Ben Volta (b. 1979 in Abington, PA) creates intricate public murals and sculptures, working within the fields of education, restorative justice, and urban planning. His practice stands on the belief that art can be a catalyst for change, within individuals as well as the institutional structures that surround them.

Ben is a 2015 Pew Fellow. He earned his certificate in sculpture from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 2002 and his BFA from the University of Pennsylvania in 2005, during which he completed extensive graduate coursework in art history and design. After finishing his academic studies, Ben began working with teachers and students in Philadelphia public schools to create participatory art rooted in an exploratory and educational process. For the past 17 years, he has been developing this collaborative process in partnership with public schools, art organizations, and communities. He has received funding to work in more than 50 schools on hundreds of projects, which have focused on skills alignments and the integration of art with math, science, and reading. As a young artist and for 20 years, Ben was a member of the groundbreaking art collective Tim Rollins and K.O.S. in New York City.
 

 

Select Public Art Projects

 

2024

• Exhibition and mural project with The Cultural Programs of The National Academy of Sciences, Mural Arts Philadelphia and Alain Locke Elementary School (Washington DC and Philadelphia, PA)

 

2024

+ “Ocean Songs” Large mural project with Mural Arts Philadelphia for Alexander Adaire Public School (Philadelphia, PA)

 

2022

+ “United by Emotions” Panasonic Center, Tokyo Japan / Mosaic mural in Saiki, Japan: U.S.-Japan Creative Artists Fellowship Program, funded by the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts:  Collaborative public art project with the Chara Rimpa Project and Bache Martin Elementary School (Philadelphia, PA + Tokyo, Saiki, Japan)

 

2020 - 2021

+ "Frequencies: Edison + Morrison" Facebook Data Center (New Albany, Ohio)

+ Small Town Big Art, Public art in Wailuku, collaboration with 300 6th grade students at the Iao School (Maui, Hawaii)

 

2019

+ “Thoreau’s Ensemble”: Public Art for Colts Neck Underpass, Public Art Reston, Mural on aluminum composite paneling – created with 650 youth, Seniors and community members (Reston, VA) Named one of CODAworx Top 100 for the 2020 CODAawards

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2018
+ “Synaptic Garden”: 3 large scale murals for the Comcast Technology Center (Philadelphia, PA)
+ “Parts Per Million”: 14000 sq/ft mural for South Philadelphia High School, with Mural Arts Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA)

 

2017
+ “Neuron Garden”: Direct to Glass printing on for 3 wind shelters at Crandford Train Station, with New Jersey Transit (Crandford, NJ)
+ “Moxie Roots”: 12000 sq/ft ceiling mural for Roxborough High School, with Mural Arts Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA)
+ “Diligence”: interior mural for the Free Library of Philadelphia, Tacony Branch, with Percent for Art (Philadelphia, PA) Named one of Americans for the Arts Public Art Network Year in Review best public art projects of 2018

 

2016
+ “Pattern Process”, solo exhibition at The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (Philadelphia, PA)
+ “Kaleidoscope Cove”, interactive solo exhibition, Family in Residence at the Delaware Art Museum (Wilmington, DE)
+ “Bloom”: 3300 sq. ft. mural with the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program Restorative Justice GUILD (Philadelphia, PA)

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2015
+ “Celestial Cascade”: suspended sculpture for the McLaughlin Youth Facility, with the Alaska State Council on the Arts (Anchorage, AK)
+ “Frequencies”: 3600 sq. ft. mural project, in partnership with The Franklin Institute, chemists at DOW Paint Quality Institute, the Lenfest Center, and the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program (Philadelphia, PA)

 

2014
+ “Micro to Macro”: 12,000 sq. ft. mural, wrapping Morton McMichael School, with the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program (Philadelphia, PA)
+ “Amplify”: 4700 sq. ft. mural for Union Transfer music venue, with the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program Restorative Justice GUILD (Philadelphia, PA)

+ “Coordinates of Play”: ceiling installation for Pleasant Playground, with Percent for Art (Philadelphia, PA)

+ “Paper Please”: group exhibit at Pentimenti Gallery (Philadelphia, PA)

 

2013
+ “Emoji Energy”: digital and screen-printed fence wrap for the PECO Callowhill substation, with the Asian Arts Initiative, Artplace America, and The Fabric Workshop and Museum (Philadelphia, PA)
+ “Historical Catalysts”: exhibit at the National Academy of Sciences (Washington, DC)

+ “We Are All Neurons”: mural wrapping a SEPTA train on the Market-Frankford line, a City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program Local Emerging Artist Project (Philadelphia, PA)

+ “A Healing Home”: window film wrap at Eleventh Street Family Health Services and large-scale mural on the sidewalk outside Spring Garden School, with the Porch Light Initiative, City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, the Department of Behavioral Health, and Eleventh Street Family Health Services of Drexel University, with additional assessment by the Yale School of Medicine (Philadelphia, PA)

+ “Coral Lace,” ceiling sculpture installation for the emergency room waiting area; “Medicinal Forest, Medicinal Mountains,” pair of 8’ x 20’ murals with digital displays on the 2nd and 3rd floors, at the Rockwell Group’s Cohen Children’s Medical Center, with Pentimenti Gallery and Museum Editions (New Hyde Park, NY)

+ “Marvels”: Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, with Bancroft Elementary School (Wilmington, DE)

 

2012

+ “Written in Wood”: mural for the Center for Art in Wood, with the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program Restorative Justice GUILD (Philadelphia, PA)

+ “Tectonic Quilt”: mural on Hosho paper at The Philadelphia International Airport, With the City of Philadelphia Percent for Art Program and Grover Washington Middle School (Philadelphia, PA)

