WE ARE MARIGOLD MURALS,
a collective of two artists & educators invested in utilizing public art as a tool for mutual aid, community connectedness and social change. Blueberry Fields, Gatherings at Washington Ave, & Homecooked Meals at the Market
John h. Taggart School, 2025
In Collaboration with the OST after school program of the Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia (CAGP), Fleisher Art Memorial, and Marigold Murals, Kate Welbes worked with students at CAGP to create “Blueberry Fields, Gatherings at Washington Ave, & Homecooked Meals from the Market.” Paying tribute to the thousands of SouthEast Asian refugees who were displaced and brought to Philadelphia, this mural holds the symbols and stories of community care, collective resistance, rage, grief, joy, and resilience of the SouthEast Asian community living in Philly.
Through collaborative workshops with teachers and students from CAGP’s afterschool program at John H. Taggart school, we processed and reflected on stories of resettlement in the SEA community, connecting to personal, familial, and communal experiences to create symbols of home. VietLead’s documentary Taking Root played a large role in shaping our design, as their documentary is based in these stories!
John h. Taggart School, 2025
In Collaboration with the OST after school program of the Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia (CAGP), Fleisher Art Memorial, and Marigold Murals, Kate Welbes worked with students at CAGP to create “Blueberry Fields, Gatherings at Washington Ave, & Homecooked Meals from the Market.” Paying tribute to the thousands of SouthEast Asian refugees who were displaced and brought to Philadelphia, this mural holds the symbols and stories of community care, collective resistance, rage, grief, joy, and resilience of the SouthEast Asian community living in Philly.
Through collaborative workshops with teachers and students from CAGP’s afterschool program at John H. Taggart school, we processed and reflected on stories of resettlement in the SEA community, connecting to personal, familial, and communal experiences to create symbols of home. VietLead’s documentary Taking Root played a large role in shaping our design, as their documentary is based in these stories!
Dragons in the Night
Asian Arts Initiative, 2025
made in collaboration with students of youth leadership initiative from asian arts intiative.
The Marigold Child
Philadelphia Flower Show, 2025
“The Marigold Child” is based on the parable of Mama Fire— a story in which a mother planted a seed inside of herself and came home to her body, land and spirit. A fire was created, burning down what would not serve the baby seed. She transformed her ancestors’ legacies as she surrendered into her protective fire. Planted in faith, Marigold Child is one of many seeds of rebirth, continuing the freeing of the colonized bodies and lands.
We see one of the descendants of Mother Fire and Marigold in this mural. They call themselves “The Children of Marigold.” These children bring the memory of their angel Mother Fire with them, tending to the spirits that hold them and grieving the spirits that have yet to return. The Marigold Child is the symbol of a revolution: a liberatory force inviting us to grieve, scream, and rejoice as we find our way back home.
Philadelphia Flower Show, 2025
“The Marigold Child” is based on the parable of Mama Fire— a story in which a mother planted a seed inside of herself and came home to her body, land and spirit. A fire was created, burning down what would not serve the baby seed. She transformed her ancestors’ legacies as she surrendered into her protective fire. Planted in faith, Marigold Child is one of many seeds of rebirth, continuing the freeing of the colonized bodies and lands.
We see one of the descendants of Mother Fire and Marigold in this mural. They call themselves “The Children of Marigold.” These children bring the memory of their angel Mother Fire with them, tending to the spirits that hold them and grieving the spirits that have yet to return. The Marigold Child is the symbol of a revolution: a liberatory force inviting us to grieve, scream, and rejoice as we find our way back home.