Virtual Mosaic Murals with Philadephia’s Magic Gardens

For its 4th Slow Art Day, Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens hosted its first virtual event with an interactive online map of mosaic murals by founding artist Isaiah Zagar. During the event, they shared photos on their Facebook page of three murals located in close proximity to each other in South Philadelphia. They urged attendees to either look at the photos online, or, if possible, walk over to them and view them in real space (Note: all murals are public and thereby easy to view without violating quarantine).

Isaiah Zagar, view of mural on 1313 S. 8th Street. Photo courtsey of Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens.
Isaiah Zagar, view of mural on 836 Sears Street. Photo courtsey of Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens.
Isaiah Zagar, view of mural on 1328 S. 8th Street. Photo courtsey of Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens.

Guided by prompts, participants were encouraged to send their thoughts about the murals to Allison Boyle, Events & Marketing Manager at Philly’s Magic Gardens, who was available online during the event to answer questions.

Alissa Giangiulio, one of the event participants, said that she could see some of the artist Isaiah Zagar himself in the mural on 1328 S. 8th Street (pictured above), and commented that:

“Art makes love go around, especially in a close knit city community!”

People participated during Slow Art Day and in the days that followed. Further, the Facebook post itself was viewed by over 4000 people and received 150 likes, comments, and shares. According to Allison, this was a stronger response than typical.

At Slow Art Day HQ we are firm admirers of Philly’s Magic Gardens, and love the ways that Zagar’s murals encourage people to stop and reflect in the streets (and on online).

When Slow Art Day started 10 years ago, we were happy to use the Internet primarily to promote Slow Art Day and send more people into real spaces. Despite having to shift more online this year due to Covid19, we have loved how museums and galleries like Philly’s Magic Gardens have pivoted to creating virtual experiences (or, in this case combination virtual and physical).

We look forward to Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens Slow Art Day participation in 2021.

-Johanna and Ashley

Slow Art Day 2017 in Paris

Hosts Alexandra Fadin and Isabelle Martinez of Upstreet 13 in Paris write of their Slow Art Day 2017 experience,

“We regularly co-organize original creative and artistic visits to street art destinations in Paris. Isabelle’s specialty is Wutao (an energetic art form), art history and a focused knowledge on street art; she is used to inviting people of all ages to connect with their body, emotions, sensations and creativity, which leads to a new way of discovering art and life.
As both a dancer-choreographer and a visual artist, I have created my own concept, La Matière en Mouvement, based on the relationship between dance and visual arts. I explore the interactivity between artists, works of art, public/visitors, time and space(s) though performances and happenings in everyday life locations. The purpose of La Matière en Mouvement is to invite us to connect to all our sensations and to the feelings of freedom, happiness and wellbeing in order to create a work of art with our bodies (living sculpture postures and improvised dancing moves) and/or with the material (drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, video).
Regarding our Slow Art Day 2017 event in Paris, we had 12 participants.
The content was:
  • Take time to wander in the streets in order to discover the works of art in the street (observe the city and feel)
  • Information on the Street Artists and story/meaning of their works
  • Wutao initiation in order to relax
  • Living sculpture postures and photography in order to create new street works of art with our bodies
  • Creation of a collective mandala on the ground
  • Drink and debriefing with the group in order to share our feelings of this Slow Art Day experience (11 people very happy, 1 person not aware of the goals and content of the visit before joining the group despite our information available on our communication supports)
Isabelle and I are very happy. We intend to organize a new event with Upstreet 13 for Slow Art Day 2018.”

Slow looking with Upstreet 13 in Paris