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Back when bronze was here to stay: the statue of Frank Rizzo before its removal earlier this summer. (Photo by Caitlin Martin, courtesy of the Association for Public Art.)

What’s next for the Frank Rizzo statue?

A real monument to the people

The Frank Rizzo statue is in city storage. What did the bronze body and its removal signify, and what comes next? Helen Walsh considers.

Helen Walsh

Jul 21, 2020 Essays 4 minute read

Someone I could never disappoint: Lucky was a beloved childhood companion. (Photo by Christina Anthony.)

After fostering a cat in quarantine, I had to rethink my relationships

Lucky’s legacy

The pandemic led Christina Anthony to foster a homeless cat for two weeks, and she remembered that our relationships with animals can say a lot about our relationships to people.

Christina Anthony

Jul 13, 2020 Essays 5 minute read

A crew from Mural Arts Philadelphia paints over the Frank Rizzo mural on Ninth Street in June 2020. (Photo by Steve Weinik.)

I grew up in South Philly. Here’s what heritage means to me.

What happens to cultures that stand like statues?

Is it Delaware Avenue or Columbus Boulevard? Dan Gold grew up in South Philly, and with the Rizzo statue gone and Columbus in a box, he wonders what his neighbors are defending.

Daniel Gold

Jul 07, 2020 Essays 4 minute read

Josh Herren, left, with his husband and Seymour T.D. Steinberren, is on a whole new journey. (Photo courtesy of the author.)

When a pandemic means having time to change your mind

The contrarian in quarantine

Stay-at-home orders could be an excuse to become even more set in our ways, but when Joshua Herren decided to do the opposite, he surprised himself.

Josh Herren

Jul 06, 2020 Essays 4 minute read

Maybe Deborah Birx could try giving the president a different line of advice. (Photo via Wikimedia Commons.)

Understanding Donald Trump (continued)

So you want Trump to wear a mask?

When germophobes were perceived as neurotic, Trump celebrated his own germophobia. What has changed?

Dan Rottenberg

Jun 26, 2020 Essays 3 minute read

‘Moore Scouts’ invites players to a digital corner of the Philadelphia arts. (Image by Laura Howard and Noelle Baniowski.)

Do video games have potential for social impact?

‘Moore Scouts’ and the near future of gaming

Moore College of Art & Design’s Animation & Game Arts students talk with Kyle V. Hiller about gaming’s impact on their lives, and how the medium can be a platform for marginalized voices.

Kyle V. Hiller

Jun 23, 2020 Essays 4 minute read

Sometimes words on their own aren’t enough to encompass LGBTQIA+ identities. (Photo by Alaina Johns.)

I date people of different genders, but let's skip the labels about sexuality

I’m comfortable with myself. Are you?

Daralyse Lyons wishes the people she’s dated were comfortable enough with themselves to accept all of her, including her fluid sexuality.

Daralyse Lyons

Jun 23, 2020 Essays 4 minute read

Why does Philadelphia get a zero in the arts and culture column? (Image courtesy of Philly Culture United.)

Philly Culture United urges City Council not to defund the arts

Philly artists rally against defunding

Suzanne Cloud spotlights Philly Culture United, an action campaign to save the city’s funding for arts and culture.

Suzanne Cloud

Jun 17, 2020 Essays 4 minute read

Before Penn, Villanova, and Cornell: An Nichols at summer camp. (Image courtesy of the author.)

Racism is a lifetime of tiny cuts. They won’t stop unless we all speak up.

“The Good Black”

The George Floyd protests helped An Nichols to reflect on her past in a white-dominated culture.

An Nichols

Jun 16, 2020 Essays 4 minute read

Capturing the magical moment: it took three performances for the photographer to land the ending of ‘Serenade.’ (Photo by Alexander Izilieav.)

How Alexander Iziliaev went from dancer to photographer at the PA Ballet

After dancing, another shot at ballet

Photographer Alexander Iziliaev put one passion aside when he became a dancer. Now that he’s stepped off the stage, he can bring something to his art form that others behind the camera cannot. He talks with Camille Bacon-Smith.

Camille Bacon-Smith

Jun 16, 2020 Essays 5 minute read

Essays