What Now: 2026 Projects

Homer Jackson and V. Shayne Frederick's Pepperpot

Initially conceived by the late interdisciplinary artist Homer Jackson in collaboration with Chef Valerie Erwin and illustrator Eric Battle, “Pepperpot” will be presented and developed under the guidance of jazz artist V. Shayne Frederecik in close conversation with Jackson’s widow and creative partner, Lynn Washington. Pepperpot is designed to be a musical, visual, and culinary experience. At its heart is the story of pepperpot soup, a traditional dish with a far reaching heritage.

Rashid Zakat's Revival!

Artist Rashid Zakat will launch a series of public space video and performance installation popups at neighborhood hubs, sacred spaces and thoroughfares across Philadelphia. The images and video will draw on archival footage, originally produced video art, and live performance weaved in with AI generated imagery. During the day, the installation will function as a third space resembling a coffee shop or reading room.

King Britt's BLACKTRONIKA: Philadelphia Now and Then

Celebrated music artist, producer, curator, and professor King Britt has long been a pivotal figure in placing his hometown on the global electronic music map. His course “Blacktronika,” a celebration of the contributions of innovators of color to electronic music, has grown into a festival with events in Los Angeles, Brooklyn, Knoxville, Paris, and more cities slated for 2025. As a tribute to his local roots, King Britt will curate BLACKTRONIKA: Philadelphia Now and Then, a weeklong series of performances, workshops, and discussions.

Trapeta Mayson and Yolanda Wisher's Bicentennial Babies

The project Bicentennial Baby will interview 10 people born in Philadelphia in 1976 about what it means to be a bicentennial baby and turning a half a century old in 2026. The interviews will invite participants to reflect on the past fifty years of their lives, the changes the country and city have gone through since their birth, and what the future holds. Excerpts from the interviews and Wisher’s personal reflections will be merged with musical selections and transformed into a short podcast series.

Vince Johnson and Urban Movement Art's Say Yes, Philly

The city has long been fertile ground for experimentation between Black American vernacular artists and other traditions. These days, it is common to go to a venue where you can both contribute artistically, witness art, document and broadcast in real time. “Say Yes, Philly,” from Urban Movement Arts and Terry Fox, will feature savvy use of social media and audio/visual technology in order to demonstrate modern methods for engaging with the arts while pointing to future possibilities.

Philadelphia Young Playwrights’ Civic Theater Project

Five students from a variety of backgrounds and zip codes will meet with and interview at least nine change-makers from across the city. The students will then attend workshops by professional artists and playwrights, writing and revising original one-act plays. Centered on the inner workings of leadership and how change happens, these works will be staged by professional actors.

The Mendelssohn Chorus’ Joyful Abundance: Emerging Artists

As the Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia (MCP) celebrates 150 years, they will highlight the city’s next generation of composers and poets. The winners of this competition will receive a cash award and mentorship, along with a world premiere performance by MCP. The organization will reach out to zip codes throughout the city, actively seeking applications representative of diverse identities and perspectives. Each selected team will create a new choral work addressing the theme of “What Now?”

Emily Schreiner and Liz Baill’s What To Do While You’re Waiting

Emily Schreiner and Liz Baill ’s public art takeover of SEPTA’s bus shelters will engage families waiting for public transit. The goal is simple: to look up and out at the world together. The project will create and install artistically-designed games and conversation starters, spurring intergenerational conversations.

Collette Fu's Chinatown Pop-Up Book

Curator Dave Kyu and visual artist Colette Fu aim to provide an insider's view of what makes Philadelphia’s Chinatown special. Their large-scale pop-up book demands that visitors consider the cultural contributions of the neighborhood. A crank — the mechanism references a 1903 invention by Edmund Smith, derogatorily named the "Iron Chink” — flips through the pages, providing a behind-the-scenes look into this vibrant community.

Ruth Naomi Floyd's Marian Anderson: A Voice of Beauty, Hope, and Change

Marian Anderson was a native Philadelphian, a Black woman, and an artist who shook the music world. Contemporary composer Ruth, who works in a world between authentic Jazz and stately classical formations, will use Anderson’s life and her passions as inspiration for a new work. In a time when issues around gender, race and justice are all singing at a fever pitch, her story is ripe for reexamination.

