Camden Unveils Interactive Mural At City Hall Highlighting Historically Significant People, Places And Events
CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) -- Camden unveiled an interactive mural on Thursday at city hall. The project covers over 300 years of Camden History and highlights over 50 historically significant people, places and events.
The mural started years ago. It began as a panel commissioned history mural at the Camden County Historical Society by Philadelphia-based artist, Donna Backues. She originally did the mural on three large cloths, but the city wanted to do something to engage, entertain, and educate the residents about Camden's history.
In order to do that, multiple people within Camden's city government, including Office of Municipal Clerk Luis Pastoriza Patrice Bassett and Tory Irvin, in conjunction with the mayor's office, spearheaded the project. They also worked with Executive Director of the Historic Society Jack O'Byrne and Administrator Bonny Beth Elwell to complete it.
Night Kitchen Interactive, a company based in Philadelphia that crafts digital experiences that engages audiences, helped Camden make the murals accessible to the public at city hall.
Camden applied for grants to cover the costs of the mural. The city got funding from the New Jersey Historic Trust, Camden County Open Space and Camden County Heritage and Cultural Commission.
And this is just the start of the project. Phase two and three of the mural will expand the mural to include an interactive map highlighting Camden County History Alliance member historic sites and Revolutionary War sites in celebration of the upcoming 250th-anniversary celebration.