The Philadelphians
2025, public film installation, 16mm film and UHD video, continuous loop
Produced over the course of a year working with an amazing team at Philadelphia’s Office of Immigrant Affairs - The Philadelphians is a series of film portraits shot on 16mm and video projected 360° around the LOVE Park Welcome Center. Together, the films comprise a portrait of the City’s global roots and community values through images and words of everyday Philadelphians who make their neighborhoods and the city a better place. The films are a reminder, at a time when many would deny immigrants a place in our communities, campuses, workplaces and even History books, that Philadelphia has always been and will always be a city of immigrants.
Portrait participants include Philadelphians who are building up and sustaining their neighborhoods, communities, and city. They include a public servant, educator, pastor, baker entrepreneur, community leaders and others working with the artists to shape the film through image and text pulled from interviews that touch on culture, heritage, history, as well as their individual and shared identities as Philadelphians.
Woven into the portrait films are archival film images of immigrant communities, and original footage from a series of creative workshops, picturing the hands of immigrant and second-generation Philadelphians making traditional and contemporary crafts. These hands are engaged in creative work that strengthens community connections and enriches the cultural fabric of Philadelphia.
The Philadelphians was the second project from Forman Arts Initiative (FAI) and Mural Arts Philadelphia’s (MAP) Public Works program, a residency program that embeds artists within Philadelphia’s civic agencies.
>> PUBLIC INSTALLATION
>> FILMS
>> PORTFOLIO
>> HOME
Produced over the course of a year working with an amazing team at Philadelphia’s Office of Immigrant Affairs - The Philadelphians is a series of film portraits shot on 16mm and video projected 360° around the LOVE Park Welcome Center. Together, the films comprise a portrait of the City’s global roots and community values through images and words of everyday Philadelphians who make their neighborhoods and the city a better place. The films are a reminder, at a time when many would deny immigrants a place in our communities, campuses, workplaces and even History books, that Philadelphia has always been and will always be a city of immigrants.
Portrait participants include Philadelphians who are building up and sustaining their neighborhoods, communities, and city. They include a public servant, educator, pastor, baker entrepreneur, community leaders and others working with the artists to shape the film through image and text pulled from interviews that touch on culture, heritage, history, as well as their individual and shared identities as Philadelphians.
Woven into the portrait films are archival film images of immigrant communities, and original footage from a series of creative workshops, picturing the hands of immigrant and second-generation Philadelphians making traditional and contemporary crafts. These hands are engaged in creative work that strengthens community connections and enriches the cultural fabric of Philadelphia.
The Philadelphians was the second project from Forman Arts Initiative (FAI) and Mural Arts Philadelphia’s (MAP) Public Works program, a residency program that embeds artists within Philadelphia’s civic agencies.
>> PUBLIC INSTALLATION
>> FILMS
>> PORTFOLIO
>> HOME