A local artist is selling "Bird Gang" T-shirts to raise money to re-create his 35-foot mural of a pigeon that's been largely obstructed by a new apartment building in Fishtown. 

Public art nonprofit Visual Urban Renewal and Transformation (VURT) recently launched a $10,000 fundraising campaign to repaint the avian mural in both Fishtown and Graduate Hospital. Donations can be made through GiveButter or by preordering a T-shirt, which features a heart-framed pigeon wearing a gold chain.

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The movement to "Bring Back the Pigeon Mural!" is an ode to the "Prince of Front Street" at ​1842 N. Front St., a design by VURT co-founder Evan Lovett and collaborator Jimmy Glossblack. The mural went up in 2016, when Lovett operated a tattoo parlor in the building. But when a new apartment complex was being built next door, the street view of the design was almost entirely blocked. 

"I didn't take it personally, but I think it was a shame," Lovett said. "Every day driving past it on the way home, it kind of annoyed me because it seemed to be mocking me, like, 'This is all that's left, this little piece,' and I just thought it was funny. But when the community constantly reached out to me about bringing it back and how much it bothered them that it disappeared, that's what really moved me."

In response, Lovett reached out to supporters to see about finding a new space for the design. He ended up with two: one on a residence in Fishtown that's adjacent to an empty lot and another on a three-story home in Graduate Hospital that's owned by a family who rescued a pigeon a few years ago and has kept it as a pet. The addresses of the future artwork have yet to be disclosed.

The original pigeon design sparked Lovett's "Local Critter" series, which centers on animals found within the city. Those designs include "Fawn Jawn," a pair of deer on a wall in East Falls; "Token Squirrel," a squirrel nibbling on a SEPTA token in Norris Square; and "Bickering Birds," two chirping sparrows in Queen Village. He's also the artist behind the raccoon holding a soft pretzel mural in Port Richmond, and the painted ponies on the Kung Fu Necktie building in Fishtown. 

With the series, Lovett said he wanted to paint the often-overlooked creatures on a large scale so they can't be missed. But he also wanted to add in some funny elements to bring joy to passersby. 

"I want people to be reminded that not all artwork has to have a message, sometimes it can just be beautiful and sometimes it can make you smile," Lovett said. "And these whimsical Easter eggs that I add in there is just something that I feel a lot of people can relate to."

The pigeon isn't the first of Lovett's designs to get obstructed by new construction. He and Glossblack also worked together on the "Welcome to" Fishtown mural that features three orange cats. The artwork was shown in Jason Segel's AMC show "Dispatches from Elsewhere," and in the Philadelphia season of "Queer Eye."

That design, too, was covered up by a new build, although Lovett was able to re-create it in the courtyard at Barcade. In his eyes, development will always happen, so his murals won't last forever. But the joy they bring to the community can live on. 

"It's not always a tragedy, I think it's amazing when people love something so much that they want to preserve it or bring it back, that's fun," Lovett said. "To try to fight against change is futile, so you just roll with the punches and I'll paint the same mural every day on a different wall if I have the opportunity."