Category: Public Art

Eraserhood’s Goldtex Building Pays Homage to Its Abandoned/Graffitied Past, Supports Artists in the Process | Streets Dept

Bob Bruhin

One of the more particularly interesting/exciting things about Goldtex is that throughout the building they pay homage to its past and to the graffiti artists who were among the few to use the space while it was left abandoned, leaving exposed pillars and beams to show some of the original graffiti. As well, the developers hired Philly’s own ESPO (Steve Powers) to paint murals throughout the building. Other street artists/graff writers works are on rotating display on the first floor.

Eraserhood’s Goldtex Building Pays Homage to Its Abandoned/Graffitied Past, Supports Artists in the Process | Streets Dept.

Call for Participants: Pearl Street Passage | Philadelphia Center for Architecture

Bob Bruhin

DEADLINE: Your attendance at an informational meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, February 24 at the Center for Architecture, 1218 Arch Street is strongly encouraged. At the meeting we will discuss the schedule, the specifications, the stipend and other details and answer your questions.

Please RSVP and fill out this brief form

ABOUT THE INSTALLATION:  Pearl Street in North Chinatown/Callowhill is the next great public space in Philadelphia! Pearl Street Passage, the marquee event of the October 2015 DesignPhiladelphia festival, is a temporary, cutting-edge, outdoor exhibition on the 1100 block that will celebrate this new locus of creativity and social vibrancy.

THE CALL: DesignPhiladelphia is seeking architects, designers and artists of all types, construction companies and builders and other creative disciplines, from the Chinatown North/Callowhill community and the Greater Philadelphia area, to participate in Pearl Street Passage.

Curated, multi-disciplinary teams are invited to design, build and install short-term installations that will be experiential, educational and fun. The theme for Pearl Street Passage and DesignPhiladelphia 2015 is “Shift” — as in paradigm, gears, forward motion …

CALENDAR: Pearl Street Passage – from setup through strike – is scheduled for Tuesday, October 6 to Tuesday, October 13, 2015. The Passage will be open to the public for several days – exact dates TBD – during that week.

ABOUT THE CURATORIAL TEAM: Groundswell Design Group is chief curator for Pearl Street Passage. Groundswell is the award-winning design firm known for Spruce Street Harbor Park, the Independence Beer Garden, the Blue Cross RiverRink Winterfest and other game-changing projects.

DesignPhiladelphia and its partners, the Asian Arts Initiative (AAI) and Friends of the Rail Park (FRP), are collaborating to transform Pearl Street into a dynamic urban gathering space. The Passage will also showcase AAI’s work with Groundswell on permanent improvements to Pearl Street and FRP’s vision and progress in transforming the Reading Viaduct into an elevated park.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME? Pearl Street Passage will be a high visibility event and focus of the 2015 DesignPhiladelphia festival, with extensive outreach to press and the general public. (In 2014, DesignPhiladelphia reached millions through its communications and advertising campaign.) Participants will get their names and work before a large audience at a press preview event in September, in DesignPhiladelphia communications and at the Passage itself.

DesignPhiladelphia will offer programming, such as neighborhood tours, “design crawls” and performances in and around Pearl Street Passage to draw attendance. In addition, DesignPhiladelphia will kick off with its annual and highly anticipated opening party at the Passage on Thursday, October 8.

QUESTIONS? Contact project manager Elise Vider at [email protected]

Please feel free to forward this call to your friends, colleagues and professional network.

DesignPhiladelphia demonstrates, supports and promotes the ability that design has to generate innovation, solve problems, enhance daily life and influence both the perception and economics of the region. Through programming, DesignPhiladelphia consolidates the city’s design culture, bringing together innovative educators, established manufacturers, creative entrepreneurs and retailers to brand Philadelphia as a 21st century city shaped by design, technology and business.

Pearl Street Passage is funded through an ArtPlace America grant to AAI, FRP and the Center for Architecture, home of DesignPhiladelphia.

 

 

Call for Participants: | Philadelphia Center for Architecture.

Exploring Philadelphia’s Abandoned Subway Stations | Streets Dept

Bob Bruhin

 

Closed in 1989 due to low ridership and safety concerns after nearly 60 years in service, SEPTA’s Spring Garden Street Station on the Broad-Ridge Spur is now an abandoned mecca for graffiti artists and urban explorers alike, who are arguably the only people showing the old station any love.

Exploring Philadelphia’s Abandoned Subway Stations | Streets Dept.

How a skywriting art project deals with running out of fuel :: Cover :: Philadelphia City Paper

Bob Bruhin

Tasked by the Asian Arts Initiative with creating a project in their neighborhood of Chinatown North (aka Callowhill, aka the Eraserhood, aka Trestletown), the lack of places for neighborhood groups to get together inspired Kyu to look up. “I started to think of the sky as the only public space that this neighborhood had, and symbolically thinking of the sky as a space that everybody shares.”

How a skywriting art project deals with running out of fuel :: Cover :: Philadelphia City Paper.