July 23, 2012

This past spring a group of eight Photography and Graphic Design students partnered with the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia to work with the organization on their “Pride of Place” initiative. This initiative’s goal is to encourage community groups around the city to survey their neighborhoods in advance of the City of Philadelphia’s 2035 master plan. The Preservation Alliance aimed at connecting communities and identifying those assets that are worth recognizing, protecting and preserving. The students worked in tandem with the community groups to do mapping and photographic documentation.

The eight students consisted of four graphic designers and four photographers. Each team, consisting of a designer and photographer, selected a neighborhood in North Philadelphia to survey. The teams ventured out into the city and documented Strawberry Mansion, Brewerytown, Hartranft-Fairhill and Kensington. The teams presented their mapping along with their photographic surveys to community group members at a “Pride of Place” meeting. Following that meeting the students used their findings to develop exhibit concepts that communicated the assets of each neighborhood that they identified from their site surveys, first person interviews, and photography.

Participating students included Hannah Olin, Lauren Beltramo, Philip Gross, and Ilana Mclean from Graphic Design, and Mike Arrison, William Frank, Elizabeth Frank, and Alexa Nahas from Photography. Graphic Design Professor Amy Rees taught the class and Mike Froio, Photography Professor, and Mark Willie, Graphic Design Professor, served as faculty advisors. The group worked with John Gallery, Executive Director of the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, along with Patrick Hauck, Ben Leech, and Melissa Jest, also from the Preservation Alliance.