2017 Philadelphia International Unity Cup Banner Project Workshops Launches in June 2017

PHILADELPHIA – With the return of the Philadelphia International Unity Cup, the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy (OACCE) launches the 2017 Philadelphia International Unity Cup Banner Project workshops in June 2017. The PIUC Banner Project is led by OACCE, in partnership with Small But Mighty Arts, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, City of Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program, and the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Immigrant Affairs. The PIUC Banner Project allows the PIUC teams and their communities, as well as all interested Philadelphians to engage directly with artists and PIUC volunteers to create team banners to represent their respective countries. These team banners will be on display at the Parade of Nations, which will be held at the championship match of the Philadelphia International Unity Cup at Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday, November 11.

“The Philadelphia International Unity Cup Banner Project is a perfect example of how sports and culture can bring people together from all walks of life and different communities,” said Chief Cultural Officer Kelly Lee. “All Philadelphians have the opportunity to come together with their friends and neighbors to brainstorm with local artists and to create these banners that will visually capture how they celebrate and are proud of their cultures and their family heritage as we all come from somewhere.”

The first workshop was held at the PIUC 2017 Team Draw at Lincoln Financial Field on Monday, June 5 with participating players and coaches contributing their design ideas to this year’s team banners. Over the course of the next three months, there will be workshops for specific countries’ teams and communities as well as community engagement events held throughout Philadelphia at City recreation centers and at community celebrations such as Caribbean Day at Reading Terminal Market and Jamaican Independence Day and the Global Philadelphia 2017 Festival events at the City Hall Courtyard.

With this year’s theme for the PIUC banners being a celebration of cultures and diversity, each of the 48 participating teams representing immigrant communities will have a banner designed to reflect the ideas contributed at the workshop and community engagement events. Workshop participants will brainstorm design ideas about “How do you celebrate your country’s culture?” and they will be asked to share images, symbols, colors, places, foods, animals, and plants related their countries by describing, writing, drawing, and showing photos to the banner artists. Each banner will feature the PIUC logo, the team’s national flag, and original artwork generated from these workshops.

Several of the artists that participated in the design of the PIUC banners last year have returned to work with the PIUC participants and community members to help realize their designs. Returning PIUC Banner artists include Brian “Nothing” Taylor, Monna Morton, and Emily Coleman. New artists this year include Donna Backues, Erika Guadalupe Núñez, and Oluwafemi Olatunji. 

“It’s a great opportunity to learn and work with people from different countries and come up with artwork that best fits the teams,” said returning artist Brian “Nothing” Taylor. “The workshops and community input are crucial to this project. It’s important to hear what they want to represent their homeland. They describe it and I get the challenge to put it on the banner. It’s fun work!”

Returning artist Monna Morton spoke of how the project has been a rich cultural experience for her, she also recognized the importance of community input for the design of the banners. “Learning about the cultures, identities, and images of various countries was an educational experience,” said Morton. “Each of the countries I designed for were passionate about how they would be portrayed to the public and wanted to be represented in a way to not only teach others but to present to their fellow compatriots a recognizable and identifiable image. That is why having the input from the community was invaluable.”

For Philadelphians interested in participating in the design process but cannot attend the workshops in person, they can submit ideas for the banners via CreativePHL.org/PIUC. For more information about the PIUC Banner Project, visit: www.CreativePHL.org, Facebook.com/CreativePHL and on Twitter @CreativePHL and Instagram @CreativePHL.

About City of Philadelphia’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy
The Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy supports and promote arts, culture and the creative industries; develops partnerships that ensure culture and creativity are essential components of Philadelphia’s community revitalization, education, and economic development strategies; and links Philadelphians to cultural resources and opportunities. For more information about the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, visit: www.CreativePHL.org, Facebook.com/CreativePHL and on Twitter @CreativePHL and Instagram @CreativePHL.

About Philadelphia Parks & Recreation
Philadelphia Parks & Recreation advances the prosperity of the city and the progress of her people through intentional and sustained stewardship of public land and waterways as well as through safe, stimulating recreation, environmental and cultural centers. PPR helps Philadelphia’s children and other residents grow by connecting them to the natural world, to each other, and to fun, physical and social opportunities. For more information, find Philadelphia Parks & Recreation online at www.phila.gov/parksandrecreation and follow @philaparkandrec on social media.

About the Office of Immigrant Affairs
The mission of the Office of Immigrant Affairs (OIA) is to promote the well-being of Philadelphia’s immigrant communities. We do this by recommending and developing policies and programs, which in turn provide opportunity and access to services. We help facilitate the successful inclusion of immigrants into the civic, economic, and cultural life of the city. We also highlight the essential role that immigrants have played and continue to play in our city.

About The City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program
The City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program is the nation’s largest public art program, dedicated to the belief that art ignites change. For over 30 years, Mural Arts has united artists and communities through a collaborative process, rooted in the traditions of mural-making, to create art that transforms public spaces and individual lives. Mural Arts engages communities in 50-100 public art projects each year, and maintains its growing collection through a restoration initiative. Core Mural Arts programs such as Art Education, Restorative Justice, and Porch Light yield unique, project-based learning opportunities for thousands of youth and adults. Each year, over 12,000 residents and visitors tour Mural Arts’ outdoor art gallery, which has become part of the city’s civic landscape and a source of pride and inspiration, earning Philadelphia international recognition as the “City of Murals.” Follow along on social media: @muralarts on Twitter and Instagram, phillymuralarts on YouTube, and MuralArtsPhiladelphia on Facebook.

