New Philly mural will honor lives lost in Holocaust

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Along the bustling Ben Franklin Parkway, it's easy to miss the small things.

"So many people just happen upon the site," said Eszter Kutas, executive director of the Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation.

The foundation has been responsible for the development of the Horowitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza along 16th and Arch streets in Center City along the Ben Franklin Parkway.

The next addition in that area, though, will be hard to miss

"It's going to be the only large-scale Holocaust mural in the country," said Kutas of the planned mural which will be 2,500 square feet on the side building facing the plaza.

A statement from Mural Arts Philadelphia identified the project as the "first large-scale publicly-commissioned mural dedicated to the Holocaust."

The mural is a collaboration between Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation and Mural Arts Philadelphia.

"In all of our years of being Mural Arts, this might be the hardest project that we've undertaken," said Jane Golden, executive director of Mural Arts Philadelphia. "It will empower us all to seek empathy and understanding with everyone in our community. And that is the power of public art."

The plaza is a fitting place for the historic artwork since it already contains one other history-making piece.

"The site is home to the oldest Holocaust monument in the United States," Golden said of the original bronze sculpture which is Nathan Rapoport's Monument to Six Million Jewish Martyrs.

It was given to the city of Philadelphia in 1964.

The sculpture is often adorned with rocks that have been placed at the bottom of it.

"Jewish people will place a stone," said Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation's Sophie Don of the tradition.

"Flowers will eventually die. A stone symbolizes the permanence of memory and legacy," added Don.

Kids from Friends Select School created their own customized small stone tributes to place at the base of the monument on Tuesday as the mural project was announced. It comes at a time when organizers say it's needed.

"Anti-Semitism is drastically rising in America," said Kutas.

Though the design hasn't been selected, the mural will convey a positive message.

"Have the mural be about hope, resilience and unity," said Kutas.

First, though, project heads need to choose an artist. They've opened up the project for submissions from artists who are first asked to write a letter explaining their connection to this point in history and why they want to create art inspired by it.

"By the fall, our hope is that we're going to select the final artist who we're going to work with," said Kutas.

Then, they'll move on to the actual design phase which will also include input from the community.

"To send a strong message about hope for future generations," said Kutas.

The hope is that the mural will be done by late 2024. Those interested in submissions to become to a commissioned artist can click here: https://www.philaholocaustmemorial.org/mural/