From Studio Practice to Communities in Creation: Interview with Eric Okdeh

Eric Okdeh is a Philadelphia mural and glass artist whose work is currently on display at Al-Bustan's Hub at 3645 Lancaster Avenue. Resident artist and curator of the exhibit, Lisa Volta, talks with Eric about his practice over the years, and the tangible effects of collective creation in communities.

(The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.)

Lisa: What made you want to start painting murals?

Eric: When I first started painting murals, I was a freshman at Tyler School of Art. I got involved by helping a good friend who was also working for Mural Arts at the time. For the next four years, I juggled painting murals, working outdoors with communities in acrylics, returning to the dorms at night, working in oils, and continuing my studio practice. It wasn't until after I graduated and had an exhibit of my own work that I realized creating community-engaged public art was much more gratifying. In fact, I haven't had another exhibition of my personal work until now. Many thanks to Al-Bustan for the opportunity.

Lisa: Could you walk us through the process of making a mural with community members?

Eric: Engagement takes on many forms. I've done projects through phone interviews, moderated and facilitated workshops with large groups of people, and small sessions in local rec centers with neighbors, to name a few. There are also projects that I have created with people in a classroom setting. Some of these classes were part of a high school afterschool program. Some were in SCI [state correctional institution] Graterford prison with a group of incarcerated men who were also brilliant self-taught artists. Others were with groups of people in outpatient rehabilitation centers across the city. In those instances, the design is worked out through art-making workshops.

In these workshops, we create individual work. The themes we discuss creating that work feed into the larger narrative of the mural project we design together. We then take our designs to the mural's host neighborhood and continue developing with those groups. Once a consensus is reached on an approved plan, the murals are drawn out and numbered on polytab cloth. Finally, large-scale paint events are held where people are free to participate in the actual creation of the mural. In many instances, a consensus is easily reached, people are happy with the design, and we can move forward. However, when a design needs work or is contentious for one reason, we take the time to work through the themes and the imagery to find some common ground. Next, we work through ways to evolve the idea to make the design work.

Lisa:  Could you talk more about your collaborative approach to creativity?

Eric: It's essential to remember that the work I create is not my own in a sense. Murals span a variety of topics and can be about people, places, or historical events to which I have no connection or understanding. More knowledgeable people can speak their minds and share ideas that make my seed-of-a-design more robust through these conversations, interviews, or engagements. I do not think the work I've done, especially in places like Hawaii, would have been as successful had I not consulted with local leaders. It doesn't just stop at conversations. Part of the collaborative approach is also through art making, where people have contributed their drawings, sketches, or photos to the larger work. In one of my Maui murals, I collaborated with a hula Kumu who choreographed the poses of the figures in the mural. They gave the scene a more significant meaning that would be immediately recognizable by those familiar with Hawaiian culture. To this day, I'm confused for a local when people write to me about that project.

Lisa: I want to link your studio practice to your most recent work, Damascene Girl. Besides the apparent integration of stained glass into the mural wall, I remember you telling me that this was the first work you ever made about your Syrian heritage. It's just such a powerful piece. 

Eric: Damascene Girl is a first for me in many ways. It takes my work in all its forms and combines it in a very satisfying way. It's something that I would like to explore more in the future, especially regarding the best ways to light the work. I would love to figure out ways to do this on a larger scale outdoors.

Regarding my heritage, I don't have as much of a connection to it as one would think. The relatives I've met from that side of my family have long since passed. So, I'm left wondering about that side of my family. I have no idea how many people are still around, if they still live in Latakia or have moved since the war. I suppose that is where this piece started for me as an idea. 

Lisa: What I appreciate about your newer work is this strong relationship between the personal and the public. This idea that we are inextricably linked to our communities, whether in joy or suffering. And you write about gathering narratives and amplifying individual stories – especially those who systematically are not being heard – to prompt dialogue and empathy. Do you have any examples you could share about how community art made a difference in the lives of the people it included?

Eric: I've noticed with some of the larger scope projects that I've done (especially with Mural Arts), we often bring together like-minded organizations for the first time. These organizations partner with us as a brain trust during the Idea phase of a project or initiative. Once the mural is completed, these organizations use that project as a springboard to do other community-based work together…Once you prove to people that it can be done, and the transformation of a space is evident, people become more receptive to this type of work in the future.

Projects absolutely make a difference in the people we work with and connect with in communities…The Yale School of Medicine researched Mural Art's Philadelphia's Porchlight Program. Today I can See in Color fell under the umbrella of that research. The study occurred in three communities to assess Porchlight's impact on individual and community-level health outcomes. Results showed that over about one year, residents living within one mile of a newly installed mural reported [benefits including more trust among neighbors, more perceived neighborhood safety, and less stigma toward people with mental health/substance abuse challenges].

Lisa: Could you tell us about some of your current or upcoming projects?

Eric: I'm currently working on a project in Camden with an organization called Hopeworks. The project is about bridging the digital divide in communities. I'm very excited to get this one off the ground, mainly because we are dreaming up an augmented reality component to the work that will be an enhanced experience of the mural. In addition, I have a project going on in Memphis, Tennessee, in the historic Douglass neighborhood. I will be partnering with another muralist who I worked with in the past, Jamond Bullock. I created the mosaic bird in the exhibit as a sample for the mural competition, which will be part of that project. 

Thanks to Eric Okdeh for sharing his work and process with us at Al-Bustan. You can find out more about Eric on his website:.