For the first time in Northeast Philadelphia’s history, you can pass by an Andy Warhol painting on your commute home.
Yes, you read that right – exciting things do happen there.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art has teamed up with the Tacony Community Development Corporation (CDC) and local businesses for Inside Out, a project that brings large-scale replicas of works from the museum’s extensive collection into communities in and around Philadelphia. Ten high-quality digital reproductions of art specifically selected to reflect Tacony’s people, places and history have been installed in front of local establishments where residents live and work, bringing fine arts to their daily lives.
[acf field=”embed_code_2″]
The opening event for Inside Out was held on Friday, April 15, at Puddin’s Cake Corner, Tacony’s first new bakery in 40 years.
What will the project do for Tacony?
Inside Out’s project coordinator Gina Ciralli said that communities embrace it in various ways.
“Some create it as a beautification project – a way to highlight the emerging architecture or revitalization of the community,” Ciralli said. “Others use it as a teaching tool and embrace it in the schools and art centers. We also find that Inside Out really helps commercial areas and drives business to store fronts as well as remind people that the museum is there for you and is accessible.”
Alex Balloon, Tacony’s CDC manager, believes choosing Tacony as one of the six locations for Inside Out is “icing on the cake” in terms of how far the neighborhood has come within the last four years.
“Hard work and commitment from our volunteers, our board, our neighbors, and our business owners has really positioned this neighborhood as a great place to live, do business, and invest,” Balloon said.
The art will be displayed from April until July 2016.
Residents from participating neighborhoods will receive free general admission to the museum from May 20-22 2016 with a driver’s license or ID that lists one of the corresponding neighborhood ZIP codes.
– Video, text, and images by Margery Cedano.
Be the first to comment