Drexel University, Canon Solutions America, and Canon USA have collaborated to introduce an innovative year-long project series with Writers Room and Mighty Writers called Tripod. During the 2017-2018 school year, six groups of three writers--drawn from the community, Drexel, and local high schools--have worked together to create projects of their own design. Using writing and photography, these intergenerational triads have been documenting West Philadelphia and other parts of the city. While telling collaborative stories about the ongoing changes in their communities they have found meaningful commonalities as neighbors and built friendships across difference.

The Parkway Central Library's Art and Literature Department is proud to host an exhibition of Tripod's work. 

Tyler Shine, curator of this exihibition of photographs offers this context to the photography on display this summer:

Photographic images are omnipresent in our everyday lives. From the television shows and movies we watch to the advertisements that punctuate our morning commute or the seemingly infinite number of posts on social media, photographs are intimately connected to our sense of self and the environments in which we live.

The photographs made by the members of Tripod reflect the myriad point of views that comprise this multigenerational group of individuals who call Philadelphia home. Their acute observations of their neighborhoods, filled with textures, memories, and stories evoke a community in constant flux. Whether they have been here for a few years or are longtime residents, their words and images reveal the idiosyncrasies of a changing city.

Tyler Shine
Constance Clayton Fellow
Philadelphia Museum of Art