SPACES at The Village
Village Open Mic, created as part of the SPACES International Artist in Residency Cycle, 2016.
About SPACES
SPACES is an artist residency program that supports North Philadelphia’s ingenuity, artistry, and civic power through art. We invest in our neighbors and ask them to identify our community’s gifts, ideas, and challenges. Then we invite outstanding artists from around the world to help our neighbors bring new ideas and solutions to life. Together, the residency teams create arts-based responses to local challenges and opportunities using the artists’ and residents’ expertise.
our projects
Since SPACES’ inception in 2014, our artists and neighbors have:
mounted a 6,000 sq. foot contemporary art show in the middle of North Philly;
launched an album built with sounds from the neighborhood; and
kickstarted civic engagement at a beloved local basketball court through storytelling, music and photography.
highlights
One of our proudest accomplishments has been gradually building and sustaining the network of neighbors who want to share their talents and ideas with The Village, which lets us invest repeatedly in neighbors and support their growth as civic leaders.
Another is cowriting a winning $500,000 Artplace America grant to build The Civic Power Studio, a project we are currently designing with our community board of neighbors and friends. An article I wrote about the process of designing the studio is here at Shelterforce Magazine.
About The Village of Arts and Humanities
More than 40 years ago, internationally renowned dancer, choreographer and civil rights activist Arthur Hall built Ile Ife Black Humanitarian Center in a storefront building near the corner of 10th and Germantown Avenue. For Arthur Hall, creating space for people in the neighborhood to dance, sing and make music, was a crucial part of the community’s culture and heritage. Twenty years later, celebrated visual artist, Lily Yeh, continued growing spaces in the neighborhood in the same spirit of communal care and compassion.
Today The Village remains a vital community asset of 15 art parks and 10 program buildings, impacting more that 1200 community residents and 550 young people each year. We are the largest provider of free arts, culture and environmental programming in a 260-square block area of North Philadelphia.