a constellation of arts events—

celebrating and uniting people-and-purpose in West Philadelphia
& Chinatown.

Local context

TWO deeply rooted philadelphia communities affected by urban development.

People displaced from their homes, small businesses moving out: this project focuses on cultural preservation, community visibility and voice, and a search for solidarity.

Finding commonality & sharing difference

This project aims to cross geographic & cultural barriers

Philadelphia is, proudly, a City of Neighborhoods, but this identity has a flipside: it is the result of a segregated history of redlining and other racist practices. There is a wealth of cultural knowledge and history here, passed down through generations, but that transmission often stops at the end of the block.

We hope to bridge the lingering gap between neighbors through art-making and conversation—ultimately, inviting them to imagine a joint future and the work it might take to reach it together.

Detail of Black Bottom Mosaic Mural at the former UC High site, 1999 by Andrea Zemel.

Student-community protests against campus expansion around Drexel, 1970.

shared histories of

struggle & resilience

West Philadelphia and Chinatown are facing rapid development. Local activists in both communities have been working for generations to address the effects of gentrification. Despite many parallels,
the two neighborhoods are not often in conversation.

Neighbors disrupt the demolition of Chinatown homes during Vine Street Expressway development, 1973.

Front page excerpt from the Yellow Seeds bilingual Chinese-English community newspaper, 1973.

University City Urban Renewal Area Unit 3, Land Use Map, 1964

During the two-years of Crossing Streets, we hope to build relationships across difference, imagining together a more equitable, holistic model for community development–one that honors history as it moves forward.