After more than four decades leading Mural Arts Philadelphia, Jane Golden has stepped down as executive director of the organization she founded, leaving behind more than 4,400 murals that have helped tell the story of Philadelphia and its communities.
Golden, who founded and led Mural Arts Philadelphia since its inception in 1984, announced her retirement in August 2025. She exited her role as executive director on Aug. 31, 2026, and will remain a consultant for the organization through the end of the year.
Emily Mello will replace Golden as executive director beginning Sept. 1.
As Golden reflected on her decades with Mural Arts, she told NBC10 that the artwork covering walls across Philadelphia has always been about more than beautifying the city.
“I think the beginning of my thinking that the murals in this city are really the autobiography of the city by people in some way are the quintessential authors of what’s going on,” Golden said.
Some of the works date back to the earliest days of the program, including the Puerto Rican Statue of Liberty, which Golden and her then-small team painted in the 1980s.
A developer later erased the original, sparking an uproar in the Fairmount neighborhood.
“Sometimes when murals go away because of development, people will say to me you know we feel like our lives are being erased, and that’s something we need as Philadelphians to keep really close to our heart to understand this is about beautification, yes, but it’s about so much more,” Golden said.
Among the murals Golden is especially proud of is “Common Threads,” the first large-scale mural artist Meg Saligman created at Spring Garden and Broad streets in the late 1990s.
“It’s called common threads because it’s really about things that unite us over time,” Golden said.
Other large murals began appearing across Philadelphia around the same time, Golden recalled.
“At the same time we were doing this, we were doing murals in other places, and we did Jackie Robinson’s mural by David McShane, the Manayunk wall by Tish Ingersol, so boom boom boom, these large murals started appearing everywhere,” Golden said.
Another showstopper is the mural of former 76ers star Dr. J on Ridge Avenue.
“As we started putting up the parachute cloth, that’s when ppl were screeching to a halt, yelling it’s the doc, it’s the doc..it’s unbelievable,” Golden said.
Golden recalled having just three minutes to convince the basketball legend to pose for the mural.
In her final months as executive director, Golden unveiled a mural that had been years in the making after finally gaining access to the CSX wall along Interstate 76 near Spring Garden Street.
Graffiti writing on the wall was replaced by an artist’s sweeping tribute to Philadelphia.
Although Golden has stepped down from the position she held for decades, she indicated she still hopes to make a difference in Philadelphia.
“You know, I’m very devoted to our city, I’m devoted to communities, neighborhoods, and artists, so I think there will be opportunities for me to make a difference,” Golden said.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication.