The Viaduct RailPark is coming — artists will compete to make it beautiful

$33,000 will be going toward making the upcoming Viaduct RailPark inviting and beautiful.

The City of Philadelphia’s Percent for Art Program, through the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy (OACCE), in collaboration with the Center City District (CCD), Philadelphia Parks and Recreation (PPR), and the Friends of the Rail Park announced a competition today, as part of the $9.6 million Phase I renovation of the park.

The industrial relic crosses through the Callowhill and Chinatown neighborhoods, just north of Center City and the Vine Street Expressway. Submissions should both broadcast the park’s presence and reflect the overall project’s goals of maintaining material authenticity, local integrity, and visual simplicity.

The City, CCD, and the Friends have identified four potential sites for this commission, three of which are at the entry points of the park:

1. The at-grade entrance at Noble and Broad Streets;
2. The proposed stairwell at the lower 13th Street bridge;
3. The proposed stairwell at the terminus of the park at Callowhill Street;
4. The embanked area of the east side of 13th street to the west side of 12th Street.  

Potential artwork commissions may include physical objects as well as sound art. Artwork will be selected on the basis of creativity, artistic merit, technical proficiency, and relationship to the RailPark, as well as long-term maintenance, durability, and safety concerns.

You can find out more in the OACCE’s call for artists.

Images via OACCE