Today's news rounds up several public art events happening in Philadelphia this summer and fall. Weather permitting, we highly recommend you visit the Parkway for Rachel Hsu's new piece and check out the Story Cart in the Our Market project on 9th St. and save the date for 20-20 Photo Fest in September! Enjoy and stay hydrated!
NEWS
Rachel Hsu, “The Weight of Our Living,” to be installed at Maja Park on the Parkway in Philadelphia. Opening Aug. 1-Oct. 27, 2024. Photo courtesy of Association for Public Art and the Parkway Council
Congratulations Rachel Hsu, chosen for a new public art installation on the Parkway debuting August 1, 2024
The Association for Public Art (aPA) and the Parkway Council are thrilled to announce that a new temporary public artwork by Philadelphia-based artist Rachel Hsu, titled “The Weight of Our Living,” will be installed in Maja Park at 22nd Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The installation will be on view from August 1 to October 27, 2024 as a signature highlight of The 2024 Oval—a summertime transformation of Eakins Oval and the Parkway into a park for all. Full information on The 2024 Oval programming here. More information on Rachel Hsu’s “The Weight of Our Living” here.
Rachel Hsu is a Philadelphia-based artist and graduate of Tyler School of Art and Architecture and the artwork is a tactile and meditative experience inspired by Taiwan’s reflexology footpaths. The installation invites visitors to walk barefoot along a surface of river stones, emphasizing healing, reflection, and mindfulness of our bodies in space.
Rachel Hsu, artist of “The Weight of Our Living,” a new temporary public art piece for Maja Park on the Parkway. Photo courtesy of Association for Public Art and the Parkway Council
Rachel Hsu’s proposal, her first-ever public artwork, stood out for its innovative blend of public art and wellness, and potential for cultural exchange. Inspired by reflexology footpaths in Taiwan’s public parks, the artwork invites the public to embark on a tactile and meditative journey. Visitors are encouraged to remove their shoes before traversing an undulating surface of river stones embedded in a six-foot-diameter circular platform. An adjacent curved seating element creates a space for repose and reflection, offering an escape from the fast pace of urban life. This grounding, restorative installation encourages us to slow down and be mindful of our bodies in space. It gives us the opportunity to focus on the natural environment surrounding the work and make a physical journey that connects emotional endurance with physical experience.
The artwork was the selected proposal for Art on the Parkway, a juried competition co-organized by the Association for Public Art (aPA) and the Parkway Council, in partnership with Philadelphia Parks & Recreation (PPR). Support for the project was provided, in part, by AIR Communities/Park Towne Place and Prudent Management Associates.
Save the Date – 20-20 PHOTO FESTIVAL AT CHERRY STREET PIER in September
In September 2024, Philadelphia celebrates photography! This year’s 20/20 Photo Festival explores the evolution and influence of technology on contemporary photography by featuring artists and cultural institutions that reflect the creative collaborations happening throughout Philadelphia.
Technology has altered photography every year since its inception: The camera obscura sparked the idea of image making and evolved into a pinhole camera while the Daguerreotype made it into a physical object by exposing iodized silver plates. Changes in film and chemistry moved us from making calotypes to darkroom silver prints, color prints, digital prints and now images are being created by AI. After every new stage of evolution, we adapt our practice and process by blending old and new technologies. The festival explores how technology influences a photographer’s vision through exhibitions, a photo book fair, free demonstrations, and artists talks.
A full day of free programming will take place at Cherry Street Pier in the historic Old City neighborhood on Saturday, September 7th, 2024 from 12:00pm to 7:00pm, along with a variety of photography exhibitions throughout the fall in the Philadelphia region.
Local community darkroom; The Halide Project will be organizing a variety of free interactive photographic activities during the day to expose visitors to old technology from the photographic world. We will also be celebrating World Cyanotype Day by offering free materials and instructions on how to make these beautiful blue sun prints in a new way. Gravy Studio will be organizing a photography book fair that will gather a wide variety of photographic art under one roof—from photographers, publishers, booksellers, galleries, and dealers/collectors. Past vendors include; Baltimore Photo Space, Daylight Books, Float Photo Magazine, InLiquid, Partners and Son, PhotoBookArts, Saint Lucy Books, Amie Potsic Art Advisory, TILT Institute for the Contemporary Image, The Halide Project, The Photo Review, The Print Center and many more. Throughout September, Cherry Street Pier will showcase an exhibition of TILT members’ work, alongside the 20/20 Photo Festival Annual Call for Entry exhibit. The displays will be featured both in print and on a digital mega screen.
Our Market Wants Your Stories of the Market for its Digital Archive!
The Our Market Digital Archive is an open source archive for the community. The archive is intended for the community to have agency on how they want to document and tell their stories. You can share your story or your family’s story connected to the 9th Street Market. Stories of finding home, Market Love, honoring your ancestors, or growing up in the Market as a child, these are all community stories that we want to hear.
You can share your story by clicking the link below or visit our Our Market Story Cart in June and July in select locations along the Market. The Our Market Cart is inspired by the original push carts that filled the S. 9th Street Market over 100 years ago. Click here to submit your Market Story today! Or stop by the Our Market Story Cart on Saturdays in June and July.
The Our Market Story Cart will be stationed at different locations along the 9th Street Market on the following Saturdays from 11am-2pm
Saturday, June 15th
Villa di Roma, 905 S 9th St, Philadelphia, PA 19147
Saturday, June 22nd
B&J Estampados, 1135 S 9th St 1st floor, Philadelphia, PA 19147
Saturday, June 29th
Esposito”s Meats, 1001 S 9th St, Philadelphia, PA 19147
Saturday, July 13th
Salt and Vinegar, 936 S 9th St, Philadelphia, PA 19147
Saturday, July 20th
Adelita Restaurant, 1108 S 9th St, Philadelphia, PA 19147
Saturday, July 27th
Piazza/ Di Bruno, 914 S 9th St, Philadelphia, PA 19147
SAD NEWS
The sad news continues in Florida – $32M in grants to arts organizations vetoed
DeSantis Vetoes All Arts Grants in Florida By Patricia Mazzei in the NY Times
Gov. Ron DeSantis gave no explanation for zeroing out the $32 million in grants that were approved by state lawmakers…in a move that stunned arts and culture organizations, Mr. DeSantis vetoed the entirety of their grant funding — about $32 million — on June 12, leaving them scrambling to figure out how to offset the shortfall.
