The Avenue of the Arts Banner Project is a temporary public art initiative designed to activate South Broad Street, Philadelphia’s premier performing arts corridor. Stretching from City Hall to Washington Avenue, the Avenue is home to major cultural institutions and historic venues, yet, like many downtown corridors, it has experienced challenges in the post-COVID era. The banner project was conceived as a highly visible, cost-effective way to re-energize the streetscape, celebrate local artists, and reinforce the corridor’s identity in advance of major upcoming milestones, including the FIFA World Cup and the U.S. Semiquincentennial.

We developed a curatorial framework and artist selection process to produce a cohesive yet visually varied series of banner designs that would read as a curated collection along the corridor. In addition to securing grant funding for the project, we wrote and issued an open call to Philadelphia-based artists, facilitated a transparent review process to identify artists whose work reflected both the spirit of the Avenue and the theme of creative expression, and managed the printing and installation.

The resulting installation features original works by nine Philadelphia-based artists, including Fabiola Lara, Rebecca Montedoro, Sarah Haenn, Molly Egan, Lindsay Larmer, Roxana Azar, Keni Thomas, Marian Bailey, and Amanda Granum-Milz. The project will be on display for one year.

Location:

Center City, Philadelphia (South Broad Street)

Client:

The Avenue of the Arts, Inc

Year:

2026