Love Philly? So do we. Let’s be friends. Sign up for the Billy Penn newsletter today.
In addition to getting us from point A to B, Philly’s subway stations serve as canvases to a world of graffiti, stickers and wheatpastes. While typically illegal, SEPTA’s flagship hub, Suburban Station, is now embracing that street art status.
“Platform X” — the latest Step Outside show — is taking place in the recently reopened Center City concourse and features different artworks from Philadelphia’s street art and graffiti communities. It runs through the end of July.
The exhibition has both outdoor and indoor installations, including commissioned works for sale. The pieces are inspired by the prompt “USA (United Street Art) 250” — where artists reflect on the nation’s history, legacy and continuing challenges.
“We’re blessed being here in America,” said organizer and artist Doomed Future. “But the way it is now is way different than when our parents were born, and their grandparents… Democracy is out the window, I don’t know what’s happening. It’s every man for himself — every man, woman, they/them for themselves.”
The gallery features subversive images of the American legacy, from the Founding Fathers to the Epstein Files. In the middle of the indoor space sat an alt delivery robot by Doomed Future named Mitch Bot (a play on Hitch Bot and his landlord’s name, Mitch). The robot is remote controlled and can move around the gallery.
Doomed Future is hoping that the extra foot traffic from the World Cup and 250 celebrations will draw new people to this “authentic show that suits the griminess and grit of the subway.”
“We’re a nonprofit organization, so we don’t even make money,” he said. “100% of sales goes to the artists.”
Jane Golden, founder and executive director of Mural Arts, attended Platform X’s show’s opening last Friday.
“When I walk in here and I see the energy and the enthusiasm and the organic nature of what everyone is doing, it takes me back in time,” she said. “But it also reinforces to me how important art is, and how it should be accessible and available to all.”
“People who are working with spray [paint], it’s reminiscent of abstract expressionism.,” she added. “There’s something really spontaneous and bold about the work.”
The show’s outdoor space sits in the belowground courtyard between Suburban Station and City Hall. According to organizers, the public space has been unused since pre-COVID.
“Street art brings a lot of character back into the city,” said artist Jakki Valentino. “I know a lot of people might have mixed opinions on that, but I really do think a lot of this is not only tasteful but it’s expressive and it’s nice to kind of see what it brings back into the community.”
The Step Outside team put up temporary makeshift walls around the space, so that anyone can create art and make tags without actually damaging property. There are also street signs waiting to be painted in.
This interactive element has become a regular feature of Step Outside shows, however, the organization has yet to create an artistic playground as large and open as the one at Platform X. Putting it all together was no easy feat.
“There’s a lot of leaks in this building, coming from a lot of different areas,” said Raw G, who helped build the installation. “Some of it lands on SEPTA. Some of it lands on other property owners, and we had to take matters into our own hands and unclog drains, put in backup pumps, find leaks coming through our ceiling — try to repair them.”
Raw G spent a week, working from 3 p.m. to midnight to bring the space together.
“I just like to do this,” he said. “This all comes from the heart of a couple people. We’re a pack of strays, and we’re gonna keep doing it, and doing it, and doing it.”
Right in the middle of the space is a large piece from the late artist El Toro, who passed away last March.
Different generations of street artists attended Platform X’s opening night.
Old school legends like Darryl McCray, also known as Cornbread, were at the show with a merch table — inviting people to chat and pick up a signed t-shirt. Eddie Kes, also known as RESSINBLOOD, was selling original comic books and toy figurines.
A few artists were even selling their own bootleg merchandise.
“I make bootleg cultured stuff,” said artist Yunk. “You know the Grateful Dead? I have a bootleg brand called Laughing Dead… I got 10 buck shirts right here. Step Outside bootleg shirts, they let me do it, because they know what’s up.”
As the night wore on, it became clear that the show was not only serving as an art exhibition, but also a real community space for street artists.
“What Step Outside does is very special. It brings a safe space for people that are usually, I feel like, pretty fringe in society to come together and share ideas,” Yunk said. “Tattooed Mom, the bar in South Street, is a good place that harvests the same energy, and this is just another third location for everyone to come together and express ideas and share art.”
