Philadelphia
Michelle Angela Ortiz uses public art to address detention and deportation issues
Michelle Angela Ortiz is a child of immigrants, born and raised in South Philadelphia—a community she describes as one that has benefited tremendously from the immigrant communities that have…
Al-Bustan plants the seeds of Arab culture and community in Philadelphia
Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture started in Philadelphia in 2002 when founder and executive director Hazami Sayed wanted a place for her two young sons to go where they would learn and apply the Arabic…
5 Questions with Creative Exchange: What we have learned from our artists
Since August 2016, Creative Exchange has been asking each of our Artists With Impact a series of five questions, which appear at the end of every profile. We did this to create a thread of continuity…
Citizen artist: Eric Liu on artists’ role in civic life
Artists embody what it means to be a citizen, says Eric Liu. But the co-founder and CEO of Citizen University is quick to explain that “citizenship” doesn’t refer to a person’s documentation status…
Poet Ursula Rucker uses rage to find humanity
On April 21, 2016, the world collectively mourned in purple as we learned of the death of one of pop music's most enigmatic icons, Prince Rogers Nelson. Philadelphia poet Ursula Rucker was among…
Philadelphia Poet Laureate Yolanda Wisher dreams while walking on the ground
Philadelphia might best be known as the City of Brotherly Love, but it could also be called the City of Poets for its dedication to supporting and promoting the literary form. With a citywide Poet…
Lisa Jo Epstein encourages just acts through Just Act, using applied theatre in community development
Philadelphia-based theatre director, educator, and community artist Lisa Jo Epstein has spent 27 years working in the realm of applied theatre. She calls her latest project, Just Act – which recently…
Making political art great again: t. Rutt takes the T.RUMP bus on the road
In the more light-hearted corners of the Internet, it has been jokingly suggested that Donald Trump's entire bizarre presidential campaign has really just been an elaborate piece of performance art.…
Michael O'Bryan helps people to find sanctuary in art
Sanctuary is a place of refuge or safety. In urban neighborhoods all throughout America, sanctuary is a luxury almost beyond attainment. But Michael O'Bryan is working to bring that sense of…
Colette Fu makes pop-up photo books that examine the self through photos of others
Colette Fu was a pretty typical teenager growing up in New Jersey: insecure about her looks and her identity, as so many teenagers are, Fu would peroxide her hair to alter her appearance. She was…
Alex Gilliam is Building Heroes
Public Workshop started in Philadelphia in 2009, but is really an outgrowth of the work Alex Gilliam has been doing teaching design and architecture over the past 17 years. With Public Workshop and…
Swim Pony uses science-minded experimentation in artistic exploration
It might seem that science and the arts are at odds with each other – "left brain" vs. "right brain" thinking, facts and stats vs. thoughts and feelings, lab coats and calculators vs.…
People's Paper Co-op rewrites the narratives of those with criminal records through papermaking
This is the third in a series of artist profiles featuring the work of artists around social justice, policing, and activism. Click on the links to read previous stories on Detroit's…
Hunter Franks: Reflections on the 2014 Creative Interventions Tour
“My parents said if you have a boy he will wrestle; that is what he will do,” Lisa remarked, referring to her son Martaz. I had just met Martaz and Lisa a week before, as they participated in my…
iMPeRFeCT Gallery celebrates artists with commitment and the collision of high and low art
The concept of "perfection" in the art world is almost impossible to attain, yet that doesn't stop artists from trying or critics from criticizing. It was the rejection of this nebulous idea of…
Asian Arts Initiative shepherds community engagement and integration in Philly's Chinatown North
Gayle Isa started working at the Painted Bride Art Center in Philadelphia in 1993. This was in the aftermath of the infamous Rodney King verdict and the riots in Los Angeles that followed. Racial…
Artists U teaches artists how to make a life
The hardest thing about making a life as an artist is actually making a life as an artist. That's where Artists U comes in. Andrew Simonet is a choreographer and a writer who directed the Headlong…
The Porch Light Program takes the transformative power of art to the streets
The Porch Light Program is a program of the City of Philadelphia's Mural Arts, a citywide transformative arts project that has been ongoing for 30 years. Porch Light takes the idea of the…
Grizzly Grizzly is an artist collective focused on citywide collaboration
When it comes to identifying which arts organization is behind what art project in the city of Philadelphia, attributions can get a little tricky. While artists today are generally known to proffer a…
All the world's a stage: Nichole Canuso Dance Company creates "experiential" dance performances
You are one of six people in a room inside the Power Plant Productions basement, where a labyrinthine art installation has been constructed. You are each given a set of headphones to wear, and then…