New “Visionary” Mural by Artist Mz. Icar On Chestnut Street

Loving this new mural by artist Mz. Icar, titled “Visionary in You,” located on Chestnut Street between 20th and 21st Streets in Center City!

“‘Visionary in You’ explores the connection between being seen, being connected, and being expansive,” Mz. Icar elaborated over Instagram direct message. “Corn rows have such a cultural legacy in the Black diaspora, i.e. getting hair braided in community, messaging in the designs of the hair, history of braiding seeds into hair, and they represented connectivity symbolically and literally. So when I think of being a visionary I think of seeing the visionary in myself and the visionary in other people and that is a supreme connection.”

This mural joins another one I’ll be talking about this week from another local artist funded by the Solid Black campaign from Doritos, yes that Doritos, that is an ongoing initiative to provide resources and a platform for Black artists and change makers.

Readers of this blog will know I have strong opinions about advertising in the public space, but unlike that recent oat milk brand’s wheatpasting fiasco I think this is a fantastic way for a brand (or funder) to support local arts and artists. Note that this mural is not an ad in any way. There’s no Doritos logo. This doesn’t connect to some new product Doritos is releasing. The closest you get is a QR code that links to a page explaining this initiative and highlighting all the change makers that are part of it. This brand is just using the some of the money and power they have to create this platform for artists to show their work, and I appreciate that.