Keir Johnston, Newtown Friends Meeting member and award-winning Philadelphia artist and muralist spoke on "A Practice of Action: Supporting Communities with Creative Expressions" at historic Newtown Friends Meetinghouse at 219 Court Street, Sunday, March 27, 2022.

 

Mr. Johnston, former artist-in-residence for The Philadelphia Museum of Art and co-founder of Amber Art and Design based in Philadelphia, has been involved for nearly 20 years in creative social practice and collaboration in the arts in Philadelphia.

 

Johnston is a community practice public art creator who has dedicated his career to elevating social issues that impact communities of Color through public art. He painted his first mural as a teenager while a student at California State University at Northridge, an experience that fostered an appreciation for the collaborative creative process as well as public art's ability to affect viewers from all walks of life.

 

Johnston has helped guide diverse populations –including incarcerated youth, prisoners serving life sentences, elderly groups, elementary and high school students, and those with disabilities – in mural production, and has worked with Mural Arts Philadelphia to create Colorful Legacy, Remembering a Forgotten Hero, and The Color of Your Voice.

 

Johnston is a lifelong member of Newtown Friends Meeting. His grandparents, Ella and George Otto, are buried on the Meetinghouse grounds and his brother Haile Johnston and wife Tatiana Granados were married in the Meetinghouse in 2007.