Writer and educator Liz deBeer reviews “Philly Voices, Celebrating the Heartbeat of a City,” which asks viewers to consider who and what are the voices that create Philadelphia.
Philly Voices, Celebrating the Heartbeat of a City
Frances M. Maguire Art Museum, set in the Barnes Arboretum
Marion, PA
Through August 2, 2026
What is meant by the voice of Philadelphia? This is the question 29 local artists strive to answer in the summer group exhibition “Philly Voices, Celebrating the Heartbeat of a City.” The exhibit at Frances M. Maguire Art Museum, Marion, PA, includes photography, sculpture, ceramic, diorama, paint, and multi-media as a means to explore who and what makes Philadelphia distinct. The exhibit explores Philadelphia’s many contrasts and intersections: It is the city where the Declaration of Independence was signed, where Benjamin Franklin lived and invented, and where so many cultures’ art, food, and music are celebrated. But it is also the home of tragedies like the MOVE bombing and ongoing challenges including underfunded schools, gentrification, and untreated addictions.
Since no single voice can possibly represent all of Philly, this exhibit displays many interpretations, including:
Chad Cortez Everett who describes his art as distinctly Philly, calling it “Jawnism.” According to his website, “Jawnism” is “my art movement—artwork inspired by the culture, memories, and lived experiences of growing up and living in Philadelphia and its surrounding suburbs. Each piece carries a story, a moment, a memory from my childhood and adulthood.” In the three displayed collages, “Destruction of My Playground Dreams,” “Elmwood Skating Rink in Southwest Philly,” and “Big Wheel Dreams and Bartram Village,” Everett’s work incorporates magazine pages, SEPTA train and bus schedules, as well as images of himself as a boy, suggesting the plurality of a vibrant city. Everett’s photo reproduced in each work offers a reminder that this is his unique view of Philadelphia.
Another voice, another medium. Jim Timko, photographer, has two works displayed, “Paine’s Skate Park” and “Delaware Waterfront,” both of which depict the city’s contrasts via color and subject matter. For example, in “Paine’s Skate Park,” pictured below, a black bike rack with its uniform shape and hue diverges with the colorful, creative, irregular graffiti portrayed. His website notes that “Timko seeks out overlooked perspectives and subtle, often unnoticed scenes that emerge as people move through their daily routines. These quiet moments, while easily missed, contribute to the distinct beauty and identity of Philadelphia.”
Fran Lightman Gibson’s oil on canvas “Positively Third Street—Waiting for You” offers yet another perspective. The placard accompanying the work states that the painting evolved from the artist’s experience of the COVID pandemic, where Philadelphia witnessed “a moment of profound disruption and renewal” as well as “quiet isolation” and “resilience and energy.” On her website, Gibson notes in her bio statement, “There is a fury behind the peace of it all. You can see it in the direction of my strokes.”
Contrasts like fury and peace. Uniformity in bike rake’s loops or train schedule’s routes held up against unconventional lines of graffiti or collage. These three artists’ works offer just a glimpse into “Philly Voices: Celebrating the Heartbeat of Philadelphia,” which is open through August 2, 2026. For hours and more information, check the Frances M. Maguire Art Museum’s website.
By Liz deBeer https://www.ldebeerwriter.com
Liz deBeer is both teacher and writer with Project Write Now, a writing cooperative based at the Jersey Shore, where she resides with her family. Her debut chapbook Farewell to Emptiness, a novelette-in-flash (Thirty West Publishing House), is set in the Albany, NY, area, her birthplace. Her flash has appeared in Fictive Dream, Bending Genres, Literally Stories, BULL, Literary Garage, and others. Her essays on writing and teaching have been published in various journals including Brevity Blog and New Jersey English Journal. A volunteer reader for Flash Fiction Magazine, Liz holds degrees from University of Pennsylvania and Rutgers University. Her weekly Substack A Lizard's Tale explores nature and art as a vehicle to discover meaning and resilience.
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