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What would one do if a storefront window, normally full of the bonsai trees common to Chinatown, was suddenly filled with giant broccoli trees inhabited by miniature chickens instead? If it would be stop and take a second look, the Asian Arts Initiative is succeeding.
With help from the Knight Arts Challenge, Asian Arts hopes to develop even more public art through its Neighborhood Spotlight Series by commissioning several new artists to create site-specific works for Chinatown and South Philly locations.
“South Philadelphia, like Chinatown, is a neighborhood that is distinguished by the diversity of people who live and interact with each other, which is an interesting context and an important opportunity for art to make an impact,” its Executive Director Gayle Isa said.
For about 20 years, the arts center has promoted community values among Asian Americans and people of all cultural backgrounds via the arts, but its efforts aren’t just targeted at artists. That’s why its promoted works, such as South Korean artist Jihyun Park’s Chicken Broccoli sculptures, are presented not only in museums and galleries but in store windows, on restaurant tables and inside beauty salons.
“That relationship building process is just as important as the visual displays,” Isa said. “The arts let people go beyond stereotypes to connect on a human level.”
Those connection failures led to the organization’s founding in 1993 — a time when racial tensions were prominent due to the Rodney King incident in Los Angeles — when a group of African American artists from Old City’s Painted Bride Art Center reached out to work with city’s Asian community together.
“Twenty years later, it’s sad that [racial tension] is still an issue, but we’re proud that we’ve been able to grow and include people from all backgrounds,” Isa said.
The initiative hopes to continue that growth, as schools may also serve as sites for public art.
“Asian Arts decided to focus on South Philadelphia in addition to our home site in Chinatown because of our connection to the community through our Youth Arts Workshop programs that we offer at three South Philly schools,” Isa said of John H. Taggart, 400 W. Porter St., Southwark, 1835 S. Ninth St., South Philadelphia High School, 2101 S. Broad St. and its 1219 Vine St. headquarters.
“Youth need to create something,” its director of education programs Nicole Schaller-Seamans, a resident of Second and Federal streets, added. “In our programs, they learn skills like public speaking and, most importantly, how to work together.”
Other finalists:
Contact the South Philly Review at editor@southphillyreview.com.
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