Words and photos by Streets Dept Editor Conrad Benner.

Love this new mural, titled Manayunk Textile, by Philly-based artist Henry Morales! Located at Shurs Lane and Cresson Street in Manayunk, the mural honors the neighborhood’s history as a textile-manufacturing hub as well as the artist’s own family heritage.

Created with support from Mural Arts Philadelphia and assisting artist Daniel Lipshutz, work began on the mural last November and wrapped up in January.

“His experience as a first-generation Guatemalan American inspires him to explore themes of labor, immigration, identity, and hybridity through works that mix non-traditional and familiar materials,” Henry’s bio reads. “He is driven to explore what it means to be a first-generation American, and seeks to document the complex experiences of those who straddle multiple cultures, identities, and histories.”

“[The mural] is a vibrant gateway to the Main Street Corridor in Manayunk,” a post to Manayunk’s official neighborhood Instagram page elaborates. “Drawing inspiration both from Manayunk’s history as a textile-manufacturing hub and from his own family heritage, Henry employs a traditional Guatemalan textile-design motif to pay homage to some of the neighborhood’s natural and architectural iconography. Included in the ‘weave’ of the design are references to mill wheels, the Manayunk Bridge, the Pretzel Park statue, the canal water, and the local red-bellied turtle and peregrine falcons.”

If you like this mural and want to see it for yourself, it just so happens that we’ll be hosting our next Streets Dept Excursion in Manayunk this weekend: Click here to learn more!