 

2005 – 2011  

Selected Exhibitions and Public Art 

+ “The Constellation”: public art for the Glen Elm Library, Dunlop Gallery (Regina, SK, Canada)

+ “Love Invaders”: vinyl graphic installation wrapping the JFK Welcome Center at Love Park, with the Philadelphia Museum of Art Delphi Programs (Philadelphia, PA)

+ “Shape Invaders”: vinyl graphic installation wrapping the exterior windows of the School District of Philadelphia Education Center (Philadelphia, PA), the windows of the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts (Wilmington, DE), and a large interior wall at the Central Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia. (Philadelphia, PA) 

+ “Home that Was,” 3 story mural with the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program (Philadelphia, PA)

+ “STEAM”: Solo exhibit showcasing five years of art, science and math projects created with Grover Washington Jr. Middle School, at the Esther Klein Gallery, The Science Center (Philadelphia, PA)

+ “Paperpattern Colorculture,” Solo exhibit, Pentimenti Gallery (Philadelphia, PA)

+ “Elletrostatica,” Solo exhibit, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, (Wilmington, DE)

 

 Selected Education, Community AND Collaborative Initiatives

+ Artist in Residence at Grover Washington Jr Middle School for consecutive 7 years (Philadelphia, PA)

+ Arts Bridges and Arts Link Pilot Programs, Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership and the United States Department of Education Office of Innovation and Improvement. School District of Philadelphia, for consecutive 6 years (Philadelphia, PA) 

+ Art Futures and Art Partners Residencies, Philadelphia Museum of Art for consecutive 6 years (Philadelphia, PA)

+ SHORT FILM: “Art Action at Love Park,” Philadelphia Museum of Art Summer Film Program, with the Big Picture Alliance, Nueva Esperanza Academy, and Taller Puertorriqueño, (Philadelphia, PA)

+ Art and Community Residency, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, with the Delaware School for the Deaf, (Newark, DE)

 

Select Professional Experience

+ 2016 - 2023: Guest Lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA)

+ 2018: Negev Now, keynote speaker, Sapir College (Sderot, Israel)
+ 2016: “Girotondo”, artist residency, UNIDEE - Cittadellarte, Fondazione Pistoletto, (Biella, Italy)
+ 2016: PAEA Conference, keynote speaker (Philadelphia, PA)

+ 2016: Steamship Conference at the Drexel ExCite Center, keynote speaker (Philadelphia, PA)

+ 2015: Second Chance Act National Conference, panelist and presenter (Washington DC)

+ 2014: Moscow Cultural Forum, panelist and presenter (Moscow, Russia)

+ 2014: Creative Mornings, October presenter on the theme of color (Philadelphia, PA)

+ 2013: The CHAMP Conference at the National Academy of Sciences, presenter (Washington DC)

+ 2009–10: Grant Panelist for the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts "Arts in Education" program (Harrisburg, PA)

+ 2007–13: Consultant for teacher workshops with the Philadelphia Museum of Art, School District of Philadelphia, and Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership

+ 2010 Presenter and Panelist at the National Art Education Association (NAEA) National Convention (Baltimore, MD)

+ 2009 Presenter and Panelist at the Association of American Museums Annual Meeting and Museum Expo, Pennsylvania Convention Center (Philadelphia, PA)

 

Select Press and Publications

+ 2021 “Looking Inward to Reach Outward” Issues in Science and Technology, Journal of the National Academies

+ 2020 “International Artistic Exchange Thriving during COVID Pandemic” Jason Morgan, Japan Forward 

+ 2020 “Supporting the Tokyo Olympics with art, Children of Saiki City participate in work production” Oita Press 

+ 2020 PENN Graduate School of Education Magazine, Urban Education (Cover)

+ 2019 “‘Thoreau’s Ensemble’ to put Reston ‘on the public art world map” Fairfax County Times

+ 2019 Forecast for Public Art, Public Art Review #59.

+ 2018 “Colorful, complex, proud: Telling the story of S. Philadelphia HS through public art” Kristen Graham, Philadelphia Inquirer

+ 2018 Off the Shelf – A Magazine of the Free Library of Philadelphia (Feature)

+ 2018 PENN Graduate School of Education Magazine, Leaders in Education (Cover)

+2017 “Mural Master, Ben Volta talks about making giant public paintings” Scholastic Art 

+ 2017 “REBUILDING COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE Tacony’s new library spurs hopes of a neighborhood reborn” Malcolm Burnley, Plan Philly

+ 2015 “Articulate with Jim Cotter” Episode 7, WHYY TV Series

+ 2014 “Art for Excellence's Sake” Natalie Pompilio, Philadelphia Inquirer

+ 2014 “Artist Feature” National Geographic Traveler magazine, December

+ 2014 "Ville d'art & d'histoire" Voyage de Luxe, No. 62

+ 2014 “Mantua Hopes Art Will Rebuild the Neighborhood” Tommy Rowan, Metro

+ 2013 Issues in Science and Technology, Journal of the National Academies

+ 2012 “Convergence: The Art Collection of the National Academy of Sciences” JD Tallasek and Alana Quinn, Cultural Programs at the National Academy of Sciences (CPNAS)

+ 2011 “Adding Art to Educational Basics can be Scientific Approach” Peter Crimmins, WHYY, Newsworks

+ 2011 “Students, Artist Create Mural” Kerry Benjoe, Regina Leader-Post

+ 2010 “Art and Science Merge” Edward L. Kenney, Delaware News Journal

+ 2010 “Issues in Science and Technology” Journal of the National Academies