Symone Salib
Tell us about you and your work
Symone Salib is a Cuban/Egyptian street artist, muralist, and educator based out of Philadelphia. Through acrylic paint and illustration she works to highlight the lives of BIPOC. She focuses on vibrantly sharing the stories of people in hopes we can connect and resonate with humans who are different from ourselves. She believes that creating art that depicts the people you love and admire in the community helps to pay homage to hard work that these people do everyday. She wants to give people their roses while they're still on this earth. She wants people to feel the gratitude they deserve. This is something she tries to do with anything she creates and installs in the public space. She wants people to feel seen. She wants people to feel heard. She wants people to feel valued.
What inspires you?
Honestly people and storytelling inspire me! I have always been enamored by watching people light up as they talk about stuff that is important to them. Listening to people share parts of themselves and who they are is so intimate and beautiful to me. Art has become a tool for social change for me in the sense that I can visually create work in the public space about the community. I can create art that has a ripple effect that includes people in this city that I love so much and be able to share their stories with a larger audience.
What does community mean to you?
I am someone that was brought up with the values of community care and collective culture. Where there was a big emphasis on interconnectedness and making sure the group at large was taken care of. Whether it was my siblings, my cousins, or people in my neighborhood, taking care of one another has always been ingrained into my fabric values.
Favorite film
Juno
Favorite song
Amor, Amor de Mis Amores - Natalia Lafourcade and Devendra Banhart
Favorite place
Eating a guava and cheese pastelito in Miami
