Philadelphia honors Quinta Brunson with key to the city, mural
Philadelphia Honors Quinta Brunson with key to the city, mural at alma mater
Quinta Brunson was honored by Philadelphia’s mayor with a key to the city in a ceremony Wednesday, and dedicating a separate mural at Brunson’s alma mater, which was the inspiration for her show “Abbott Elementary.”
Brunson, born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, attended Temple University where she studied theater. During her time there, she performed with the university’s improv group “Temple Theaters”, which helped hone her comedic skills.
After graduation, Quinta moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in entertainment. She began creating short comedy sketches and uploading them on various social media platforms, catapulting her to worldwide recognition.
During her acceptance speech, Quinta credited the murals that she seen painted along her subway route as a kid, drawing inspiration from them. Especially when she saw one of her own teachers featured. She said she hopes this mural has the same effect.
“You don’t need to see famous people on the wall. You need to see you on the wall,” she said. “Painted, beautiful. We are beautiful. It makes a difference. It made a difference for me, so I know even if it makes a difference for just one child, that one child matters.”
Jane Golden, executive director of Mural Arts Philadelphia, said she was thrilled when Brunson featured her organization on an episode of the show. Philadelphia is ranked No. 1 in the nation for its murals.
“When people visit Philadelphia they are struck by the works of art that grace the sides of buildings in every single neighborhood of the city,” she said. “For us, this is a matter of equity. It’s great to have world class galleries and museums — that’s wonderful — but the fact that everyone everywhere can walk out the door and see large-scale works of public art that represent them, like the school here, that is awesome.”
Watch Quinta Brunson’s key to the city ceremony below!
Philadelphia Honors Quinta Brunson with key to the city, mural at alma mater was originally published on rnbphilly.com
