“Painted City” explores Washington, DC’s murals and the preservation issues they face in rapidly changing neighborhoods by following a local historian's efforts to study and save them. Dr. Perry Frank has been documenting the city’s murals for 20 years, crisscrossing DC to interview their artists and capture photos with the help of her intrepid friend Lou, a retired journalist and her photographer. Starting with the city’s earliest murals from the 60s and 70s by African-American and Latino artists, her archive grows to include a “mural graveyard” dedicated to fallen murals that have been demolished or covered by new construction, often luxury housing. As she contemplates the future of her project, she reflects on the story it tells about a changing city – a shift that may mean change for her as well.

"Painted City" is supported in part by a grant from the Humanities Council of Washington, DC and the Office of Cable Television, Film, Music & Entertainment.