An assistant to the French-Tunisian artist eL Seed puts the finishing touches on a new mural at the corner of Preston and Market (Photos by Mike Lyons, West Philly Local)

If you’ve been up around 40th and Market in the past few days, you may have noticed a lot of activity near the corner of Market and Preston. The French-Tunisian “calligraffiti” artist el Seed is painting a mural.

eL Seed and two assistants have been working on the mural day and night since Monday and, despite the theft of their paint earlier in the week, the mural will be unveiled officially tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 18) at 11 a.m. Mural Arts Philadelphia and Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture co-sponsored the piece. 

The mural grew out of a collaborative project that grew out of the (Dis)Placed project, Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture’s initiative exploring displacement across Philadelphia diverse neighborhoods. Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture is a non-profit focused on teaching Arabic culture through arts and language.

The mural dedication runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will include refreshments and activities.

eL Seed works high up on a wall at Preston and Market on Friday.