Public Art in Philadelphia

At Philadelphia Night, we talked about the wealth of public art that you can see on the streets of our city.  From famous sculptures to murals to knitting, it's all out there!

To learn more about Philadelphia's public art, look at:

Fairmount Park Art Association
Check out their clickable map to find public art.

Streets Dept
Get tips on Philly street art, then go see it before it's gone!

Philadelphia Public Art
Take yourself on one of their 30 self-guided tours.

Visit Philly:  Public Art
Read more about the city's outdoor art and see excellent photographs.

Mural Arts:  Mural Explorer
Check out some of the giant-sized artwork Philly is famous for.

Philadelphia Night

Last night 13 people came out for Philadelphia Night. Some of our activities included labeling ourselves with names of famous Philadelphians (I was Michael Nutter) and matching ourselves to our occupations, taking a Tastykake spelling test, and doing a cheesesteak trivia contest. Arig won Find a Famous Philadelphian, Katie and Siaka won the spelling test, and Anas won the cheesesteak trivia. They all got boxes of Tastykakes to take home! We talked about public art in Philly, and, in honor of Claes Oldenburg's Clothespin sculpture, we made clothespin magnets. They're super-easy, and great for the fridge or locker! We painted ours with watercolor first to make them more exciting. We also watched movie clips of National Treasure and Rocky, and ate soft pretzels and water ice. I'd say we had a great time appreciating what we love about Philly!

Shorell's clothespin magnets

Philadelphia Night

Last Friday, 20 teens came out for our first-ever Philadelphia Night! As people came in, they wore a nametag of a famous Philadelphian for a tic-tac-toe style icebreaker. There are lots of people who are linked with Philly besides historical figures like Ben Franklin! We did several activities related to our city, like a Tastykake spelling test (brought to you by the letter K) and a cheesesteak trivia quiz. We watched movie clips from Rocky and National Treasure, showing great Philadelphia landmarks. For a craft, everyone made three marble magnets of Philadelphia symbols. Sports team logos, college seals, and public art were some of the items people put on their magnets. Our snacks included cheesesteaks, and Herr's Potato Chips (not strictly from the city, but at least regional!). It seemed like everyone enjoyed themselves, so maybe we can do this again sometime!

More Philly stuff we didn't even get to do...

1. We tried to watch some YouTube videos, including American Bandstand and the mummers, but I had a setting wrong on the computer and couldn't get the screen to come up on the projector. So, watch them now!

2. Philly has been a backdrop for many movies and TV shows, so check out this Wikipedia article to find out what to watch.

3. We didn't even talk about public art in Philly, like our murals or our giant clothespin. Maybe next time we can do a clothespin craft!

4. Philadelphia Soul, popularlized in the 1970s, is an actual genre of music named for our city. At the next Philly Night, we'll have to listen to some of the famous songs.

5. We also didn't talk about our pretzels, sports teams, radio stations, and public transit system...all things that make us unique!