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As an international student and a Mexican immigrant in the US, I was very excited to explore
the different art present across four of the most important cities in the US: New York City,
Philadelphia, Boston, and DC. I spent a semester in New York City, where I was exposed to all
sorts of street art, from murals by famous people to graffiti to protest stickers. During my
semester in New York City, I paid attention to all the art I could every time I was going to work,
to class, or even going out at night, and gladly I discovered various artists and techniques. I also
used Instagram to find places where to see art and follow local artists; that is how I was able to
connect with Savior El Mundo, a local New York City artist, who agreed to meet with me and
tell me about his work and the street artist community in the city. Before the semester, I could
visit Philadelphia and learn about their Mural Art program and go on a guided tour as well as
discover other art on my own. During Thanksgiving Break, I visited DC, and Boston, where I
learned about their art scene. During my time in DC, I went on a guided tour of a light art
installation, and it was a fantastic experience.
This experience taught me various things but one of the main one was the different types of
street art and street artists. For example, in Philadelphia most of the murals and art is
commissioned and regulated, it is promoted by the city, and they have made it a stamp of the
city, while in New York City even though there are many commissioned murals, you find a more
diverse range of art which include graffiti, pasteup, stickers and others. On the other hand, in
Washington DC most of the street art and murals is concentrated in one single street, which I
thought it was super interesting. I believe there is a growing appreciation to street art that
didn’t exist before but there is a long way to go. My project is still ongoing, as I am studying
abroad currently in Italy, Sorrento and I will be visiting major art cities in Europe such as Berlin,
Madrid and Barcelona to be exposed to a different type of street art, and I’m excited to reflect
on my full experience after my semester.
Overall, the Enrichment Grant has allowed me to explore the art scene in these cities in the US
and understand their similarities and differences. With my findings of street art, I am writing
articles for Weave News, and some of my images are published in a Digital Image Collection in
JSTOR, started by Catherine Tedford, the director of the Richard F. Brush Art Gallery.
Link to my weave news article: https://www.weavenews.org/stories/2023/2/17/we-are-morepublic-
art-with-a-purpose
Link to the JSTO digital image collection: https://www.jstor.org/site/stlawu/streetart/?
searchkey=1679240372306