Celebrate Art & Cycling with Two Exhibits (+ Animated Architecture Pop-up) in City Hall

The City's Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy introduces two exhibitions in celebration of Philadelphia's growing bicycle culture. Artist-designed Bike Racks and Bike p'ARTs combine two great local passions: cycling and art. The exhibits are located on the 1st and 2nd floors of City Hall, NE corner in the Art Gallery at City Hall and display cases near the Mayor's Offices. An artist reception is scheduled for April 9, 5-7 pm.

Last summer, the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy in partnership with the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia launched an open competition inviting artists and designers to create unique and creative bike racks for Philadelphia. The project was made possible by a $50,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, as part of its Knight Arts Challenge. Over 100 entries from 83 individuals and firms, representing 21 states, as well as the Netherlands and Poland; 35 entries came from the Philadelphia area were reviewed by a panel of arts professionals and bicycle enthusiasts. Selections were made based on creativity, appropriateness to Center City, and functionality as a bike rack.

Nine design finalists were selected:
Peter Everett Brown and Barbara Ann Sprague AIA, of Brown Sprague LLC, Kathleen Fruge-Brown, Warren Holzman & Iron Studio, Carin Mincemoyer, Joe Norman, Collin Robinson, Nathaniel Ross, Ralph Tullie, and Juliet Whelan.

Artist-designed Bike Racks features all 9 of the winning bike rack designs in the Art Gallery at City Hall. This is the only remaining opportunity to see all the designs in one location. Afterwards, the bike racks will be installed throughout Center City in such locations as the Cira Centre, Sister Cities Park, the Pennsylvania Convention Center, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, for widespread public use. Prior to being exhibited in City Hall, the fabricated designs were part of Articulture, the 2014 Philadelphia Flower Show.

To complement Artist-design Bike Racks, artists from the region were invited to submit art that utilizes bicycle parts, exploring themes of sustainability, health and the urban environment. Bike p'ARTs features the work of 11 local artists: Regina Kelly Barthmaier, Robert Barabos, Charlize Katzenbach, Jenny Lynn, Gerry Marron, Eric Mozes and Donnell Powell of Color My Sidewalk, Elicia "Eel-Eye" Avenue, Scott White, Kendal Wilkins, and Raphael Xavier.

The April 9th reception will include a one-time viewing of Dan O'Neill's video art projection, Ride. O'Neill's piece is part of Animated Architecture, a series of video installations curated by Sean Stoops, another recipient of the prestigious Knights Arts Challenge grant. OACCE and Stoops are currently working on plans for future projections in various locations throughout City Hall.

Both exhibits run thru June 13th.