City of Philadelphia, PA Returns for Incredible 21st Exhibition

On December 12th we celebrated the return of the City of Philadelphia National Arts Program Exhibit, now in its 21st year! The staff of the National Arts Program were overjoyed to attend the reception, take in the exhibit, and speak with so many of the artists. The public is also invited to view the impressive collection of artworks in an exhibit spanning the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors of the northeast corner of Philadelphia’s City Hall now through January 31st.

This is the first year since 2019 and the global pandemic that Creative Philadelphia’s Art In City Hall program was able to showcase this exhibition. The exhibit features an astounding 228 artworks by 133 artists working in photography, painting, works on paper, craft, mixed media, and sculpture. They represent nearly 50 offices, departments and divisions in the workforce.

This end of year celebration of artwork by city government employees and their families is a well-loved tradition and the turn out for the awards reception on their first year back was incredible! Artists and their family members packed into the Mayor’s Reception Room until it was standing room only and even overflowed into the hallway. Valerie Gay the Chief Cultural Officer for Creative Philadelphia and the incomparable Tu Huynh, Curator of Exhibitions and Programs both spoke at the reception of the importance of the program and the talent within their own employee community.   

This year’s independent judge was Gerard Silva, the Director of Exhibitions and Community Outreach for Fleisher Art Memorial, who for over a decade has organized Fleisher’s Dia de los Muertos celebration and procession in Queen Village/South Philadelphia.

We want to congratulate all the city employees and family members who shared in this year’s celebration and submitted their amazing artworks! Below is a list of Gerard Silva’s selections for the award winners in each classification.

Best-in-Show
Michelle Flamer, Oh Say! – Law Dept. Retiree

Professional
1st Place: Christopher Windle, Tessa – Parks and Recreation Retiree
2nd Place: Marian Howard, Overhead – Police Dept.
3rd Place: Sue Patterson, Rules of Abstraction – Water Dept.
Honorable Mention: Lauren Rinaldi, And So We Beat On – City Council (At-Large CM Rue Landau)
Honorable Mention: Gail Gaines, The League – Free Library of Philadelphia

Intermediate
1st Place: Joann Lee, A Study of Bamboo – Dept. of Public Health
2nd Place: Wayne Stewart, Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection – Dept of Prisons Retiree
3rd Place: Tiona Johnson, Time– Finance Family Member
Honorable Mention: Martha Sierra, Mi Jardin Florido (My Flowery Garden) – Revenue Dept.
Honorable Mention: Nnyji Whitfield, Meander– Revenue Dept. family member

Amateur
1st Place: Cynthia Schneider, Ghost Chair of the Law Dept – Law Dept.
2nd Place: Ameena Mutan, Eternal Bloom – Department of Public Health
3rd Place: Jeffrey Tan, Home – We Keep It Safe – License and Inspections
Honorable Mention: Trina Petty, Lady On Box – Mayor’s Office
Honorable Mention: Laura Tompkins, The Architect – DBHIDS

Teens (Family Members)
1st Place: Alice Zhang, Joys from the Sea – Community and Behavioral Health
2nd Place: Eden Perchick, Moonlight Shimmer– Law Dept.
3rd Place: Calder Huynh, Untitled – Creative Philadelphia
Honorable Mention: Hannah Aldinger, Birds of the World – Law Dept.
Honorable Mention: Emma Andrews, Braced Up! – Chief Administrator’s Office

Youth Under 12 (Family Members)
1st Place: Florenzia Kanthor, We Are Not Different – Streets Dept.
2nd Place: Nicholas Smith, Manga – Police Dept.
3rd Place: Bria Julie Reese, Nature Valley – Dept. of Health/Ambulatory Services
Honorable Mention: Everett Berry, Family – Parks and Recreation
Honorable Mention: Joseph Li, My Neighborhood – Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations

Pictured below is Coordinator Tu Huynh posing with artist Wayne Stewart who took home the second place prize in the Intermediate category for his piece entitled "Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection".