[Unified Purpose] Chad Eric Smith Ep. 08 – Podcast Highlights and Transcript

Shannon Penji: Hello, everyone, and welcome to Unified Purpose, the podcast where we share inspiring tales of compassion, resilience, and community spirit. I’m your host, Shannon, Penji’s partnership coordinator, and I’m joined here today with a very special guest, Chad Eric Smith from Mural Arts Philadelphia. Thank you so much for coming on me today.

Chad Eric Smith: Thanks for having me. I appreciate that.

Chad’s Role and Background

Shannon: So, could you start by telling us a little bit about yourself, anything that you think would be relevant and your story in your relation to Mural Arts Philadelphia, and kind of how you started here?

Chad: Yeah, absolutely. So again, I’m Chad Eric Smith, and I am the Senior Director of Communications and Brand Management at Mural Arts Philadelphia, which is the nation’s largest public art program. In fact, this year, we are celebrating our 40th anniversary. We include the foundational days of the Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Network, which was created in January of 1984.

My role is overseeing two departments. I oversee our communications department, which is very much event-centric, but also includes our social media, our website, our printed and digital materials, our public relations, quite a lot. And then I also oversee our tours and merchandise department, which is focused on storytelling and revenue generation.

My journey to this role is by way of my experience as an award-winning actor, filmmaker, and musician. And so, I use those skills as a performing artist to inform my strategy and the way I lead, and it has just been a blast. It’s definitely hard work, being the communications director for the largest public art program, which has resulted in the city of Philadelphia being the mural capital of the world, is quite a challenge, but it’s one that has been very fulfilling. And one that was certainly unexpected considering I moved from Washington, DC, to Philadelphia in January 2020, 2 months before the pandemic hit.

Shannon: Oh my goodness.

Chad: And then quickly rose to the executive team in short order.

Shannon: Well, that’s beautiful. Is this something that you were passionate about before you came here? Like about arts involving the community?

Passion for the Arts and Community

Chad: I’ve always been socially engaged. Always very thoughtful about making a difference. And I am an actor, filmmaker, and musician who cares about people. And a lot of the work that I’ve done as an artist has been focused on exploring interesting topics, whether it be psychology, which is what my degree is from the University of Pittsburgh, or some sort of social commentary in the world.

And so I think prior to even knowing about Mural Arts Philadelphia, I was starting to get this itch that I wanted my kind of quote-unquote day job to be something that was connected to communications because I see the transferable skills so clearly. And so prior to becoming the communications director at Mural Arts Philadelphia, I was applying for all types of communication director roles, without necessarily a communications or marketing degree. Again, my degree is in psychology, but with this instinct and desire to be able to lead the communications wing of an organization that was mission-driven and that was connected to the arts because I felt like I had something I could give.

Shannon: It’s beautiful to be able to have that background. So you’re able to connect to the mission, not only because you care about the community or helping but also because you have a passion for the subject matter.

The Psychology of Communication

Chad: Absolutely. I think it creates a more authentic voice that can be felt in intangible ways by way of my leadership. But yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head. It’s been a very fulfilling experience, and when I went through the interview process to get this job, part of the way I pitched myself was by explaining that I have a degree in psychology and, as a performing artist, I intrinsically understand storytelling, and to me, communications is psychology, understanding people and human behavior and understanding what resonates with them and why, and storytelling. And you put those two together, and you get like thoughtful communications and marketing.

Shannon: I think that that’s really lovely, especially you’re able to include that psychology element as well, because you understand people to a level that’s really important in this position.

Chad: Yes. Emotional intelligence, in particular. Not just as it relates to internal dynamics in the workplace and navigating that, but just how best to use the arts and the storytelling to foster empathy in other people, you know?

Shannon: I think that there’s definitely people in roles and nonprofits that don’t have the people skills, and I think that that’s something that’s really important for helping vulnerable populations and also being able to be more understanding to the place that people are at. And I think that sometimes, when you don’t have those skills, it’s more difficult to navigate. Like, you can have that care, but when you’re not able to get through to people or be able to talk to them in a way that they want to be spoken to is a very difficult thing to navigate if you don’t have that experience or that talent.

Chad: Yeah, that’s spot on. And so, can I just ask you a quick question?

Shannon: Yeah, of course.

The Qualities of a Good Communications Director

Chad: Because you made me think of something. What do you think makes a good communications director? Particularly in the field of arts?

Shannon: I would think maybe openness to the different types of creative person. I actually have this conversation with people a lot where I think that everyone has an ability to be artistic or be creative, but not everyone has the same type of brain. So I think that a lot of people can be good at something in a different way than what someone expects them to be.

For example, for the longest time, I didn’t consider myself to be a creative person. I am not really artistically inclined. I’m very easily able to copy, but I can’t come up with any authentic, creative something that I’ve never seen before in my head and put it on paper or whatever medium it is. But I think that in so many ways, me and other people that I’ve spoken to that don’t consider themselves to be creative, can be creative in so many different ways. It’s just not traditional.

And I think that you kind of have to, as a director of communication, you have to inspire people to feel like they can be creative, even if they don’t feel that they are. Because I think that there’s so many ways that people can do it, and even people who don’t think they’re good at drawing, they’ll say, “Oh, I’m not good at this.” I think that sometimes that’s just a different art style maybe. You don’t think you’re good at drawing, but you have your own style that you can’t compare to someone else’s. And just because there’s things in museums that are just a line…

Chad: Yeah, exactly. And people consider that art because of maybe who the person is or the story behind it.

Shannon: And I think that everyone is capable of art and capable of creativity, but to inspire is something that’s important in that position.

Technical Skill vs. Creativity

Chad: That’s well said. I mean, I do think that there’s such thing as being technically good or technically bad. For example, if you’re listening to someone playing music, you can tell if a person hits the wrong note, especially if you know what the song is supposed to be. Or if you hear someone singing out of key, and you can tell the difference between a kindergartner who scribbles versus Picasso. And sometimes, you have to know the rules before you can break them in an intentional way.

But I think what you really hit the nail on is the fact that creativity itself shows up in many different ways. And that there isn’t enough creativity to go around for almost anyone to say that they have some of it, to some extent. I think there’s clearly some people who are more creative than others, and that might just be a matter of those people really leaning into what was already there and strengthening it in the same way that one would strengthen a muscle.

Shannon: I definitely resonate with that a lot because I feel like so many people are able to express themselves artistically but aren’t taught or aren’t told that they’re able to. And I think that’s a gripe that I have sometimes with whether people think they’re artistic or not, is that I think everyone’s creative and has the capability of being artistic and being talented in different mediums. But I think that people believe that they can’t be because of a specific mindset that they have, or specific way they were raised, or a specific way in which they think, and I especially love to see people that get involved in creative talents that aren’t geared towards that from birth, or they weren’t attracted to that immediately.

The Innate Nature of Creativity

Chad Eric Smith: And I also say that all people are born artists. Because you think about how creative kids tend to want to be, like, the first thing they get their hands on, they want to explore the world. They want to try to create something. You give them some crayons, they’re gonna end up drawing on the wall. It may annoy you, but it’s them expressing themselves to some extent.

And in some ways, the world beats it out of people. It’s a place that doesn’t always consistently seem to appreciate the power of art, and that’s one of the things I love about working at Mural Arts Philadelphia is that our mission is to use participatory public art to inspire change in people, place, and practice in order to make a more just and equitable Philadelphia. And by doing so, being a model to cities around the world. The idea that art could be so transformative is a very ambitious one, but I think it’s one that we see as being true every day.

Graffiti vs. Public Art

Shannon: I really love seeing it in Philadelphia specifically, too, because I do see some, and I think everyone looks at these things in different ways, and I can understand them only so much depending on the perspective, but I see some outside of Mural Arts—because it’s not a typical definition of graffiti—but I see some beautiful graffiti in Philadelphia outside of murals, and I just see the talent that’s there, but I think that sometimes maybe this medium hasn’t been given to them to be able to create something like Mural Arts does. But I still think that it’s not any less beautiful too.

And I think that there’s so much talent in Philadelphia to be able to create and to be able to inspire. And it makes me really happy that something like Mural Arts exists because I’ve been so excited to talk to you since our first email because of working with First Step Staffing, where they had, I don’t know if they still do this, because I know they’re no longer in the municipal building, but working with formerly homeless people to do art on a specific day a week, and also work on the mural in the train station with Mural Arts.

And that was something that I was just so happy to see because there’s so many populations, there’s so many nonprofits for populations that provide basic needs, and I think that’s obviously the most important. But I think that creativity is something that is not considered as much because you can have your basic needs, but there’s still so many things that people as humans want and make them happy and make them feel inspired and make them feel human. And I think art and being creative is one of those things. And I’ve just been inspired by Mural Arts ever since coming in contact with it.

Mural Arts’ Mission and Impact

Chad: That’s excellent, and happy to hear. You know, our slogan is “Beautify, inspire, empower.” And that’s because for over 40 years now, our organization has existed to provide transformative experiences, progressive discourse and economic stimulus to the city of Philadelphia through participatory public art that beautifies, advocacy that inspires, and educational programming and employment opportunities that empower.

And I love that that sentence, which is our brand statement, sums up how impactful our work has been. You had mentioned graffiti as being a credible, beautiful style of art, and I agree. In fact, I think in my humble opinion that the Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Network was probably not the best name from the time, but I understand the rationale behind it when former Mayor Wilson Good created it. He ran on a campaign of trying to alleviate this issue.

Shannon: I guess it would get more support from a different side that you would want for funding purposes too.

Chad: But the other thing about graffiti is that many know that graffiti is one of four pillars of hip-hop culture. You have break dancing, MCing, and graffiti. And when you realize that it’s a culture, there’s a cultural component to it and a style, it’s hard to dismiss its impact on the world.

And so Mural Arts evolved into an organization that’s not really anti-anything. It’s just pro art. And I appreciate that as someone who is also a fan of the style of letter bending. And I think for me, the distinction is art that has been approved and is legal and isn’t vandalism and art that isn’t. And that’s to me where the line is drawn.

Arts Funding and Advocacy

Shannon: Do you feel like Mural Arts is kind of a response to the lack of support for arts funding in the city?

Chad: Well, Mural Arts is certainly on the front lines of advocating for artists to be treated with respect and dignity and being viewed as valuable. And, we advocate for there being more funding put into the creative economy for artists because we believe that their work is more important than just beauty and entertainment, but is again, transformative.

And as our executive director, Jane Golden, would say, can really move the needle in helping us solve some of our most intractable social issues. You bring a creative person into the room, have them have a seat at the table, something great will come out of that discussion, even if you’re just talking about some of the most difficult topics.

Whether it’s how do you improve the recidivism rate in a city? Well, we have been able to prove you can do that through our restorative justice department. Or how could you give someone the dignity of a job and help them to get paid in the same day that they do the work? Well, we do that through our Color Me Back program, which is part of our Porch Light program, which is in collaboration with the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services.

And so when you consider how powerful art can be as a driver of economics, as a change agent, I think Mural Arts is in some ways a response to a need, which is ensuring that people who are creative and artists have the ability to have their energies go towards things that are constructive but is also proactively trying to get everyone on board to understand and see the value of our mission.

Shannon Penji: I think that’s very well said. I definitely think that as I studied political science in college, something that I have seen is the previous funding models for the city. And I think I just remember being so unbelievably disappointed in the lack of funding for the arts and also education in the city. And again, that’s another reason why I really admire Mural Arts because I feel like there’s a lot being done on that front.

But I think that when there’s issues in the city, the first thing that people go to usually is not education or the arts. And I think that if that was the case, a lot of things would be improved upon because I think those are the best ways to make people feel inspired and empowered and motivated. I love how you took that talking point and ran with it. That was great. It’s a very perfect way of describing the organization. I think there’s not always the sometimes one’s mission statement does not encompass an organization as well as it succeeds in, but I think that that’s actually very perfect for Mural Arts.

Creating a Clear Brand Message

Chad: Thank you so much. And the mission statement, which I think is a little bit more ambitious and vague and not as to the point about the how, with the brand statement that I spouted off is a lot more to the point. And the “Beautify, inspire, empower” slogan are action-oriented words that really succinctly describe it.

The way I came about that, again, to draw from my experience as a filmmaker, was thinking about a log line to a movie. You know, if you look at Netflix, you can read that one-sentence description that describes what the movie’s about. That’s basically kind of the way my mind was working. Like, how can I synthesize nearly 40 years of history into a single sentence that kind of epitomizes what the brand of Mural Arts is that I’m in charge of managing? And that’s how I came up with it, just kind of thinking about it from the perspective of a filmmaker.

Shannon: It’s definitely a perfect way of describing it because I think that that is what I’ve kind of always felt that it’s done since wanting to know more about it.

Community Involvement in Mural Projects

Shannon: So, switching gears a little bit, I was wondering what is the process of getting people in the community involved in mural projects? I know that there’s a section on your website to submit an idea, but is there other ways in which you do this?

Chad: There’s multiple ways. Like you said, if you go to muralarts.org, there is an opportunity to submit a mural idea. You can even submit a wall if someone has a wall that’s in their neighborhood or they own that they think would be worthwhile because we’re like wall hunters. We’re always looking for a good spot to put up a new piece of artwork. So that’s one way to do it.

And, of course, not everyone who submits an idea will have their idea brought into fruition. There’s a lot of reasons for why that would be the case, but primarily just because we get too many ideas in a given year. You can’t do them all.

But other ways that murals come about is, for example, a partner or a potential partner coming to us with an idea, with a funding source, and a wall. Or it could be a funder themselves, someone who already has deep pockets and has some sort of idea that they want to execute. That makes it easier because, ultimately, while we’re part city, we’re also part nonprofit. And so we rely on these murals—they don’t paint themselves, as one of the characters in Abbott Elementary once said in an episode last year, and it’s true.

So some of the murals are created as a result of an idea that has come from the community, and we’ve been able to kind of use our resources to run with the idea. And then some of them are a little bit more politically centric—and when I say politically centric, I mean that they’re kind of connected to the city of Philadelphi,a and the funding is coming from the city and maybe a council person or the mayor has an expectation of us. And then other times it’s a result of some sort of partnership with a partner and with a funder that helps make it a reality. So it just kind of varies and depends on the project.

Shannon: Is there ever a time where you as an organization, have an idea for a mural that’s outside of an outside source coming to you with an idea?

Chad: That’s a good question. Not that I can think of, honestly. I think a lot of the murals that we help to facilitate the execution of is really rooted in collaboration. And ofte,n it comes to us from this outside in. And then we, of course, curate and try to make, go through a design review, and ensure that the process of the idea becoming a piece of artwork is done with the utmost diligence and high quality.

But I just can’t at the moment think of too many murals. I’m sure there are murals that have kind of started internally and then become public with very little support from a partner or funder. But forgive me, I can’t recall at the moment. And I think that’s part of what’s cool about the work that we do is that it is so community-focused and community-centric.

Shannon: I think that’s definitely extremely amazing because I think that if you’re looking outward, then you are more likely to have more engagements with communities that are looking for something rather than creating it within just to do it, you know?

Community Engagement Process

Chad Eric Smith: And to add to that, you made a good point about the community. We also don’t want to be prescriptive. We don’t want to go into a community and say, “we should put this here, we’re gonna put this here.” That doesn’t go over well.

And so we have an internal process to ensure that things go up in the right way. And I think it would be kind of overzealous of us as an organization to say that we believe in participatory public art and then just create art and choose to place it somewhere without the community having any buy-in or engagement.

Shannon: Do you ever experience setbacks in the process to have a mural painted somewhere because of the community?

Chad: That’s a great question. Yes, that does happen, but not very often. Usually, if everyone internally follows the processes that we have in place, it tends to go well.

Now, there was an example earlier this year where there was a lone dissenter, and there were articles in the Inquirer about it regarding a piece of artwork that went up. And that lone dissenter had such a big vocal opposition to the mural that it resulted in the Inquirer writing an article about it. And people then are learning about it, and there’s being kind of this outpouring of support to keep the mural up.

But again, that’s kind of a rare situation. More times than not, the process is such that the people who are part of the community are happy to see the mural go up, may have played a role in helping paint it, and may have also played a role in the ideating around the idea itself.

Shannon: That’s really good to hear. I was wondering because it would be nice to just hear that everyone always wants a mural in their city. I think that that’s really nice and I would love to see one around the corner from me.

Chad: You’d be surprised. Every once in a while, we have a person who is not as enthused about the power of art as we are or has a very particular and specific, albeit subjective, point of view about what looks good aesthetically.

And our murals tend to not just be art for art’s sake. They tend to have some sort of socially driven or even political or historic elements connected to them. And some people are anti-history. Some people are anti-art. Some people are anti-humanities. Some people are anti-progress.

And so we understand that we live in a world where there’s people with varying opinions. But for the most part, I think we’ve been able to navigate almost a half a dozen mayors because I think we do something right, and I think that more times than not, people love what Mural Arts Philadelphia stands for. And I think the city is a more beautiful city as a result of our work.

Impact of Politics on Arts Organizations

Shannon: Do you think that the results of the recent election will impact the organization? Are there any worries?

Chad: That’s a good question. I mean, thankfully, Philadelphia is a city that’s known for the arts. We are a city that has historically had support from city council and support from the mayor of Philadelphia. And so, I think that the value of our mission will continue to be viewed as important and significant and constructive for the city of Philadelphia.

And that ultimately is what matters most because I don’t think we get much funding from the federal government. We may get some, but for the most part we’re getting it from individual donors and private donors and foundations and the city. So, I think our goal would be what it always has been, regardless of who is the president of the United States, which is to continue to advocate.

In fact, Mural Arts Philadelphia is our brand name, but our 501(c)(3) is called Mural Arts Advocates. And so we are gonna continue to advocate for public art, continue to shout from the roofs about why art is so critical and so important. We’re gonna continue to hope that city council and the mayor sees the value of what we do and how it’s helpful to their constituents.

And I think the role of artists is to use art as a hammer to shape the world in the way that you want it to be. And so I think the other great thing about what we can continue to do is use our work and mission to create and shape narratives around issues that are important to us and that are in alignment with our values as a way to be the leaders of progressive discourse and ultimate change.

So it’s hard to know what the future holds and how national politics can affect us on the microcosm of the city level. My hope is that it doesn’t affect us negatively in that if anything, the work that we do is felt by many as more necessary than ever, primarily because of all that’s at stake in a lot of people’s minds.

Shannon: It makes me really happy to hear that. I really asked more out of curiosity than anything else because I worry myself about these things, and anytime something like this happens, I worry about Philadelphia because I care about it a lot. And I know that national politics doesn’t always significantly negatively affect things.

Looking Ahead to 2026

Chad: Well, let me point this out: in 2026, we will be celebrating the nation’s semi-quincentennial, which is the 250th anniversary or birthday of the nation. And when you consider that there was a meeting in Philadelphia in which the Second Continental Congress voted for the independence of the United States, and that resulted in the birth of this nation, I think more than any time leading up to 2026, Mural Arts Philadelphia is gonna have to play a role in using public art to talk about themes like the importance of democracy and why it’s important to maintain it.

Or the importance of the arts and humanities to foster a culture of empathy in a time when perhaps those things, like empathy or competence or leadership, are maybe not as valued in the same way as they used to be. So I think these are things that we look forward to doing.

In fact, sometimes, when things are going exactly the way you want them to go, you become complacent. But when things become a little bit unnerving and unsure, then I think that’s when people have a fire under them to make sure that they take a stand and use whatever means they have to be constructive and to be thoughtful and to be impactful.

Conclusion

Shannon: I completely agree and I’m happy to hear that you’re hopeful. It’s just great to hear because sometimes it’s hard to be hopeful. But it’s also really nice to hear because this is just an organization that I really care about, and I’m happy to know that you have more hope than you do fear. And I think even fear is not necessarily always a bad thing too. It also kind of shows you sometimes what truly matters in those situations.

Chad: Fear reminds us that we’re human. Fear, in the same way that anxiety or sadness or a feeling of defeat does too. But hope I think, is something that transcends all that. And I think the story of America is one where, for all the bad things that have occurred historically, there’s a lot of good, too.

And I think that we can always rest assured and be reminded that even if someone thinks a particular moment in time are dark days, sometimes things are dark right before the dawn. And then it’s gonna be a new day. And so our hope is that no matter what the future holds in the next few years as a result of this election, that people look to Mural Arts Philadelphia as a kind of north star as it relates to what’s good for civic engagement and what’s good for humankind, and how we should treat and value one another.

Shannon: I think that is an incredible note to end on. I’m always happy to leave on a hopeful note, but I also think that a lot of people in Philadelphia have a problem with hopelessness—not like a problem per se, but it’s very hard when you see a lot of people in higher up positions in the government not care about the city. And it’s really nice to see that there’s always community efforts to work on these things and help everyone that’s in the city because I think that’s the most important, and those are always the things that are gonna drive change the most.

Chad: And yeah, you can’t control necessarily what’s gonna happen on the national level. If you voted, then that is one way that you played a role in the future. And not everyone’s gonna get what they want out of that vote. But what you can do is determine what you can do in your own personal lives to make the person next to you feel like they’re having a better day or to create positive change in your own community. And Mural Arts Philadelphia will continue to be a community-focused, community-centric organization no matter who is in charge of the nation.

Shannon: You hear that, everyone? I think that’s really beautiful and I’m really happy to hear it. I think that nonprofits and community-led organizations in Philadelphia inspire so much change, and I’ve seen it firsthand working with some of them, and I’m very happy to hear everything that you’ve said about it as well because I think that’s really important to me and I think it’s really important for the city. So, thank you so much for sharing.

Chad: I appreciate it. I really enjoyed us talking about it.

Shannon: Well, I’m happy and I hope that this is a good end to your day and a good probably start because we usually post in the morning to everyone watching.

Chad: Cool.

Shannon: Well, everybody, thank you so much, and thank you, everyone, for watching or listening. Again, don’t forget to like and subscribe to hear more stories like this. I really hope that this inspires you to make change as well. Thank you so much.

Chad: Thank you.

Apple Music

Spotify

Amazon