West Park Arts Fest 2017

For the 10th anniversary of the West Park Arts Fest, Fairmount Park Conservancy commissioned five visual and multimedia artists to create site-specific works at this historically significant site.

West Park Arts Fest is a free annual festival produced by the West Park Cultural Center, a community-based organization providing arts education and programs to residents of all ages. The festival is a showcase for visual artists, musicians, dancers, craft vendors, and local institutions and nonprofit partners. At the event, visitors of all ages can enjoy performances, art activities, vendors, food and historic tours.

For the 10th anniversary, West Park Cultural Center joined forces with Fairmount Park Conservancy and Global Philadelphia to reach an even greater audience. With a brand-new location on Avenue of the Republic, the 2017 West Park Arts Fest was meant to increase awareness of West Fairmount Park and surrounding communities and to provide programming related to the area’s rich history as the site of the Centennial Exposition of 1876.

The artists commissioned by Fairmount Park Conservancy all live and work in Philadelphia. They utilize a wide range of media in their work, including painting, sculpture, video, animatronics, multimedia installations and performance. The installations offer an opportunity to reflect on the area’s rich history as the site of the Centennial Exposition of 1876, as well as engage Parkside neighbors in considering the past, present and future narratives of their community.

Read more about the festival on our blog and explore the artist installations below. All photos by Albert Yee except where noted.

Artists

 

Ring My Bell

Eugene Lew uses playfulness with noisy bell bike tours to educate and engage community members. Lew presents a bell-ringing bicycle tour of West Park and a wheelie competition. Bells and lights are also available to cyclists interested in audible signaling and low light visibility.

The Totems

Claes Gabriel presents gorgeous, electric and highly detailed totem-like sculptures. Gabriel has created six totem-like painted stretched canvas forms. Their electric color and meditative-like patterning are a feast for the eyes.

Three Movements for Edmonia Lewis

Tiona Nekkia McClodden takes a critical look at the history of the Centennial Exposition and explores the complicated story of the sculpture The Death of Cleopatra in a multi-media installation focused on artist Edmonia Lewis. Lewis was the first woman of African-American and Native American heritage to achieve international recognition for her work, and created the monumental marble sculpture for the 1876 Centennial Exposition.

tionam.com

The Great Massive

Timothy Belknap builds a cosmic sculpture that is both participatory and out of this world. Belknap presents a large comet-like boulder with moving eyes. Visitors are encouraged to interact with the piece by creating their own welcome flags that can be mounted onto the sculpture. The flags are inspired by the Statue of Liberty, a welcome gift to the US from France; the torch was first exhibited at the 1876 Centennial Exposition.

timothybelknap.com

Defenders of the Republic

Taji Ra’oof Nahl responds to the historic Smith Memorial Arch with a poignant, interpretative, and site-specific performance and installation. He delves into the historical narratives of the site at the Avenue of the Republic, connecting to his long-standing concept, Defenders of the Republic.

Image by Ryan Scott

Curator

Theresa Rose

Project Partners

West Park Cultural Center

West Park Cultural Center (WPCC) was founded to help revitalize and maintain a vibrant West Park community while making programs available to residents, including children and adults, city-wide.

Global Philadelphia

The Global Philadelphia Association was founded in 2010 by nine of the leading international organizations in the Greater Philadelphia Region.  It has been incorporated as a member-governed Pennsylvania nonprofit corporation whose purposes are: to assist – and to encourage greater interaction among – the many organizations and people who are engaged in one form or another of international activity within the Greater Philadelphia Region; to promote the development of an international consciousness within the Region; to enhance the Region’s global profile.