Ghosts of Philadelphia Industry
This project was a temporary installation shown on the side of a building along bustling Broad Street. It was created in collaboration with teenagers from Sayre High School. This image is a looped projection on a seven-story canvas.
The artists drew heavily on resources such as Diego Rivera's Detroit Industry murals (1933) and Workers Leaving the Factory, a 1985 film by Louis Lumiere. This temporary installment trumpets memory of the industrial worker and pays homage to the rich history of the labor rights movement in Philadelphia.
In 1910, Philadelphia experienced an expansive and debilitating labor strike. Trolley workers of the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company walked away from work, insisting on higher wages. However, the strike soon grew into a violent riot, resulting in the destruction of trolleys and savage attacks on policemen.
The flames caught when the city government brought in the National Guard and Pennsylvania Constabulary to protect the remaining workers. Many other unionized workers saw this as a signal that city and state governments were collaborating against the workers and nearly all industry ground to a halt.
However, this movement would not have been possible without women's help. A women's auxilary formed to provide food and raise funds for their husbands and fathers, allowing the strikers to stay out of work for far longer than they would have been able to otherwise. This approach forced the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company to come to the table and concede to strikers' demands.
