Tucked away in a remote part of south Philadelphia is a jubilant mural by Keith Haring, created with a group of fourteen high school students in 1987. Titled We the Youth, it is the only collaborative mural by Haring that is still in situ and still in tact, despite the fact it was only meant be temporary. It was a pro bono commission by two multicultural art nonprofits that worked with urban youth, and the location—a rowhome in a then-low-income area—was selected to encourage development in the neighbourhood. The mural, pictured here in a Polaroid by Haring himself, is punctuated by the pop artist’s signature cartoon figures, in bold hues, dancing with and uplifting one another in a powerful message of hope.
