Y PHILLY: A Youth Identity Art Exchange
Launched in 2003 and originally titled “Y PHILLY: An Identity Mural by Philadelphia’s Youth Generation,” this annual initiative gave young Philadelphians, ages 9-24, the chance to capture the spirit of their city and youth culture through the creation of an original youth identity mural.
Students would express positive aspects of being a young Philadelphian through images, symbols and words, and once completed, the mural was gifted to a foreign youth community partner where it was displayed permanently as a visual “pen-pal letter” from Philadelphia.
In 2007, the initiative evolved to include a reciprocal exchange of artwork between Philadelphia and Istanbul, Turkey. The Y PHILLY program deepened once more in 2008 by including a companion youth identity workshop for one partner school in Philadelphia and one partner school abroad and by offering students a choice in the form of art work to be exchanged. No longer limited to murals, recent Y PHILLY art exchanges have included tapestries, a short documentary and a quilt.
Y PHILLY 2010: Youth Identity Art Exchange between New Foundations Charter School in Philadelphia and Bal Bharati Public School in New Delhi, India.
Y PHILLY 2009: Youth Identity Art Exchange between New Foundations Charter School in Philadelphia and Bal Bharati Public School in New Delhi, India.
Y PHILLY 2008: Youth Identity Art Exchange between Northeast High School in Philadelphia and Vanadzor Art School in Vanzador, Armenia.
Y PHILLY 2007: Youth Identity Mural Exchange between Philadelphia and Istanbul, Turkey
Y PHILLY 2005: Youth Identity Mural Created for Caracas, Venezuela.
Y PHILLY 2004: Youth Identity Mural Created for Tel Aviv, Israel.
Y PHILLY 2003: Youth Identity Mural Created for Incheon, Korea.