Raúl Romero and Philadelphia Latino Arts & Film Festival at Clemente Park

One of ArtPhilly’s collaborations with the Philadelphia Latino Arts and Film Festival will feature an evening of screening baseball films at the iconic Roberto Clemente Park. This initiative celebrates America’s pastime and pays homage to the first Latino player to be inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame. The activation of the park will provide audiences with new perspectives, highlighting the interwoven nature of our cultures through sport and the universal language of film.

Trapeta Mayson's Dinner with Dinah

Dinah, an enslaved Black woman who was brought to the site of the Stenton Mansion in Germantown in 1753, was freed in 1776 by William Logan. An oral tradition that first appeared in the 19th century recounts Dinah’s role in saving Stenton from destruction by British soldiers in November of 1777. Performed outdoors at Stenton, “Dinner with Dinah” will feature a three-course meal, discussion, and commissioned choreopoems by Trapeta Mayson.

Shavon Norris' The Becoming

Movement/theater artist Shavon Norris will invite five Black female-identifying Philadelphians between the ages of 10 and 40 to participate in an interview/oral history process designed to probe the conditions, challenges and opportunities that Black girls and women face as they approach adulthood and middle age. The “reveal” for the project will be an exhibition of still portraits and listening booths for hearing/viewing excerpts of the interviews. Visitors to the exhibition will be able to record their own responses and, on the final day, project participants will perform.

Theater in the X's Community Play

From 2019-2021, Theatre in the X piloted a community play creation process, with discussion and documentation of community member stories providing building blocks for the playwright. For 2026, Theater in the X will develop another play using the prompt of “What Now.” Four sessions with multigenerational groups will help them answer the questions, “What does the nation’s 250th anniversary mean to you? What do you hope for Philadelphia’s next 250 years?”

12 Gates Arts

12 Gates Arts will present an exhibition that reflects the theme of the country's 250th anniversary while delving into complex questions of identity, migration, and historical narratives. As yet untitled, the project will be anchored by works from Philadelphia-based filmmaker Shehrezad Maher, whose explorations of memory, historical trauma, and intergenerational experiences provide the exhibition's foundation. This central work will be in dialogue with complementary artistic contributions from Philadelphia-based diasporic voices and artists including sāgar kāmath, Alexei Mansour, and Mir Masud-Elias, creating a multifaceted conversation around our shared histories.

LoveNow Media's What Now? Love Now!

Jos Duncan-Ase’s LoveNow Media’s 11-day exhibit will be a celebration of connection and community, culminating in a weekend of activities. Through a combination of archival photography, film screenings, panel discussions, interactive art making stations, and live storytelling, audiences will be immersed in an experience exploring the power of love, resilience and joy in our communities.

Walé Oyéjidé and Immanuel Wilkins' Displaced Flowers

Large-scale premier screenings of Walé Oyéjidé’s "The Voyagers," “Bravo, Burkina!” and “Do You See Me,” will be accompanied by live scores from Immanuel Wilkins and his quartet, paying spiritual homage to the legendary John Coltrane. In a marriage of this city’s most cherished artforms, audiences will enjoy vivid displays of Black cinema, fashion, dance and music.

Glenn Holsten and
Majesty Royale-Jackson’s Patina/Promise

Filmed by Philadelphians, voiced by Philadelphians, assembled by film director Glenn Holsten and artist Majesty Royale-Jackson, and imbued with the spirit of the great city symphony films, Patina/Promise is an energetic and moving celebration of life filmed entirely on location in the streets of Philadelphia using contemporary technologies such as cell phone cameras and drones.

Andrea Clearfield and Cookie Diorio's Long Live the Queen: A Her-Story of Drag

This hour-long work will sit at the intersection of opera, multimedia cantata, drag, cabaret and performance art. Artists include musician and composer Andrea Clearfield, drag artist/opera singer Cookie Diorio, auditioned subsets of Philadelphia’s LGBTQ+ choruses (ANNA Crusis Feminist Choir, Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus, Voices of Pride), and Orchestra 2001.

Chef Laquanda Dobson and Jenn Kidwell's Giving Thanks

“Giving Thanks” is an outdoor community meal at Bartram’s Gardens accompanied by music, dancing and pop-up performances in collaboration with theater artist Jennifer Kidwell. Chef Laquanda Dobson will create a menu based on what is local and in season at that time of year. The table itself and its “setting” will invite reflection about satiety. The meal is designed to remind those present of the fortune of bounty and community, and to relish the space of gratitude.