Michael Atkins, Executive Director | April 14, 2025
Atlantic City’s not-so-distant cousin Philadelphia was recently recognized by USA Today for the second time in three years as the “Mural Capital of the World” and the nation’s best city for street art. This is largely due to the stellar efforts of Mural Arts Philadelphia, which has overseen the installation of 4,000 murals since its inception in 1984. We tip our hats to the exceptional accomplishments and well-deserved recognition for Philadelphia’s public arts achievements (and cheer on the recent E-A-G-L-E-S mini mural in honor of their championship run).
But let’s look deeper into the numbers. Philadelphia boasts 4,000 murals for a citywide population of 1.5 million people; Atlantic City is proudly home to 102 murals and counting, for a population of approximately 40,000 full-time residents. This means that while Philadelphia is about 40x larger than Atlantic City, both cities maintain the same number of “murals per capita” given their population size. This is cause for civic pride and enthusiasm behind our local efforts at the Atlantic City Arts Foundation to foster opportunities for emerging and established artists to utilize our public spaces as canvases for their creativity.
Of course, full-time residents are only part of the story here in Atlantic City, where tourism tops a whopping 27 million visitors annually. Visit AC is renewing their efforts along with our local Greater Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce to continue their part in attracting tourists and visitors to our city. While Atlantic City has unique gaming and convention attractions that bring people to our city, it is important to note that 80% of all tourism in the United States is driven by arts, cultural heritage, and history. We have a huge opportunity as a local arts community to continue to grow and become an increasingly appealing tourism destination through our community's embrace of the arts.
Recently, muralist Heather Deegan Hires installed ACAF’s 102nd mural, located at 2600 Pacific Avenue. The mural, titled “We are Blooming into a Beautiful Neighborhood,” was designed by local high school student Rai Chowdhury, and commissioned by Chelsea EDC to highlight their work with C.R.O.P.S. in establishing the Farmer’s Row food hub. We invite the public to join us at 4 pm on Friday, May 2, 2025 for an unveiling celebration to recognize the 102nd mural in Atlantic City and draw attention to the exciting work underway at Farmer’s Row.
This year, the Atlantic City Arts Foundation is overseeing three mural refurbishments (“Close Encounters,” “Mind Power,” and “A Little Bit of Everyone”), three mural re-installations (“Z is for Zebra,” “NJ Osprey Project,” and “Oystercatchers”) and two new mural commissions. These mural projects are supported by a generous grant from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, and you can read more about its transformative effect on our organization and community in a separate blog. We will discuss and share the timeline for each of these projects at our upcoming Spring Arts Mixer on May 7 at Anchor Rock Club! Don’t miss this chance to learn more about public arts in Atlantic City while connecting with other artists and creatives who love it here.
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