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The cultural contributions to South Philadelphia from numerous nationalities are receiving their historical due thanks to seven artists. Through the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, the Journeys South project is highlighting the immigrant experience that has provided the area with reputable diversity.
A $200,000 grant from The Heritage Philadelphia Program funded Journeys South, a by-product of the Mural Arts Program’s 2004 to ’07 My North Philly undertaking that produced seven murals.
“We wanted to capture the stories of the waves of immigrants who have come through this part of the city,” director Jane Golden said May 5 in front of A Man’s Image, 1722 E. Passyunk Ave., of creating and naming the endeavor that gives homage to ancestral upkeep and runs through June 11. “These works give the stories of resilience and triumph from a location that is always on the move.”
Two particular pieces prove Golden’s point. The first, “Start Here,” consists of footprint journeys detailing five immigrants’ courses in settling in Philadelphia. The works of choreographer Amanda Miller of 13th and Dickinson streets, the treks contain prints common in dance instruction.
Verrone Romeoletti demonstrated his circuitous route by first moving along his path with ease to symbolize his early life’s fluidity, slowing to reflect a directionless phase before retrieving the rhythm that marks his current life.
A North Philadelphia native, Romeoletti resides on Broad and Reed streets. An African American with Italian ancestry, he has instructed kung fu at the Marian Anderson Recreation Center, 740 S. 17th St., for three years. His instruction led to his involvement, as student Tobin Rothlein, Miller’s partner with Miro Dance Theatre, suggested he tell his tale.
“Of course I agreed,” Romeoletti said as he peered at the inscription — “Life leads you where you are supposed to be” — that concludes his jaunt. “My journey fascinates my students, and I hope it will inspire others.”
“The spaces become places where the conversation continues,” Rothlein, also of 13th and Dickinson streets, said of the quintet of paths along the 1700 block of East Passyunk Avenue.
Another trail rests in front of Monastero’s Barbershop, 1722 E. Passyunk Ave., and marks the meanderings of owner Pat Ruber’s grandfather. Inside, video and audio trace the lives of Rothlein and Miller’s subjects. Curious parties can visit between 4 and 7 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.
An “adopted Philadelphian,” photographer RA Friedman called on his Jewish heritage to inspire the formation of “7th Street Memory Box.” Using an antique 1940s camera, he captured images of participants at the Stiffel Senior Center, 604 Porter St., for inclusion in a zoetrope, a machine that creates the illusion of moving pictures. The gadget includes bicycle gears and a hand crank responsible for spinning a drum divided into 16 vertical strips. A year-and-a-half in the making, it pays tribute to the once-heavy Jewish corridor along Seventh Street from Snyder to Oregon avenues.
“That area possesses a rich and weighty past,” Friedman said. “I had to chronicle it.”
His creation will be available for perusal along South Ninth Street and East Passyunk Avenue Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Poet Frank Sherlock delighted in helping the Mural Arts Program’s plan to go “off the wall” through Journeys South. The bard, formerly of Broad and Jackson streets, teamed with print artist Erik Ruin to devise “Neighbor Ballads,” poetic broadsides honoring four living and three deceased contributors to South Philadelphia’s ethnic enrichment. In analyzing African, Irish, Italian, Lebanese, Mexican, Polish and Vietnamese narratives, Sherlock found the poems’ subjects shared “heart, hustle and dedication to family.”
He read his take on Lebanese percussionist Joe Tayoun, who gives instruction at St. Maron’s Hall, 1010 Ellsworth St., highlighting his global travels.
“I had to find a balance between the individual and his or her group identity,” Sherlock said of the compositions, four of which appear in boxes along South Ninth Street, with the others in dispensers at South 10th and Dickinson streets, Cross Street and East Passyunk Avenue and South 12th Street and East Passyunk Avenue.
In finding the medium, the versifier feels he continued his allegiance to addressing the human condition.
“Poetry is news that stays news,” he said.
Michelle Angela Ortiz and collaborator Tony Rocco produced “Different Paths, One Market,” a collection of eight awnings decorating vendor stalls between Christian Street and Washington Avenue on South Ninth Street. A 10-year veteran of the Mural Arts Program, Ortiz has created more than 30 large-scale public works nationally and internationally. For Journeys South, she had to look only to her youth for inspiration.
A resident of the 900 block of League Street, the Colombian and Puerto Rican artist lives not far from where she grew up and fell in love with the Italian Market’s assortment of peddlers.
“I saw my part as being a way to support existing businesses and to honor their longevity and attention to tight-knit family structures,” she said.
Her 10-by-15-foot creations credit Cambodians, Italians, Mexicans and Vietnamese for their work within the renowned confines. They capture smiling and contemplative faces and include text designed for passers-by to read as a poem. Her mother worked at Giordano and Giordano Produce, 1043 S. Ninth St., making the Italian haven an easy choice for inclusion.
The children and grandchildren of original owners Paul and Frances Giordano run the location, so Ortiz consulted them.
“I am happy to be included,” son John Giordano said of Ortiz’s honoring a business that will celebrate its 90th anniversary June 10.
The awning features his parents’ 25th wedding anniversary photo from 1937 and notes “I am part of the store and the store is a part of me.”
“It is a great image that touches my heart each time I inspect it,” Giordano, who hopes to move the addition indoors after Journeys South concludes, said.
Video interviews with the market’s residents and vendors complement the awnings from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays at Pronto, 920 S. Ninth St. The location also serves as the starting point for the free Saturday walking tours beginning at 10 a.m. The closing event that includes the distribution of a commemorative book will occur at 5:30 p.m. June 9 at Paradiso Restaurant, 1627 E. Passyunk Ave.
“We are a nation of immigrants, South Philly in particular,” Ortiz said. “Journeys South upholds the power of immigrants’ willingness to persevere in establishing new identities while retaining communal bonds.”
For more information, visit www.muralarts.org.
Contact Staff Writer Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
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