LOVING This Temporary James Baldwin Mural in Fishtown

FINALLY got to see Nilé Livingston‘s brilliant James Baldwin mural in Fishtown (the gate’s been up the last three times I went to check it out.)

After completing her mural last November, Nilé wrote the following on her Instagram about the inspiration behind the mural: “Painting a portrait of the iconic James Baldwin felt fitting amid our present cultural and political climate. Baldwin reminds me that maintaining benevolent curiosity for fellow humans is how we hold on to our own humanity. I found this quote from him to be particularly resounding ‘The role of the artist is exactly the same as the role of the lover. If I love you, I have to make you conscious of the things you don’t see.'”

Nilé’s mural is a temporary installation, the latest of Mural Arts Philadelphia‘s series of rotating murals on a singular gate outside The Fillmore on Richmond street at Frankford avenue! These murals rotate about every six months, so if you haven’t seen this mural yet either but you want to, it’s likely you have at least a couple more months left to check it out!