August Wilson Tribute Mural by MLK Community Murals

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This mural is done in honor of Pulitzer Award winning, African–American playwright August Wilson. Born Frederick August Kittel in 1945, he took the pen name August Wilson when he was twenty and began his writing career. Initially he worked at being a poet, but in 1979 his career as a successful playwrite began.

August Wilson’s Plays

• 1979 Jitney
• 1982 Ma Rainey̵s Black Bottom
• 1983 Fences, which earned his first Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award
• 1984 Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
• 1986 The Piano Lesson, earned the second Pulitzer Prize
• 1990 Two Trains Running
• 1995 Seven Guitars
• 2001 King Hedley II
• 2003 Gem of the Ocean
• 2005 Radio Golf

Mr Wilson’s ten plays are a series, known as The Pittsburgh Cycle. Each of these plays is set in a different decade of the twentieth century, where he depicts life as an African–American here. Nine of his plays are set in the Hill District, where this mural now stands in his honor.

Along the bottom of the mural are ten scenes. Each created to represent one of the plays. These images are the portion of the mural done by young artists as a summer work program. They learn art and painting from established artists and spend their summer doing something that beautifies their neighborhood and educates us all.

We found so much symbolism crammed into every corner on this mural. Some of the people passing by did not know who August Wilson was, and as we discussed his accomplishments and pointed out some of the images in the mural, they seemed as fascinated as we were. That shows promise that the mural will do it’s job in educating more Pittsburghers about this talented writer.

Converted this close up to black and white to make it easier to read.

A Scene from a Garden by multiple artists

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This is one of two Oakland murals done in 2013 by the Green Team of the Oakland Planning and Development Corporation, in partnership with the MLK Community Mural Project.

An article in the Oakland Planning and Development Corporation’s newsleter said residents decided the tone of the murals. They wanted a tranquil feel that reflected their vision for a greener Oakland. The newsletter quotes one of the young artists as saying I think the mural represents how the Oakland community has become more natural. The tree within the mural represents life and growth in Oakland.

In that same article we read that lead artist Olga Brinda used photos of her mother’s garden to create the final design.

Mural of a Park Scene by multiple artists

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One of two murals done in this neighborhood in 2013 that was sponsored by the Green Team of the Oakland Planning and Development Corporation (OPDC), and executed by local youth with the leadership and guidance of the MLK Community Mural Project.

According to the OPDC newsletter, the residents wanted a tranquil scene, and this design produced a very peaceful view. A snapshot of a day in a park. Perhaps Schenley Park?

Manchester Youth & Development Center mural

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This mural lines the walkway into the Manchester Youth and Development Center (MYDC) and the Manchester Academic Charter School (MACS). The MYDC has been around since 1968 and their website explains their mission:

MYDC seeks to replace negative behaviors with positive goals, through mobilizing families from the community to participate in the development of the youth. The Center recognizes that being problem–free is not the same as being fully prepared and thus focuses on the development of the whole child to become productive and engaged citizens. MYDC’s programs promote the development of children who are healthy, safe, engaged in learning, supported by qualified and caring adults, and challenged by a well–balanced curriculum. Effective programs are youth centered. Staff and activities engage young people’s diverse talents, skills, and interest, building on their strengths and involving them in planning and decision making.

Wood St Murals by multiple artists

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This mural is part of an intersection full of wonderful murals - spread over three buildings and more. We initially starting calling these all The Amazing Plaza because there is a small park/plaza surrounded by these murals. There is so much to see here it's a bit overwhelming. Because of the shear volume of artwork, we decided to break this grouping into three entries. On this page we look at the art on the building to the left of the plaza facing Wood St. For the artwork on the side of this building that makes up the left wall of the plaza and the other walls surrounding the plaza see this page. For the building across the street from the plaza facing Franklin Ave, see this .

On each building there are numerous images. For the most part we were not able to identify which artist did which images. There were a few exceptions though.

Uriel is the name of an archangel that just so happens to be known as a patron of the arts. It’s also the name that came to Colleen Black when she was first painting this angel on a canvas. The painting was done while she was going through a bit of a rough patch and she came to think of it as a Blessing Angel – an empathic being, lifting the burdens from others and taking them on herself. It brought this artist a sense of peace and when the name came to her she didn’t question the fact that it was also the name of an archangel. It felt right for this angel.

The image is striking. In a collection of many great images on this block, this was one that drew our attention immediately. We were enchanted and intrigued by her and the story of her helping to channel peace and calm to people as she lifts their burdens. It made her that much more intriguing.

We don't have background stories on any of the other images on this building unfortunately. We do have pictures for you though:

Franklin Ave Murals by multiple artists

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This mural is part of an intersection full of wonderful murals. It’s across the street from a plaza with murals that surround a central gazebo. It’s also across from another wall of murals on Wood St.

Update August 2014
We’ve been riding back to all the artwork we discovered last year to check on them. Some of the murals have been removed since we were last there. A few of the buildings that had murals on them were demolished, taking the artwork with them, so we were very pleased to find this huge display was still intact and still in good condition.

When we first found this intersection full of art we were overwhelmed. I don’t know how long we spent staring and photographing it, but it wasn't long enough! This time we approached the area from a different direction and discovered that we had completely missed the art on the far side of one of the buildings! It never occurred to us to search for more art than what we were seeing at the time. Lesson learned.

The side of the building that we completely missed last year.

We decided to add some more photos of the details. There’s just so much on each of these murals, that you have to stop and look at each image to really appreciate it all.