Calling all young artists — a Mural Arts pop-up exhibition and hands-on mural-making opportunities will arrive at Please Touch Museum in October. Starting October 8, 2022, families can drop in to our Creative Arts Studio on Saturday mornings to help paint new literacy-inspired murals that will soon be introduced to the Philadelphia community.

On Wednesday, October 5, 2022, Please Touch Museum will open Mural Arts’ We Will Write the World pop-up exhibition next to the Creative Arts Studio. Visitors will have the chance to see new murals coming to Philadelphia neighborhoods as well as the artwork of young artists who inspired the mural designs. The month-long exhibition at the Museum will feature murals created to promote intergenerational dialogue around reading that will be on display in South Philadelphia, Logan, Fairhill, and Germantown.

To add to the fun, Please Touch Museum will host visiting artists associated with Mural Arts We Will Write the World project — Manuela Guillén, De’von Downes, Rebecca Miller, Andre Chaney, Jihan A. Thomas, Khalid Dennis, and Daphne Smallwood — on Saturday mornings for hands-on mural-making in the Creative Arts Studio. On October 8, 15, 22, and 29 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., visiting artists will meet with children and their grownups to give a behind-the-scenes look at four new mural designs and families will help paint each mural on parachute cloth, which will later be transferred to its future home on a wall in the Philadelphia community. Families participating in the mural-making workshops will be invited to the mural unveiling and dedication ceremony to see the final collaborative art piece on display.

Additionally, Please Touch Museum will host guests from Mural Arts and Read by 4th on Thursday, October 13 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. to celebrate Reading Promise Week, which promotes early literacy in Philadelphia. Visiting artists will be on hand in our Creative Arts Studio for more mural-making activities and reading captains from Read by 4th will host a special story time.

“Please Touch Museum is honored to be a destination for families during October’s Mural Arts Month celebration,” said Patricia D. Wellenbach, President & CEO of Please Touch Museum. “Children of all ages can learn about the mural-making process through the pop-up exhibition and by working with talented Mural Arts artists to contribute to upcoming murals that will become part of the public art enjoyed by Philadelphians and tourists for years to come. What a wonderful way to learn through play!”

Families can make a reservation to visit the Museum and learn from Mural Arts artists in our Creative Arts Studio during the following dates and times:

*Featured Photo “Once Upon a Time in South Philadelphia” by We Will Write the World project artist Manuela Guillén