For decades, when you wanted to see great art in Philadelphia, the usual haunts were obvious: You could head to the Parkway to the Museum of Art, venture west to the Institute of Contemporary Art on Penn’s campus in University City, maybe take in a First Friday in Old City.

But Philadelphia has increasingly become known as a place that supports artists making great art that often lives outside of our museum walls. Even as some of our premier art education institutions have closed, we remain a more affordable city for artists than, say, New York or Los Angeles, and we’ve been rethinking what art is for as long as Jane Golden has been guiding graffiti taggers to become mural artists.

And as our notion of who an artist is has evolved, so too have our city’s offerings for younger and younger artists. One example is Photography Without Borders (PWB), the nonprofit that empowers students to use photography to tell their stories. PWB’s latest endeavor is a collaboration with the City of Philadelphia — an exhibit at City Hall called My City, My Story.

Making your way to the exhibit feels less like entering an art museum and more like navigating a municipal government maze: You enter through the visitor doors on the northeast corner of City Hall, sign in at the guard booth, and take the elevator up to the fourth floor. After going through the requisite metal detectors, you’ll find yourself in a long hallway lined with City Council hearing rooms and the offices of councilmembers.

But what sets this floor apart are the dozen or so lit-up display cases lining the hall, each containing an arrangement of photographs taken by students in grades 5 through 7 from the Eugenio Maria de Hostos Charter School, and in grades 3 through 8 from the Antonia Pantoja Charter School, both in North Philadelphia.

My City, My Story

Just as the exhibit’s full name — My City, My Story: Local Identity and Community — suggests, the students’ photographs provide a unique, first-hand perspective on how they see their corner of Philadelphia and the world. In the display cases are sunset shots of gas station lights and Northeast Philadelphia streetscapes, as well as close-ups of playgrounds, friends, and low-hanging trees bathed in sunlight. More than just rote or required school projects, they are lively examples of how artists, especially young artists, can make their voices heard in unexpected ways.

Tu Huynh, Curator of Exhibitions and Programs at City Hall’s Creative Philadelphia division (and one of The Citizen’s 2023 Integrity Icons), says that “[the photos] allow students to really take a look at their neighborhoods, to celebrate their identities, their communities, and […] to show that work, [to] allow their voices to be elevated here in City Hall.”

Creative Philadelphia worked with Photography Without Borders to bring the exhibit to life. PWB has been facilitating similar photography programs for students in North Philadelphia since its founding by former Stetson Middle School teacher Tony Rocco in 2010.

Program director Shoshanna Wiesner says that the opportunity for students to exhibit their work in City Hall is at the heart of the organization’s core mission: “to teach young artists photography [and] to tell their stories to a wider audience.”

Visitors to the exhibit and those just passing through the fourth-floor corridors on the way to courtrooms or City Council become that audience. “Anybody who comes to that building can see [the students’] perspective,” Weisner says. At a time when many of us are losing faith in government, My City, My Story is a reminder that government can and does do impactful, surprising work. By providing an opportunity for the youngest of our citizens to express their voices publicly, Creative Philadelphia and Photography Without Borders “step back and let [the students] show you who they are,” says Huynh.

Maybe the most magical part of the exhibit is the idea that young artists from North Philadelphia can have their work on display in the heart of their own city. As Huynh says about City Hall, “this building belongs to them.” A walk through My City, My Story is not just an opportunity to see some interesting photographs — it represents the democratization of art, and the exchange of diverse perspectives in a place accessible to all.

My City, My Story will be on display on the 4th floor of City Hall until July 25. Be sure to bring ID when entering the building and prepare to walk through the metal detectors.

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