Conversation with the Neighborhood
- Artist
- Steve ESPO Powers
- Location
- Good Taste, North 3rd Street, Harrisburg, PA
Created in fall 2020 by muralist Steve “ESPO” Powers, this mural depicts several emblems of Harrisburg. The artist created the graffiti-style mural on-site after talking with members of the neighborhood. Each symbol or phrase represents an individual, a business, an experience, or moment from the neighborhood chats he had.
Among the mural’s callbacks are references to “The Spot,” a beloved former Harrisburg hot dog establishment, an homage to Amtrak’s Keystone Service, and a tribute to the carryout at Good Taste Chinese Food (the restaurant whose external wall the mural resides on).
ESPO brought his iconic graphic work to his home state of Pennsylvania with the public art campaign, “Early Bird Gets the Term,” which hoped to use art to get voters to the polls in the critical swing state of Pennsylvania in 2020.
The Artist
Steve ESPO Powers
Steve ESPO Powers, born and raised in Philadelphia, began his graffiti journey at 16, tagging ESPO across his neighborhood and beyond. Transitioning from graffiti to art in 1999, Powers quickly gained recognition, exhibiting at prestigious venues like the Philadelphia ICA, the Venice Biennale, and Liverpool Biennial alongside artists like Todd James and Barry McGee. Notably, he became a Fulbright scholar in 2007, using the opportunity to create politically-inspired murals in Dublin and Belfast. His acclaimed Love Letter For You project, supported by a Pew Exhibitions Initiative grant, adorned 54 walls in West Philadelphia, garnering international attention from outlets such as The Wall Street Journal and leading to similar projects in cities worldwide. Exhibitions of his work at institutions like The Brooklyn Museum and SFMOMA further solidified his reputation as a prominent contemporary artist. Today, Powers resides in New York City, operating his storefront gallery, ESPO’s Art World, in Brooklyn's Boerum Hill, while continuing to create and exhibit his art.
