Currently on display in the West Gallery of the Central Library through December is an exhibition entitled “Making Murals: The Connection Between Muralists, Students, and Community Organizations.” The show features the Mural Arts Program , which has over 40 community-based Art Education sites for youth ages 9-18, and spotlights some of the groups and stories behind the mural process.
One mural featured in the exhibition graces the exterior of the Ramonita de Rodriguez Branch , which made its public debut on Monday, June 5, 2006. Entitled "Dewey’s World," the piece draws on the 10 categories of the Dewey Decimal System. Artists Jennie Shankar and Paul Santoleri worked in conjunction with Mural Corps youth and the Ceramics Workshop class at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art to complete the project. The finished mural even incorporates work by neighborhood children from the James R. Ludlow School, who contributed to the library's metal gates.
Members of the Mural Corps met with the library and mural arts staff at various stages of the project. The branch distributed a bookmark to the students with a breakdown of the Dewey numbers to help them understand the system more fully. The students then investigated the library’s resources using the Dewey system to brainstorm ideas. This hands-on approach allowed students to learn both about the mural-making process as well as acquire an invaluable library skills tool.
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