250 Miles Crossing Philadelphia

by Pollak van Bekkum

Dutch artists Ester Polak and Ivar van Bekkum spent seven months living in Philadelphia as part of an artist residency. New to the city, they invited inhabitants, both human and non-human, to explain their city through movement. Wandering by themselves, the participants recorded their trajectories, sounds and private readings of the streets, allowing the artists and the audience to access their experiences only afterwards. The project positions the viewer, with the artists, as the audience for the soundtrack of postal carriers, trollies, dogs, bikers, and walkers all go about their day in the city. At the close of the project, the artists created a temporary mural and a navigation-based documentary, ‘Once We Get There,' which won an award for Best Concept at the 2Annas Film Festival in Riga and was shown at FID Marseille.

The project continues to live online: https://www.polakvanbekkum.com/250miles/

Client
The University City Science and Wexford Science + Technology

Years
2014 - 2015