Austin Way Magazine - GreenGale Publishing - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/692367
Participating in Philly's Mural Arts program offers Meg Saligman "three things I absolutely love: painting on a large scale, being outside, and working with people," she says. Seen here, Common Threads, an eight-story mural she painted in 1998, features local high school students mirroring the poses of antique figurines. COVER, BOTTOM LEFT: Our Flag Unfurled (2001). PHOTOGRAPHY BY TOM CRANE (COMMON THREADS); MICHAEL SPAIN-SMITH (SALIGMAN); COURTESY OF SHERWIN WILLIAMS (OUR FLAG UNFURLED) As the creator of such beloved Philadelphia images as Our Flag Unfurled, artist Meg Saligman has become an integral part of the vibrant cultural life that drew her to the city. Painted on the side of a warehouse near the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, the mural was an immediate response to the events of 9/11, but now Saligman, 50, is meticulously restoring Flag so it will be ready to wel- come the thousands coming to Philadelphia for the Democratic National Convention in July. Then she will turn her attention to a new Project HOME residence to serve the city's homeless: More than 100,000 prayer ribbons from the public installation she created for Pope Francis's historic visit to Philadelphia last September will form part of the building's façade. Saligman's oeuvre has grown to include private com- missions in Mexico City, Ecuador, Tanzania, and a handful of American cities. Last year she completed her largest work ever, the 42,000-square-foot M.L. King Mural: We Will Not Be Satisfied Until... in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a richly hued tribute to an African- American neighborhood. "I'm very proud of my body of work," she says. "It's a great feeling when I drive by one and can say, 'I did that!'" megsaligman.com PHIL ADELPHIA M E G SA LIG M A N THE CELEBRATED MURALIST HAS CREATED SOME OF THE CITY'S MOST ICONIC PUBLIC ARTWORKS. THIS SUMMER, SHE REIMAGINES TWO OF THEM. BY JOANN GRECO