2nd Saturday Street Art Tours are BACK for our 2018 Season!
Streets Dept's 2nd Saturday Street Art Tours are a new kind of guided walking tour that explore the art in Philadelphia's public spaces one neighborhood at a time! Each month we walk a different neighborhood in search of street art, graffiti, murals – and more! Each tour hosted and led by StreetsDept.com's founder Conrad Benner.
For this, the kick-off of our 2018 Season, we'll be checking out one of Philadelphia's most active and vibrate neighborhoods for graffiti and street art: Kensington – including the graffiti mecca that is 5th and Cecil B. Moore!
I chose Kensington for the kick-off of this season's tours for a few reasons. First, it's always the neighborhood I check out if I'm in need of some new inspiration or (frankly) some new content for my blog; 5th and Cecil B. Moore in particular is one of the most active and accessible graffiti spots in the city that's not in an abandoned building or along a train corridor (where I'll never, of course, host a tour.) Second, now that 2nd Saturday Street Art Tours are in their second year, there's naturally going to be some repeat neighborhoods in this year’s line-up that we explored last year, but I wanted to start this season with a neighborhood I've never offered a tour of! Lastly, and most personally, it's only a handful of blocks from where I grew up in Fishtown, so I know and have known the area well.
And on that note, I'm your host for this and every 2nd Saturday Street Art Tour. My name's Conrad Benner, and I'm a Philly-born photographer, curator, and the founder of StreetsDept.com, an award winning photo-blog that's been discovering art on streets of Philadelphia since 2011. Over the years, I have been named Philly's ‘Best Art Curator’ by Philadelphia Magazine, and my blog named one of the ‘Best Blogs for Travellers’ by The Guardian. I have a passion for art in the public space and the role it plays in our hearts and minds; in fact, you can read my blog's full purpose statement here!
So excited to bring these 2nd Saturday Street Art Tours back for a second season, and I hope you'll join me to make these as successful as last year’s!
A few quick notes before you get your ticket(s): 1) This month’s tour will start at the SE corner of American and Jefferson streets which should have ample bike and car parking, or is a short 11 minute walk from the Girard stop of SEPTA’s Market-Frankford Line El. The tour will end 3 blocks from the Berks stop of SEPTA’s Market-Frankford Line El. And if anyone would like me to walk them back to the tour’s starting point, I’m happy to do that! 2) These 2nd Saturday Street Art Tours are just about 2 hours in length and do include a good deal of walking, which may not be suitable for all. Please feel free to email me at StreetsDept [at] gmail [dot] com, if you have any questions. 3) Each tour is limited and in the past they have sold out fairly quickly, so be sure to get your tickets now, if you're interested. 4) Tickets/names will be checked at the start of each tour, so be sure to bring a digital or printed copy of your ticket, or just check-in with the ticket purchaser's name.
See y'all soon! #StreetsDept2ndSat
Mural in the featured photo by artist Rubicon1. Streets Dept's 2nd Saturday Street Art Tour 2018 Season will run monthly, offering a new tour on the 2nd Saturday of each month, from April through November 2018. Purchase a ticket or join our newsletter for first-word email notifications when each month’s tickets become available for purchase.