Through Feb. 6, free, Art Institute of Philadelphia, 1622 Chestnut St., 215-405-6408
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Within the mountainous archives of the City of Philadelphia’s records department and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP) lies evidence that our much-clichéd “city of neighborhoods” has major roots. The Art Institute’s “Philadelphia Stories: Yours, Mine, Ours” showcases more than 60 photographs from those archives that depict ordinary Philadelphians — immigrants, workers, neighbors, churchgoers, schoolchildren — through 150 years of history.
The exhibit reaches back to the 1860s when photography was first developing as a widespread medium.”Philadelphia Stories” is a nostalgic selection that sheds light on our foods, our cultural backgrounds, our religions and our businesses.
“It’s a good example of a wonderful collaboration among partners you wouldn’t normally think of,” says city Records Commissioner Joan Decker of her department’s alliance with HSP to dig up, digitize and upload these accounts. Already some 90,000 of the city archives’ two million photos have been posted on phillyhistory.org; HSP is in the process of compiling an interactive Web site, philaplace.org, set to launch in May. The site, of which this exhibit is a precursor, will showcase the evolution of Philly’s immigrant neighborhoods through photographs, maps, timelines, audio and visual clips, podcast tours and text.
Convenient for all those art students, the Art Institute is right near lots of fun bars and shopping. The gallery is open Monday to Thursday 9am-7pm, so we recommend hitting it up then. Nodding Head Brewery is a good place for low-key dining, great local beer in a pub atmosphere. For more upscale dining in a swank bar, try Alfa over on Walnut.
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