PHILADELPHIA – The City of Philadelphia’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy (OACCE) is pleased to announce Crank It Up, a temporary public art commission by the artist-led Spiral Q Puppet Theater. Crank It Up is made possible by Civic Practice, an OACCE project that explores government-initiated, artist-led work in the community.
Crank It Up is a series of activities and objects that will explore the theme of neighborhood change and gentrification in West Philadelphia. It consists of three parts: community-engagement activities, the display of a 60-foot moving scroll called a “crankie,” or “moving panorama,” and, apublic performance. The project begins with a series of “Story listening” workshops as a means of centering community members experiences in driving content. Neighbors will also be engaged in art-making, creating objects in response to prompts such as “I know it’s my neighborhood because…” These responses will then be used as source material and content for a massive moving scroll called a “crankie,” to reflect the neighborhood’s heritage and the residents’ hopes and fears for the future. Like an instrument, the “crankie” can then be played to tell a collective narrative. A public performance of the “crankie” will be accompanied by narration and will take place at 4236 Lancaster Avenue on October 7 at 1:00 p.m.
“Art has the power to communicate across all boundaries and the act of making art in collaboration with community is a powerful process and venue for cultural organizing,” said Spiral Q’s Co-Director Jennifer Turnbull. “For 21 years, Spiral has unleashed the power of art to connect people, actions, values, neighborhoods, organizations, and movements to each other and to their collective creative force for change in Philadelphia,” says Co-Director Liza Goodell.
Civic Practice began in 2015 with the formation of a National Task Force focused on best practices and challenges of government-artist collaborations. Working with Creative Time Artistic Director Nato Thompson, the OACCE convened three meetings where local and national thought-leaders discussed the ways government and artists interact.
At these convenings, participants also discussed how to develop strategies specific to the commissioning of an artist-led pilot project. This included conversations with government partners about artist practices, with artists about government policies, and with community leaders about relevant issues. After a rigorous selection process, Crank It Up was selected as the pilot project, with the civic dialogue continuing between the artists, government representatives, and neighborhood residents.
Government partners in Crank It Up include the Department of Public Property, the Free Library of Philadelphia, Philadelphia City Planning, and Philadelphia Parks & Recreation. The Mayor’s Fund for Philadelphia serves as the fiscal agent for Civic Practice.
About Civic Practice
Crank It Up is a project of Civic Practice, an initiative of the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy dedicated to the exploration of government-initiated artist-led work in the community. Adapted from the term “Social Practice,” Civic Practice follows a path similar to community development and engagement, but with strategies specific to the arts; forming ongoing partnerships with artists, communities, and City departments in order to explore what could result from government-initiated artist-led civic conversation. Civic Practice is rooted in the belief that meaningful public art begins with the thoughtful engagement of local communities in parallel with artists. Accordingly, projects stemming from Civic Practice seek to purposely and strategically engage various government branches throughout the planning of each project. Civic Practice is initiated and co-led by OACCE’s Percent for Art Project Manager Jacque Liu and City Hall Exhibition Manager Tu Huynh. For more information about Civic Practice, visit: http://creativephl.org/civicpractice/.
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 Spiral Q Puppet Theater
Spiral Q builds strong and equitable communities characterized by creativity, joy, can-do attitudes, and the courage to act on their convictions. We imagine a city whose streets reflect the full spectrum of its residents’ creativity. We see a responsive and engaged society that rallies consistently to overcome the challenges of discrimination and oppression. We envision a world of abundance that mobilizes its resources to nurture shared vitality. For more information about Spiral Q, visit: www.spiralq.org.