-than-familiar faces in the painting. He worked on the mural in conjunction with MAP’s Big Picture youth group.

Big Picture offers children 10-18 the opportunity to work on large-scale murals with artists while learning fundamentals such as teamwork, dedication and creativity. In this case, the youths had the opportunity to honor their neighborhood heroes.

"A hero is not necessarily a sports star or a celebrity," Golden said. "It can be someone who lives down the street."

The community members who have impacted these children’s lives will be present at the dedication ceremony at 1 p.m. Saturday.

"It will be a neighborhood block party where the community heroes and the people who worked on the project will come together," Golden said.

South Philly will host two more mural events in the next several weeks.

Although the rededication of Diane Keller’s restored Tribute to Frank Rizzo at Ninth and Montrose has been postponed until November, local celebrities will be collaborating on another project.

On Oct. 23, music stars Jerry Blavat, Chubby Checker and Al Martino will test their artistic skills by painting their own portraits for the South Philadelphia Musicians mural at 1231 E. Passyunk Ave.

The men nicknamed "The Geator with the Heater," "King of the Twist" and "Spanish Eyes" all spent some portion of their lives in South Philly.

Although the mural will be dedicated in the spring after its completion, next weekend’s event is expected to feature plenty of fanfare.

Artist Peter Pagast eventually will include hometown luminaries Frankie Avalon and Bobby Rydell in the mural. Avalon was discovered at one of Martino’s parties.

Pagast’s work already is on view in other city murals, including Declaration of Independence, 1426 Arch St., and in collaboration with Golden on such works as Peace Wall, 29th and Wharton streets.

Vendors on Ninth Street — where Checker worked at a chicken store and sang for customers — will serve refreshments for the free Oct. 23 mural event.

Golden believes the musicians’ appearance will be a boon to the community and the Mural Arts Program.

"It’ll be fun," she said. "Everybody will be coming out for it."