I am embarking on a new project to explore the cultural identities of Philadelphia neighborhoods. What I mean by this is creating a body of work that is representative of the various cultural identities that share space in these neighborhoods. I’m looking to bring together a diverse view of each neighborhood. In order to do this, I am looking for diverse businesses, restaurants, community groups, etc who may want to take part in this project. The more interest I have the more depth and representation I can bring forth for each neighborhood. Images will be presented in a way that brings together multiple groups in one photo. These images will ideally culminate in an exhibition as part of my capstone project with The University of the Arts. Please contact me if interested and pass this along to anyone you know who might be interested 🙂 Rest assured I will also be masked up and respectful of social distancing guidelines when shooting on location. Thank you!
Photos from the series:
About Jessica O’Lear
I’m a Visual Artist currently based in Philadelphia. I graduated in 2014 with a degree in Cultural Anthropology with a focus on Latin America. Since then I have been driven to make art influenced by my background in Anthropology and how we as people experience and identify with the world around us. Throughout the years I have spent time living in China and Japan. My most recent body of work explored feelings of familiarity, isolation, and adjustment as I went from living in Philadelphia to Japan, and eventually those feelings in coming back to live in Philadelphia. I believe in the ability of art to connect diverse groups of people by building empathy through the illustration of shared experiences.
Jessica O'Lear Art 