Philly’s outdoor art scene is famous for the breadth and diversity of its commissioned murals — but on alleyways, street signs and overlooked corners, another type of artwork thrives. Walk around and you will be greeted by tags, wheatpastes, stencils, stickers and more from underground creatives.
Artists who typically operate in the shadows are stepping into the bright gallery lights for a new, two-day pop-up show. The exhibit, “Step Outside,” takes place this Friday and Saturday at Huddle gallery in Fishtown.
The show will include over 75 outdoor and graffiti artists from the Philly scene.
“This is a truly massive, one-of-its-kind street art graffiti show,” said Conrad Benner, the founder of Streets Dept, a local art blog and media platform. “It’s very important to bring everybody together under one roof. It’s kind of a sneak peek from the seedy underbelly of what street art is.”
Typically, the entire sprawl of the city serves as a canvas for these creatives. The indoor gallery, however, allows the artists to “step outside” the box and create sculptures, installations and even live-pieces in one concentrated space. Some will be experimenting with new media.
The show is organized by the street artists Doomed Future and Red Hound Heavy Hammer.
“A lot of it’s going to be interactive,” Red Hound said. “Street artists [will] come in and throw a wheat paste up live for everybody to see art in motion — what they would do on the street, but in the gallery.”
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(Courtesy of Doomed Future) -
(Courtesy of Doomed Future)
While there are other shows that highlight the work of graffiti artists’ in galleries, Red Hound said that this event is unique for the sheer amount of artists involved. Even though it is in a gallery space, the atmosphere will mimic the subversive feeling of creating outdoors.
“The mass amount of artists that have submitted is nuts,” he said. “There’s going to be one very large wall, top to bottom, every single inch is going to be artist submissions. And then there will be installations hanging from the ceiling … We’re going to actually build additional walls for people to write and just go nuts on.”
Unlike some gallery shows, where visitors may need prior knowledge of the artist or the subject matter to truly grasp the meaning behind the work, “Step Outside” is for everyone — from enthusiasts who are heavily involved in the city’s street art scene to those who may not know much about it.
“I hope everyone gets the bug for street art,” said the anonymous artist Blur, who goes by she/they pronouns. “I think street art and graffiti is actually very romantic. I think a lot of people look at it as vandalism … I think it’s a love letter to the city.”
One of her sticker series includes an open mouth with different messages written between its lips, saying phrases like, “What a shame your pride got in the way” and “If you have to beg to be valued, leave.”
Blur’s messages are quick and poignant. The art is universal, even without understanding her personal background. Still, hearing how she got into street art provides a new perspective to the work.
“I had really, really severe Lyme disease that made me have encephalitis, and I lost my ability to speak for about six months,” she said. “It was quite literally a blur, and I started drawing this mouth symbol and putting my feelings in the mouth and trying to just express this crazy, crazy life event.”
One of Blur’s signature mouths will hang in the gallery, but instead of a small sticker, it will be on a large canvas. A painted “hello” name tag serves as the backdrop. She has not yet unveiled what the saying inside will be, but teases that it comes from an old poem.
For many street artists, their work can be an outlet and a point of connection during dark periods.
“I suffer from mild depression and high anxiety,” said the artist B from Jersey or “B”. “And I just feel like art helps with all that, especially during the pandemic times, and the political climate and what’s going on in the world.”
B creates a variety of different kinds of materials, from spray paint to art made from recycled material. For “Step Outside” he is creating a glow-in-the-dark recreation of the Joker’s face from Batman (specifically Heath Ledger’s version) made from broken vinyl records.
“I’m 46 years old, so I grew up in the early ‘80s,” he said. “This was North Philly in the early ‘80s. So it was like early Hip Hop everywhere. You know the ‘80s style – hip hop graff. You can see the dope tags, North Philly style. I saw all that on the way to school and on the way home every day. So that just stuck with me.”
“Philly’s just known for [graffiti],” he added. “It’s the birthplace of the tags.”
Now, he’s passed on the torch, and even creates graffiti with his 18-year-old son.
The show will be an homage to artists of all ages and backgrounds from Philadelphia. Nicole Krecicki, co-owner of South Street Art Mart, is one of the artists who created work for “Step Outside.” She uses the alias Taped Off TV.
“I’m just excited to see all the different types of work that are going to be on display and the different kinds of people coming together under the same roof,” she said.
Krecicki’s work references a mixture of pop culture and politics. It is often a homage to ‘80s and ‘90s TV nostalgia. One of her series includes stickers of an anthropomorphic vintage television creature with teeth. For the show, she is bringing her creation to life through sculpture.
“I like to spray paint on old electronics,” she explained. “I’m kind of obsessed with finding CRT TVs that still work – tape players, radios, VCRs – things like that. I have an old TV that I spray painted, and then I hand painted on, trying to make a little TV monster.”
“We have a bunch of mannequins in the store, so I’m trying to fix it onto legs,” she added.
Krecicki is excited that the show will represent the city’s ever-changing street art culture, including queer, female and BIPOC artists.
“If you were to ask anyone on the street, ‘name a famous street artist,’ they’re probably going to say Shepard Fairey or they’re going to say Banksy – these masculine names,” she said. “I’ve done some trades with people across the country, and there’s a lot of women, there’s a lot of femme people, there’s a lot of younger people, which I think is really cool.”
Inphltrate, another anonymous artist, is excited to be amongst the female creatives involved in the show. She is making a couple pieces for the exhibit.
“I feel like the community of women street artists is growing,” she said. “That makes me so happy to have girlies with me on the streets, vandalizing, and also just being girls together.”
Inphltrate’s work is very feminine, often subversive, and sometimes uplifting. One of her artwork series tells passersby to “realize your worth.”
“My goal is to help other people who are kind of feeling those tough feelings and seeing an encouraging message on the street kind of helps them get through it,” she said. “And that’s the main purpose of my work, is that connection with others.”
Inphltrate said she believes there is “a movement” currently happening in underground art, thanks in part to shows like “Step Outside.”
“Street art wasn’t always something that was appreciated or accepted, not just in Philly, but in general,” she said. “I feel like we’re about to embark on a Renaissance of street art. I feel like the city, especially Philly, is so accepting of art.”
“Not to hate on New York, but I feel like in Philly we’re able to see the artists and get to know them, because it is smaller,” she added. “That, to me, is really exciting that we’re actually getting noticed now, when there’s more shows, and it’s getting taken more seriously.”
“Step Outside” is a great way for visitors to get involved and become insiders of a kind in this underground movement. For her part, Blur is hoping that people will leave the show with a new appreciation for the craft.
“I hope that maybe the next day when they’re walking to their job, the same commute that they do every day, they see one of my stickers maybe, or someone else’s work at the show,” she said. “And it just stops their day, and they have just like a tiny little moment for themselves, where that is just them and that little sticker, or them and that wheat paste, or that them and that tag. It just makes them feel more connected to the city they live in.”
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