Destination Frankford

Philadelphia City Planning Commission (PCPC)

Funding Received: 2013
Philadelphia , PA
$335,150
Funding Period: 1 year and 5 months
Design & Architecture, Visual Arts | Economic Development, Environment & Energy, Workforce Development | Urban
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January 26, 2014

Updates
A jury of project administrators, arts professionals, and representatives of the Frankford community selected five finalists from the 100 artists who submitted qualifications for our Call for Artists. The finalists will present their proposals for the Womrath Park Sculpture to our jury on January 27th. Presentations to the jury will be followed by presentations at an open community meeting from 6:00 to 7:00pm at the 2nd Baptist Church at 1801 Meadow Street.

With input from community members, the jury will select one artist to realize his/her design and install a public sculpture in Womrath Park. Installation is planned for November, 2014.

In February, we will begin schematic design for our Identity Signage project. Along with our consultants, MERJE, we plan to design and install three types of signs along the Frankford Avenue corridor. Each sign will be custom designed to capture the spirit of the Frankford Community and will feature our projects powerful logo.

Recent Wins
Destination Frankford was one of four projects featured at the Philadelphia City Planning Commission/Citizen Planning Institute “Power of the Plan” event on January 8th. Maari Porter, Chief Grants Officer; Kimberly Washington, Executive Director of the Frankford CDC; and Jennifer Kates from the office of Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez spoke to over 300 city boosters about how Destination Frankford demonstrates the power of the City’s comprehensive plan: Philadelphia2035. Read about the event here.

Insight/Provocation
To date, we have been very successful with our online marketing efforts, call for artists for the Womrath Park Sculpture, and Identity Signage project. However, we are struggling with the logistics of our proposed pop-up art gallery. Besides the logistics of renovating a raw, industrial space, we need to arrange for art shows, publicize the gallery, plan for opening events, and find a way to sign a lease. The limitations of traditional city government mean that we need to find a creative way to compensate the building owner and assume liability. We are getting close, but timing will be tight if we want to open in April.