[ installation ]
Can a combination of photographs, maps, and census data begin to tell a story about a city?
Can the photographic perceptions illuminate the cities history, demography and possible future?
What larger urban themes are visible in this portrait of Wilmington, DE?
As part of the Delaware Center for Contemporary Arts Artist and Community Visual Arts Program, artists-in-residence Jessica Irish and Stephen Metts worked with a team of young artists from the Flecher Brown Boys & Girls club to develop a photo-based mapping installation that documents the city of Wilmington. 2005
The culmination of this project is Transversing the City, a multi-media installation that utilizes immersive physical space with street level documentation, census data, and perceptions of the participants. The project aims to spatially and socially illuminate the challenges and possibilities found in the city of Wilmington.
shooting video 
designing the installation 
photos from youth participants 
installation detail 
installation view 
final installation
About the street photographs:
The documented streets of Wilmington were chosen along major street axes that span participants’ neighborhoods as well as the city at large.
The streets chosen for this project include: the I-95, Market St.,
11th, Concord Pike, Vandever St., Northeast Blvd, Gov. Printz
Blvd and 4th St. These streets were chosen along major street
axes that span their resident neighborhoods and the city at large.
The photographs were taken throughout the summer program,
hosted by the DCCA and the F. Brown Boys & Girls Club. The I-95
is represented, as it is a significant demarcation between the east
and west portion of the city.
details from N. Market, Northeastern, and 11th St.
Installed at the Delaware Center for Contemporary Art,
main lobby August – September 2005
About the Project Data:
The demographic statistics running along each street are taken from the
2000 US Census. The selected categories were chosen as they
illuminate important characteristics of urban space – both regarding the
physical infrastructure as well as the demography of Wilmington residents.
This small selection of data can provide an illuminating layer of information about the represented neighborhoods of Wilmington. This data, however, is not an exact or complete representation of these communities. It does indicate patterns and trends in the physical fabric and demographic nature of Wilmington.
Online Resources:
The Social Data Analysis Network of the University of Michagan
http://www.ssdan.net/
How Segregated is your City?
http://www.censusscope.org/us/m1123/chart_dissimilarity.html
DCCA Artists in Residence
Jess Irish
Stephen Metts
Artists from Boys & Girls Club
Tyreka Burton
Cory Burke
Jalen Brown
Vincent Cooper
Jakeera Davis
Erin Harrison
Darrius Holden
Jibri Hollis
Kathi Milem
Jessica Minor
Tiana Pratcher
Jyree Scott
Diquan Spence
Shakira Thomas
Tevin Tucker
Jabbar Vaughn
Arielle Woods
Project Organizers
Holly Bennett, DCCA Education Program
Jeff Chase, Pegasus Artworks, BGC of DE
Joel Riley, F. Brown Boys & Girls Club
Project Supporters
National Endowment for the Arts
AstraZeneca
ING Direct Kids Foundation
The Christmas Shop
Wellesley College
Kinkos/FedEx
