Spotlight: The Meg Saligman mural on the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Homes
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
A definite conversation piece for the home, yes?
The internet blew up last week with news of Jon Bon Jovi’s visit to Philly on April 22 to attend the grand opening of the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Homes, at 1415 Fairmount Ave. The 55 units will be occupied by formerly homeless people and low-income tenants.
The development was a collaboration between Bon Jovi and Philadelphia’s Project HOME, an organization dedicated to providing permanent housing for the city’s homeless.
What we weren't seeing a lot of in the event coverage, however, were specifics about the striking artwork on the façade of these homes. The mural, “Fire Beacon,” by neighborhood mural artist Meg Saligman, is two stories high, with an interacting light sculpture made of mouth-blown, laminated German glass, along with other interior pieces in the lobby of the building, which features a large stained glass window.
Saligman has worked with Project HOME before, in 2011, with the creation of the stained glass mural “The Mustard Tree” in the lobby of the Connelly House Condominiums.
The first floor of the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Homes is retail and office space, and the rest of the structure is dedicated to residents who through Project HOME’s programs will have access to health care, education, and employment opportunities.
Public art and new opportunities for city residents? A win-win, we say.