About Small But Mighty Arts
Small But Mighty Arts provides artists with small grants and additional resources at critical points in their creative careers that will serve as a catalyst to further their work while living and creating in Philadelphia. For more information, find Small But Mighty Arts online at www.smallbutmightyartsgrant.wordpress.com and follow at Facebook.com/SmallButMightyArts, @sbmartsgrant on Twitter, and @smallbutmightarts on Instagram.

Philadelphia Unity Cup Banner Project Workshop & Events Schedule

  • Thursday, June 15 – Workshop – Lloyd Hall Recreation Center (1 Boathouse Row), 6:00-7:30pm – Germany, Greece, Liberia, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Togo, United States
  • Thursday, June 22 – Workshop – Cecil B. Moore Recreation Center (2551 North 2nd Street), 6:00-7:30pm – Argentina, Belarus, Bosnia/Herzegovina, Brazil, France, India, Iraq, Panama, South Korea, Venezuela
  • Saturday, June 24 – Community Event – Caribbean Day – Reading Terminal Market (51 North 12th Street) 12:00-3:00pm – Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Haiti
  • Thursday, June 29 – Community Event – Culture on Tap: Wawa Welcome America Event – (City Hall Courtyard) 5:00-7:00pm – All countries
  • Saturday, July 8 – Community Event – Hispanic Fiesta – Penn’s Landing (101 S. Christopher Columbus Blvd) 12:00-3:00pm – Argentina, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Venezuela
  • Tuesday, July 11 – Workshop – Carousel House Recreation Center (1701 Belmont Avenue), 6:00-7:30pm – Algeria, Cameroon, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Sierra Leone
  • Monday, July 31 – Workshop – Hunting Park Recreation Center (900 Hunting Park Avenue), 6:00-7:30pm – Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Lithuania, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Refugee Team, Serbia, Ukraine
  • Thursday, August 10 – Community Event – Culture on Tap: Jamaican Independence Day Celebration (City Hall Courtyard) 5:00-7:00pm – Jamaica
  • Wednesday, August 16 – Workshop – Murphy Hall Recreation Center (300 Shunk Street) 6:00-7:30pm – Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mongolia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam
  • Sunday, August 20 – Community Event – Philly Caribbean Festival – Penn’s Landing – (101 S. Christopher Columbus Blvd) 12:00-3:00pm – Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Haiti
  • Thursday, August 24 – Community Event – Culture on Tap: Global Philadelphia 2017 Festival (City Hall Courtyard) 5:00-7:00pm – All countries
  • Saturday, November 11– Final Match and Unity Cup Festival – Lincoln Financial Field (1 Lincoln Financial Field Way) 12:00-6:00pm

Philadelphia International Unity Cup Banner Project Artist Biographies

Brian “Nothing” Taylor (Returning Artist)
Brian is a self-taught artist who mainly paints on found objects. Brian grew up in Mesquite TX but has called West Philadelphia his home since 2002.

Donna Backues
Donna Backues has a BA in Graphic Design from Southern Illinois University and an MFA from PAFA. She is currently working toward an MA in Community Arts, from Eastern University. Early in her career, Donna worked as a graphic designer. In 1989, she moved to Indonesia and lived for 18 years working alongside her husband in a grass roots development organization. Donna has been awarded numerous residencies through the Philadelphia Art Museum’s Delphi Art Futures and Art Partners programs. In 2013, Donna won first prize in the American Batik Design Competition and in 2014 she was awarded the Art & Change Grant by the Leeway Foundation.

Erika Guadalupe Núñez
Erika is a queer immigrant, artist, and longtime community organizer for immigrant rights in Philadelphia. Having immigrated from Mexico at a young age, Núñez was undocumented for most of her life until she received her green card in 2013. As an artist, Núñez’s visual work centers on honoring her culture while holding to the belief that art should be used as a tool for social change.

Monna Morton (Returning Artist)
Monna is an award winning graphic designer and artist who has won, and been recognized for more than 50 design and communication awards. Most recently she received a Graphic Design USA award and a Philadelphia Design Award for Excellence. She has designed graphics and advertising for major transit agencies, airports and airlines, retail outlets, hospitals and public and private agencies. She has exhibited her art in various galleries, in Philadelphia and New York, and the African American Museum in Philadelphia. Monna has a BFA, from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn NY.

Oluwafemi Olatunji
Oluwafemi Olatunji is a musical and visual artist from West Philly by way of Lagos, Nigeria. Repetition and rhythm are the foundations of Oluwafemi’s artwork, inspired by the ubiquity of patterns in environment. Oluwafemi explores different combinations of pen drawings and digital design and display pieces digitally, in print and geometric solids.

Emily Coleman (Returning Artist)
Emily Coleman is a glass artist currently working in kiln formed and stained/leaded glass. Emily is also a Recreation Leader with Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, running two art programs for children and adults.

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