Mural Arts Philadelphia names new executive director

For the first time since 1996, a new leader will be taking the helm of Mural Arts Philadelphia.

Emily Mello, a longtime arts educator and curator, will assume the role of the arts organization’s executive director on Sept. 1.

She succeeds Mural Arts founder Jane Golden, who has been a part of the organization since its inception in 1984, when it was known as the Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Network. Golden announced her decision to step down as executive director in August 2025.

Mello’s appointment follows a national search led by the board of directors of Philadelphia Mural Arts Advocates, the nonprofit organization that raises funds for and supports Mural Arts Philadelphia.

Board chair Hope Comisky said Mural Arts is “thrilled” to land Mello, adding that she boasts the blend of arts education, civic participation, and collaboration integral to the organization’s future.

“She’s worked with diverse groups and cultures. She’s had meaningful partnerships and understands the importance of artists and communities in the work that she does, and she has a collaborative work ethic,” Comisky said.

Mello brings more than two decades of arts leadership, with extensive experience in strategic planning, fundraising, community partnerships, and restorative justice. Most recently, she served as the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago’s senior director of education, learning, and public programs.

In Philly, Mello said, she has found a city with a “strong arts community” and a level of civic pride she has not encountered in other places.

“I have worked in a lot of cities, and not every city has that amount of pride, and that’s a great place to be working from,” she said. “It tells me that people are really invested in what public space looks like, how it’s used, who has a stake in it, and who it’s reflecting. Those are all things that you see immediately upon entering Philly, and Mural Arts is such a huge part of that.”

Mural Arts is a nonprofit arts organization that transforms public spaces through community partnerships and artist collaborations. The organization has produced more than 4,300 public artworks across Philadelphia since its founding in 1984.

It was established as the Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Network by Mayor Wilson Goode’s administration. At the time, Tim Spencer was the group’s executive director, and Golden was brought on to develop the program’s art component — addressing the city’s graffiti problem by working directly with young people drawn to it as a form of self-expression.

In 1996, with the support of then-Mayor Ed Rendell, the Anti-Graffiti Network became the Mural Arts Program, and Golden took on the role of executive director.

“I have loved every part of running Mural Arts, and there is a part of me that feels sad. And a part of me that feels excited for Mural Arts and its future,” Golden said. “I think [Mello] was a really strong candidate, and I have the confidence she will be able to lead Mural Arts in the years to come.”

Before proposing any new programs, Mello said, she plans to continue building on Mural Arts’ existing education and restorative justice programs, and other core initiatives focused on “using art as a tool for healing.”

“Those are things that have really resonated for me in the arts, and I recognize it in Philly,” she said. In this city, she says, there are “people who see art as an essential infrastructure for a city.”

The immediate task at hand, Mello said, is to connect people from different neighborhoods and sectors to ensure that art — and the stories they tell — remains a central part of life in Philadelphia. “I think that has been established in Philly, but it’s something that we can’t take for granted,” she said.

Mello, 47, was born and raised in Providence, R.I., and earned an undergraduate degree in art history from Mount Holyoke College. She has a graduate degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a certificate from the Aspen Institute Seminar for Artist-Endowed Foundation Leaders.

She has also been the senior associate director of education at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York and deputy director for education and public programs at Pérez Art Museum Miami. Mello also worked with artist Simone Leigh as her director of foundations planning and special projects.

On Monday, Mello visited the 1,200-square-foot In Pride, In Power, In Memory mural that was unveiled on the exterior of Voyeur Nightclub at 1221 St. James St. on June 26.

The mural, created by artist Santiago Galeas, was a work in progress through Mello’s interview process and has taken on a special meaning for her.

“I love that it memorializes figures that are important to Philadelphia’s history, but also history more broadly,” she said. “To see it at that scale, and transforming the cityscape, is a powerful tool to teach people about those who came before them and fought for them.”

Golden will serve in an advisory role through the end of the year to assist with the transition.

“We obviously want to honor [Golden’s] legacy because she transformed Philadelphia, and she certainly inspired cities nationally, if not internationally,” said board chair Comisky.

“But we also want to look toward the future, and we think with the background [Mello] has, we’re going to be able to do just that.”