Experience Design Handbook

Philadelphia Assembled

An assembly of experiences developed over three years through to showcase and discuss the experiences of the people living and working in Philadelphia

In 2017, between the months of April and December the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in collaboration with local businesses, artists, activists and community members, presented a collection of works and experiences around Philadelphia entitled “Philadelphia Assembled.”

The works explored how the people who lived in, worked in, and contributed to the city survived there. Blueprint for a Just Neighborhood in Kensington, Philadelphia presented the stud wall framework of a building, evocative of the beginning phase of new construction in an area that was becoming heavily gentrified. It explored how the city could be reconstructed in a way that allowed everyone to take part by inviting community members to raise the final wall and to view a live performance about the impact of gentrification.

The works in this art exhibit brough the art out of the gallery space and presented pieces that were for and by the community. Local community organizations told their stories as artists involved in the exhibit toured the city, interviewing the business owners and residents, and inviting them to collaborate in the works.

More than sixty projects were then showcased in Philadelphia in accessible spaces—streets, gardens, local businesses. While the works may not have solved the problems facing Philadelphia, they amplified the voices of the people living there, and created spaces for the sharing of thoughts and ideas.