The Philadelphians was a public art projection and city-wide project celebrating the city’s vibrant immigrant communities, past and present. Created by Philadelphia-based artist duo Nadia Hironaka and Matthew Suib (Hironaka & Suib), this was the second annual project from Forman Arts Initiative (FAI) and Mural Arts Philadelphia’s (MAP) Public Works program, a residency program embedding artists within Philadelphia civic agencies. Presented in LOVE Park, The Philadelphians was accompanied by a series of public programs, workshops, and panel discussions with support from Philadelphia Parks and Recreation. The project’s centerpiece, a large-scale video projection, wrapped 360º around LOVE Park’s Visitor Center and was on view from May 7 – June 8, 2025, with the projection beginning at 5 PM and ending at midnight daily.
The Philadelphians was an expansive film project centering Philadelphia’s immigrant communities and their historic and present contributions to the City of Philadelphia. Following a yearlong research period of sourcing archival footage, conducting interviews and hosting craft workshops in partnership with community groups rooted within ethnic communities around the city, the culminating project combined archival and original footage on 16mm film and video with ten short film portraits of present-day Philadelphians. The resulting ten vignettes traced three centuries of immigrants to the region, from the earliest arrivals who helped shape both the city and nation to the most recent generations who continue to preserve and build upon that legacy.