Philadelphia’s investment in new public spaces and facilities promises to transform community life—projects along the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers, the new Rail Park, and the Rebuild Philadelphia process will redefine how people use public space in the city.
These transformations raise three related questions: how can these investments ensure that these public spaces are open and accessible to all? What role can artists play, along with arts and culture organizations, in the transformation of these places? And what obligation do public, non-profit, and private institutions have in advancing equity in the surrounding community when big investments are made in public spaces?
Join the conversation at our July muraLAB, where innovators from around the country will explore these questions, moderated by Pamela Bridgeforth of the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations.
Arts coordinator Miranda Kyle will discuss how Atlanta BeltLine Inc. has reorganized its arts program around engagement, inclusion, and community development. From Washington, DC’s 11th Street Bridge Park, deputy director Irfana Jetha Noorani will talk about matching investments in community infrastructure, such as community-based arts and culture programs, and how that investment will play a role in the new city park spanning the Anacostia River.