Too many cooks can spoil a kitchen.
Considering that a network of more than 150 collaborators, all with differing talents, were involved in “Philadelphia Assembled,” it’s impressive that a collective engagement project of dialogues, performances and installations such as this ever cohesively assembled in one place.
It took four years of what lead artist Jeanne van Heeswijk called “uncomfortable conversations,” but here it is. The immersive “Philadelphia Assembled” – which involves the work of an army of storytellers, gardeners, healers, writers, artists and activists – can be found in the Philadelphia Museum of Art Perelman Building’s galleries, cafe, gardens and store through Dec. 10.
“I could call it an exhibit, but it’s more than that. It’s a fascinating experiment, and I underscore that word,” said Art Museum George D. Widener director and CEO Timothy Rub at a preview event.
“Philadelphia Assembled” is a diverse patchwork narrative about the city, formed from what Art Museum assistant curator of contemporary art Amanda Sroka termed “radical inclusivity and community building.” The objects, documents and performances notably bring together communities of Philly’s marginalized and disenfranchised. Although there is a distinct Afrocentric flavor throughout the exhibition, Philadelphia is also seen through the cultural lenses of indigenous peoples, immigrants and refugees, formerly incarcerated citizens and the LGBTQ community, offering a sort of alternative timeline for the city, with an underlying chronicle of acts of resistance.
It explores five heady themes: “Reconstructions,” “Sovereignty,” “Sanctuary,” “Futures” and “Movement.”
Filling the Levy Gallery is an installation shaped by a Sovereignty working group, exploring concepts of self-determination and unity as they apply to personal experiences, financial and business partnerships, and land ownership. These ideas are organized according to letters of the alphabet, although not in an alphabetical-order flow. D is for doula, a totemic birthing chair sculpture measuring about 12 feet high that speaks to body sovereignty. I is for indigenous sovereignty, and so on.
This installation also reflects on the ways in which plants, seeds and land deepen connections to ancestry, and serve as vehicles for nourishment, healing and future growth.
The Spain Gallery is dedicated to the theme of Reconstructions, assembling thought-provoking narratives of incarceration, neighborhood gentrification and concepts of home. A wall of signs advertising businesses that buy homes have altered each of the multicolored collage of signs to all bear the same phone number – which is to a working voice mailbox where you can share your own personal stories of displacement. The framework of an “affordable house” previously erected in South Kensington, that now occupies the center of the gallery, will continue to serve as a meeting space for the Alumni Ex-Offenders Association. A long black banner topped with a large, white, U.S. Constitution “We the People” goes on to boldly declare that those who have paid their debt to society behind bars deserve a chance to re-enter society and prove their worth.
The Women’s Community Revitalization Project, Healthy Rowhouse Project, Philadelphia Coalition for Affordable Housing, and Tilmon Community Gardens have all collaborated to reimagine a community garden space as a dynamic place for programs, performances and discussions.
The Sanctuary installation occupying the Collab Gallery is punctuated by two dome structures inviting you to come in and take refuge. They serve as centers for storytelling, advocacy, direct action and community building, as well as a safe place to discuss the meaning of a “sanctuary city.” They’re adorned with elements from programs undertaken this spring with partner organizations like the Attic Youth Center, Laos in the House, New Sanctuary Movement, Prevention Point Philadelphia, and Project SAFE.
The Futures atmosphere includes a flexible workspace within a retrofitted shuttle bus called the Mobile Futures Institute, which is parked outside the Perelman Building. This institute is a meeting and learning space, lab, gallery, screening room and library. In recent months, the bus traveled throughout the city, engaging in neighborhood-based programs focused on “decolonization, environmental racism and economic justice.” Its partners include the Center for Returning Citizens, Community Futures Lab, the Friends Center, Granny Peace Brigade Philadelphia, Norris Square Community Alliance, Mighty Writers, and the Indigenous 215 collective, among others.
Inside the museum, Futures has a dedicated resource shelf. In the atrium is a soapbox, to be used for readings and performances, set against a backdrop evocative of the West Philadelphia home of African-American performer, athlete and activist Paul Robeson.
The physical installation of “Philadelphia Assembled” at the Perelman Building began with the transportation of objects and conversations from “Philadelphia Assembled” locations across the city. Photo documentation from these journeys is installed throughout the galleries alongside the objects that the artists carried to the museum. Movement includes audio recordings, project-specific graphics, publications and food. During the run of the exhibition, the cafe in the Perelman Building gets artistically taken over by W/N W/N Coffee Bar. The kitchen menus – whose themes will rotate monthly from survival to resilience to victory – have been developed in collaboration with culinary artists and storytellers.
Be on the lookout for opportunities within “Philadelphia Assembled” to participate in the discussion about the city and its possible futures. The public is also invited to further join the conversation, and engage with collaborators, at www.phlassembled.net. Use #phlassembled, @phlassembled and @philamuseum. The website also has a full list of free related public programs.
Van Heeswijk said that you should look at the exhibit as “a canvas that’s incomplete until you add your voice.”
“Is all of Philadelphia assembled (in the exhibit)? Maybe not,” she added, hinting that “Philadelphia Assembled” was open-ended and subject to ongoing growth and change.
