Local Pew Center Grants Fund Public Space Projects, Artists, Filmmakers And Musicians
By Steve Tawa
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- More than 30 artists, projects and cultural organizations are receiving 2015 grants from the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.
The Pew Center says the long list of recipients exemplify the 'diverse and dynamic cultural life of our region.'
They include musicians like percussionist Pablo Batista, who has worked with legends like Grover Washington, Jr. and Alicia Keys. The Temple University graduate is creating a piece he calls El Viaje, or "The Journey."
"The journey is a thought that brings me out of the box. It's an eclectic piece that is driven by African roots, along with European influences."
Hip Hop artist Raphael Xavier, originally from Wilmington, will bring together street performers in City Hall's courtyard.
Among the Pew Center's public space grants, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society will create a Pop Up Garden located along the former viaduct of the Reading Railroad.
Another installation will be a ride-along visual on the Ben Franklin Parkway. The artist Cai Guo-Qiang will launch sculptures, called "Fireflies" inspired by Chinese pedicycles - glow in the dark carriages - that transport riders along the Parkway.
