MAT TOMEZSKO

Community Garden is a dynamic arrangement of hundreds of colorful images of local vegetation including flowers, fruit, vegetables, trees, and grasses. Each triangle was painted by a participant of Color Me Back or by a participant of a community paint day held at the TaconyLAB Art Center. It is a collaboration between two neighborhoods and hundreds of people.

 

The imagery combines the concept of how the mural is made with what it represents: Just as each seedling grows into a unique representative of a particular plant based on its environment, circumstances, and chance; each painting represents the unique talents, vision, and expression of the person who paints it. No two people will paint the same plant the same way. The composition gains its power and strength when all of these different voices are harnessed together.

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Location: 4823 Longshore Drive in Tacony, Philadelphia, PA 

Mural By: Mat Tomezsko

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ASSISTANT ARTISTS: Hector Luis Alicea III, Katie Brown, Danilo Carbonell, Nichole Miller Cook, Kyle Henry, Jamaar Johnson, Adrian Reyes.

PARTNERS: 100+ Participants of theColor Me Back: Same Day Work and Pay Program and community members from Tacony and beyond who participated in a community paint event at the TaconyLAB.

SPONSORS: Danilo R. Burgos Jr. and Danilo A. Burgos of BURG Properties LLC in memory of Rosa Tavares, The Tacony Community Development Corp., City of Philadelphia, City of Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services, Erik Hirsch & Margaret McAllister

PROJECT MANAGER: Emily Crane

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The Color Me Back program was designed in partnership with the Scattergood Foundation, SEPTA, and Mental Health Partnerships. The initiative is managed by Mural Arts’ Porch Light program, a collaboration with the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services.

 

Color Me Back is an innovative program that combines participatory art-making and access to social services in a unique model offering individuals experiencing economic insecurity an opportunity to earn wages. Participants have the opportunity to connect, contribute, and engage with peer specialists who can link them with support services, including social and/or behavioral health services, and potential opportunities for longer term employment while working in the program.