February 20, 2016
Source /Space 1026
Art collective Space 1026 wants Philadelphians to envision the city in 70 years.
At the rate Philadelphia is currently developing, a mere glimpse ahead to the year 2020 offers plenty of excitement for those interested in envisioning the city's future. Between the Comcast Technology & Innovation Center, the FMC Tower at Cira Center South, a slew of new hotels in Center City, and Bart Blatstein's plans for Broad and Washington, Philadelphia figures to have a substantially renovated skyline within the next few years alone.
Fast forward sixty years: the United States of America is celebrating its tricentennial and the population of the world will have peaked, according to scientists, at around 9.4 billion people. What will the birthplace of American democracy look like then?
That's what Philadelphia-based art collective Space 1026 is hoping to find out with the help of talented visual artists who are eager to tap into their clairvoyant potential. The creativity community, based at 11th and Arch streets, is calling for submissions of 2D works that portray Philadelphia toward the end of the 21st century.
"We want to see your loose interpretation of what you think Philadelphia will look like in the year 2076," the group writes. "For example: post-apocalyptic nightmares, environmental meltdowns, dreamlike futurescapes, new versions of the same old."
The resulting show, to be held at Space 1026 from June 3 to June 25, will be juried by a trio of Philadelphia's best artists and local documentarians. Conrad Benner, founder and editor of the Streets Dept photo-blog, will be joined by painter Ryan Beck and abstract cityscape artist Miriam Singer.
We've already seen Visit Philly's possible take on this: Benjamin Franklin is reincarnated as a giant to do Godzilla-style battle with an enormous cheesesteak.
Now it's your turn. Artists are encouraged to submit 1-3 pieces, including photography, by the submission deadline on May 1, 2016. Check in here for complete submission instructions.
