ABOUT HAGOPIAN ARTS

Hagopian Arts LLC is an independent, female-owned public art initiative based in West Philadelphia, founded by Kala Hagopian in 2016. With a focus on imagery inspired by nature, Hagopian Arts creates luminous murals that juxtapose highly rendered realism with vibrant geometric patterns and atmospheric elements. These artworks celebrate the beauty of the natural world while transforming urban spaces into dynamic narratives that highlight ecology, culture, and community.
Kala’s upbringing in the rural landscapes of Central Vermont, immersed in nature and guided by her artist father, Philip Hagopian, profoundly shaped her painting style and environmental focus. Early training under her father instilled in Kala a deep understanding of color, composition, and light, which she further honed after moving to Philadelphia to study at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, graduating in 2009. After beginning her public art career in 2012 as part of the mural collective Chroma Dolls, Kala established Hagopian Arts in 2016, bringing her passion for nature and art together in transformative public projects. Hagopian Arts' passion-driven initiative, the Eco Mural Project, launched in 2018 with over $75,000 in donated murals in West Philly, has grown into the foundation of Kala's commissioned work.

Serving a wide range of clients—including international corporations, nonprofits, community organizations, real estate developers, small businesses, and private residences—Hagopian Arts prioritizes collaboration and community engagement. Each mural reflects the unique histories, traditions, and cultures of the neighborhoods it enhances, fostering meaningful connections between art and community.
Hagopian Arts is committed to supporting nonprofit partners working to protect pollinators and restore ecological balance
The Monarch Joint Venture is a national partnership dedicated to conserving monarch butterflies and other pollinators. Since 2008, the MJV has brought together partners from across the United States in a unified effort to conserve the monarch migration. This diverse partnership includes federal and state agencies, other nonprofits, community groups, businesses, and academic programs that work together to implement science-based conservation actions in the form of education, habitat, and science. These actions are organized in a regularly updated Monarch Conservation Implementation Framework, which serves as a framework to guide conservation planning for individuals, partners, and other interested stakeholders nationally.
North American Land Trust (NALT) is 501c3 conservation charity whose mission is to permanently conserve and steward natural and cultural resources through innovative land preservation partnerships. Since its start in 1992, NALT has proudly preserved more than 139,000 acres of natural land in 24 states, primary through permanent conservation easements. NALT’s Vision is to establish strategic partnerships, creatively engage the community, and promote innovative solutions to permanently conserve and steward land.
We work with individuals all over the country to conserve the land that is special to them, ensuring that the natural, cultural and historic features, scenic beauty and important ecosystems are protected forever. Through our strategic conservation planning services, we offer creative solutions that are both visionary and pragmatic for achieving our conservation partner’s goals. NALTs areas of expertise include: Land Protection, Conservation Management, Monitoring & Stewardship, Planning & Design, and Research & Education.
The Philadelphia Orchard Project (POP) is a nonprofit organization that plants and supports community orchards in Philadelphia, creating beautiful green spaces, connecting neighbors, providing hands-on learning experiences, and growing fresh fruit for generations to come.
POP currently supports 70 orchards in 24 zip codes across the city. Since 2007, we've planted over 30,000 edible and useful plants, including fruit and nut trees, berry bushes, fruiting vines, perennial vegetables, herbs, and pollinator plants. We champion orchards and food forests as a path for long-term community-owned change, driven by a vision of a just and equitable city where everyone has access to fresh food, clean air, and nature. Our model is grounded in partnership with community groups. POP provides partners with guidance, training, resources, and hands-on support. Partner groups own, maintain, harvest, and distribute within their community.
Since our founding in 1997, Pollinator Partnership’s mission is to promote the health of pollinators, critical to food and ecosystems, through conservation, education, and research. Each day, we work to create a future in which we will have a sustainable and equitable world for people and pollinators, with food production, ecosystems, and economies thriving. Our various programs are centered around habitat creation, creating educational resources and opportunities, and administering research initiatives that seek to fill in the gaps in our knowledge about pollinators and their role supporting our ecosystems.
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is a nonprofit organization that protects our world through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitats. Xerces works throughout North America to conserve pollinators and other invertebrates, protect endangered species, and reduce pesticide use and impacts. Our staff use applied research, policy advocacy, public education and on-the-ground habitat improvement to advance meaningful, long-term conservation. Xerces is the largest invertebrate conservation organization in the world.
For over 50 years, we have been champions of Earth’s most biodiverse and overlooked animals, protecting the life that sustains us. Xerces was founded in 1971 by lepidopterist Robert Michael Pyle. After hearing of the impending loss of the large blue butterfly from Britain, he was inspired to begin the first organization in the U.S. dedicated to preventing similar extinctions. Our name (which is pronounced Zer-sees, or /ˈzɚˌsiz/) comes from the now-extinct Xerces blue butterfly (Glaucopsyche xerces), the first butterfly known to go extinct in North America as a result of human activities.
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A Commitment to Environmental Art and Community
Hagopian Arts is at the forefront of environmentally focused public art through its Eco Mural Project, an ongoing series of murals designed to inspire awareness and action on ecological and cultural issues. These meticulously detailed works immerse viewers in the beauty of at-risk ecosystems while addressing pressing concerns like environmental degradation and biodiversity loss.
Within this initiative, the Wild Medicine Eco Mural Project highlights the cultural heritage of medicinal plants, fostering deeper connections between individuals and the natural world. Murals like Eco Mural 18: Women’s Wild Medicine, the pilot of which is installed at Penn OB/GYN, explore the ancestral bond between women and medicinal plants and have inspired a series within the Wild Medicine Eco Mural Project. In collaboration with illustrator Katie Lillard, Hagopian Arts also developed the Wild Medicine Coloring Journal and Foraging Guide, featuring 20 medicinal plants. Distributed to schools and community organizations, these resources empower youth and families to safely engage with wild plants and explore their uses.
Key murals include:
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Wild Medicine Eco Mural 20: Artelo, celebrating the interdependence of plants, pollinators, and human communities in collaboration with Square Roots Collective, Artelo, and Kennett Trails Alliance
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Wild Medicine Eco Mural 21: Bartram’s Garden, honoring the Lenni Lenape people’s botanical knowledge through mini murals, in partnership with the Philadelphia Housing Authority, Empowered CDC, and Bartram’s Garden (the oldest botanical Garden in the country.)
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Eco Mural 11: in partnership with John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge
Programming highlights include herbal medicine-making workshops led by Melaney Gilchrist, yoga and mindfulness sessions with Breathe Moore, and painting workshops with children and community members at sites like Hyacinth Montessori School, the Hispanic Heritage Festival in Kennett Square, and John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge.
By integrating art, education, and advocacy, Hagopian Arts engages diverse communities to foster pride, belonging, and collective responsibility for the natural world.
Art with Purpose
Hagopian Arts merges fine art with environmental advocacy, creating murals that redefine public spaces and inspire a renewed appreciation for the natural world. By celebrating the interconnectedness of ecology, culture, and community, Hagopian Arts continues to leave a transformative mark on urban landscapes, inspiring meaningful change for generations to come.
