On April 2, a small band of Artblog’s staff visited Pepón Osorio’s community-based art project, reForm. A current student at Tyler and an assistant of Osorio’s expertly lead the small group through the exhibit. A conversation with the artist and Temple Contemporary Director Rob Blackson concluded the Art Safari.
Housed at the Tyler School of Art, reForm tells the story of Fairhill Elementary’s untimely closure and of the students evicted. Fairhill was but one of two dozen schools shut down by the city of Philadelphia due to budgetary concerns in 2013. The school remains closed to this day. Osorio collaborated with teachers, students, parents, and neighbors to retrieve abandoned items from the school and create a work of installation art that would decry the injustice Osorio saw in the closing of Fairhill. Osorio also hand-picked a team of students called the Bobcats to act as the public faces of this project. Their stories and personalities make up a large part of the artistic expression in reForm. reForm contains video art and mixed-media installation that communicate a strong sense of emboldened confrontation of injustice and resilience in the face of insurmountable financial struggles.
The exhibit officially closes on May 20. Admission is free and the hours of visitation are Thursday–Sunday, noon–5 p.m. Stay tuned for more Art Safaris coming later this year. Find out more by signing up for Artblog’s newsletters and by following Philly Artblog on Facebook, where upcoming events are announced.
