Coordinates of Play, a New Public Art Commission by Benjamin Volta at Pleasant Playground in Mount Airy
Detail of Coordinates of Play by Benjamin Volta. Photo: Steve Weinik
The Office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy’s Percent for Art Program and the Philadelphia Department of Public Property are pleased to announce the completion of Coordinates of Play, a new site-specific public artwork by Philadelphia-based artist Benjamin Volta. Located in the interior of a new recreation center at Pleasant Playground, the work is the result of Volta’s work with students at AMY Northwest Middle School. Volta and the students created abstract designs that integrate sports imagery with interpretations of the history and identity of the Mount Airy neighborhood. According to Volta: “This experimentation process led to the creation of hundreds of geometric designs. The students worked together on a collage of the designs and experimented with changes to the colors and layout, mapping a meaningful and playful learning process.” The building and the artwork will be dedicated by Councilwoman Cindy Bass and others at a ceremony on the site on October 18, 2014 at 10:00 a.m.