Philadelphia Considers Historic Protection For Keith Haring Mural

(MENAFN- USA Art News) Philadelphia's Historical Commission is scheduled to decide this Wednesday, September 16, whether to add the Keith Haring mural“We The Youth” (1987) to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places. This decision could establish a new precedent for safeguarding public art in the city.

Haring created the mural in a residential area of the historically Black Point Breeze neighborhood in South Philadelphia, collaborating with 14 high school students. He deliberately chose this quieter location over more prominent city spots. Painted one year after his iconic“Crack is Wack” mural in New York City and three years before his death from AIDS-related complications,“We The Youth” features Haring's distinctive bold, black outlines of dancing figures, which students then filled with vibrant colors and patterns.

Now 39 years old and having undergone two restorations,“We The Youth” is the only one of Haring's collaborative murals that remains in its original location. If approved, this would mark the first time an outdoor mural in Philadelphia, known as the“Mural Capital of the World,” would receive protection from the commission.

The wall where the mural is situated is co-owned by the Neighborhood Gardens Trust (NGT), an organization dedicated to preserving community gardens in Philadelphia, and OCF Realty, a real estate company often associated with the rapid gentrification of Point Breeze. Key stakeholders, including the Keith Haring Foundation, have publicly endorsed the mural's designation. The foundation stated to Hyperallergic that this action would mean“preserving it as a unique cultural icon and providing the necessary legal protections against its loss.”

Source: Hyperallergic

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