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Philly Portholes Project Calls For Neighbors To Help Tell Riverward History


There has been a lot of talk for decades about connecting Philadelphia residents to their waterfront. With a slugging national economy, Philadelphia is a surprisingly stable city. Since most of the industrial and shipping structures along the river are closed down, neighbors have a revitalized interest in the Delaware River. They want their waterfront back.

We have recently reported on the work of larger organizations like the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation. However, there is a great deal of smaller, grass-roots initiatives taking up the cause of connecting riverward residents to the Delaware. One of those initiatives is Philly Portholes. Philly Portholes is a project through muraLAB, a partnership between the City of Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program and BreadBoard, a local program focusing on the creative applications of technology.

Philly Portholes is run by local artists Katie Butterfield and Mike Ski. Mike is a Fishtown designer, illustrator, and tattoo artist. A member of Sustainable 19125, Mike is a community-minded artist who is very active in keeping his neighborhood a nice place to be. He was born and raised in Erie, PA where he studied Graphic Design and Illustration at Mercyhurst College.

“I had always been into drawing and art since I was very young and was encouraged by some great teachers along the way,” Mike said of his early days as an artist. “Much of my work was for bands and was music related which took me to New York City where I worked designing Merchandise and Album Packaging. I moved to Philadelphia in 2006 to be close to friends and have a place to call home while continuing my work.”

Katie is a local photographer, who has been working in the city on and off for years. “I grew up in Fairfield, Connecticut and started sailing when I was ten and continued through high school,” said Butterfield. “I moved to Philly in 2003 to study photography at Drexel University.  After I graduated, I needed a break from the city and to get back to sailing so I hopped on a schooner named The Mystic.  Both the nautical history of the city and my upbringing have inspired my current wallpaper designs.   I have been part of a couple projects that local artist Marianne Berstein curated, including Shelter and Not a Vacant Lot.  I also am co-collaborator in Gravy which is a photography studio and gallery in Fishtown.”

Shortly after the artists met, they collaborated on a project for Design Philadelphia in which they were tasked with “activating a vacant lot.”  “Philadelphia has a record number of vacant spaces throughout the city,” stated Mike, “We chose a location at the foot of Penn Treaty Park that was covered in trash and debris, cleaned it up, and spent the day converting it into a colorful silhouette by wallpapering what was left of a dilapidated concrete racquetball court.”

Katie added, “Although it was only temporary, we thought the idea of making “GroundPaper” patterns and prints to convert these forgotten city spaces in a unique way was important and fun.  We used the general concept to apply for an Artist Residency with muraLAB, and happily, our proposal was chosen as one of five artist teams to explore new forms of Muralism in the City.”

Now, with Philly Portholes, their concept focuses on transforming the monolithic shapes under I-95 into graphic silhouettes, bridging riverward neighbors with the waterfront through community art. The chief inspiration for Philly Portholes is the nautical history on which neighborhoods like Fishtown and Port Richmond were founded. The artists will create humongous wallpaper patterns accompanied by a series of “portholes.” These porthole graphics will be filled with historical photographs from the collections of neighbors in the community through a campaign called “Fill the Holes.”

Mike and KT are asking neighbors to submit photos to fill these holes that have significant historical value that captures the essence of riverward communities. If you have such photos, you can drop them off in person at either of these convenient drop off points in Fishtown: Sulimay’s Diner at 631 East Girard Avenue or here at the Spirit Newspapers Office at 1428 East Susquehanna Avenue. You will be asked to fill out a simple form with information pertaining to your photograph, a release giving the artists permission to use the image in the project, and info on returning your photos.

You can also download the Submission Form online by going to: http://www.phillyportholes.com/submityourphotos. Additionally, you can e-mail your scanned photos, along with the submission form, directly to the artists at: PhillyPortholes@gmail.com. Photos submitted online MUST be high resolution (300 dpi at 8×10) in order to be usable.

Mike and Katie’s Philly Portholes project will be exhibited along with the work of the other artist teams in a gallery show called “Without Walls” at the Esther Klein Gallery at 3600 Market Street.   The opening reception is Friday, April 27th from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m.   You can see large scale panels of the artists’ designs and learn more about how it integrates the history of the community into its content.

“Fishtown fascinated me with its deep roots and community as well as its swagger,” said Ski, “Wanting to learn more and contribute to the neighborhood was a motivator in the Philly Portholes project. Our hope is that with participation from our neighbors in Fishtown, the idea for our project will move forward.”

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