For Women’s History Month, the City of Philadelphia Department of Aviation highlights women artists whose artwork has been featured at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL).
Eurhi Jones is a community muralist and multimedia artist who primarily makes public art related to the natural environment. Born in Swarthmore, PA, Jones noticed her love for art at a very young age. From her mother’s love for shapes and colors, Jones developed a drive and sense of the visual world.
Jones has been creating murals in Philadelphia for several decades. She began her art training at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, followed by Mural Arts Philadelphia, where she met her now partner, David McShane. Jones most recently collaborated with different muralists through the Climate Justice Initiative with Mural Arts Philadelphia. She met with climate activists and was part of designing an extensive mural that pays homage to climate justice issues. This particular project was very important to her.
“I’ve always wanted to make work about nature, natural phenomena, plants, and animals, and things like that. Once I had my children, I began to think about the reality of the climate crisis. I want them and every other child in this world to have a clean future. I began to think where our art can serve a purpose to shed light on, educate and bring attention to the different issues and assisting ability to climate justice and environmental challenges. I try to make all public art about this subject primarily," says Jones.
When not painting murals, Jones spend time in her own studio painting, sculpting, and making artwork out of “trash” that can find another life through artwork. Her installation “Overflow”, an ongoing series of works made of discarded, single-use plastic, is currently on display in PHL’s Terminal E for all ticketed passengers. Currently, Jones is collaborating with the Philadelphia Zoo to design murals to highlight conservation efforts the zoo has been making around the world. These murals will be on display at The Philadelphia Zoo and 34th street this summer. To see more of Jones’ work visit her Instagram account, @eurhi.jones.