The Village of Arts and Humanities is thrilled to unveil the Village Oracle temporary exhibition on our Creative Campus. This new video, created by artist Magz FM, previews what to expect when seeing the Oracle.
Located at the intersection of Alder Street and Germantown Avenue in the Fairhill-Hartranft neighborhood of North Philadelphia, visitors are now welcome to stop by and experience the Oracle in person.
In addition to a temporary exhibition, the Oracle is a tool for envisioning communal spaces. The Oracle’s 26 archetypes and symbols guide the philosophy of The Village’s upcoming Futures Gallery.
Throughout 2022, community members and field experts worked with Afrofuturist Li Sumpter and Village leadership to explore how our upcoming gallery will:
- Hold space for the past, present, and future
- Creatively and critically respond to the times
Their collective ideas and lessons are represented by 13 archetypes and 13 symbols as interpreted by 14 Philadelphia-based Black Artists. These original artworks will also be reproduced as an Oracle Deck for use at The Village and throughout our community as a tool for equitable decision-making.
The exhibition also features an immersive 30-minute soundscape created by three sound artists. The soundscape is inspired by the Oracle and comprises audio recorded on-site, in focus groups and research interviews, and original beats and rhythms.
As Jeanette Lloyd, Managing Director at The Village, shares in the video, “The day-to-day reality that we consciously grapple with here isn’t nearly as gracious as it could be. The hope is that by engaging with these thoughtful, ornate symbols and archetypes and audioscapes all used together as a tool – for remembering the past, acknowledging the present, and imagining the future – the Village Oracle can create new channels of connection in us all. We hope to challenge the viewer to imagine what their personal symbol or archetype would look like and what it would mean to them, their family, friends, neighbors, and the whole of humanity if they boldly shared it.”
Support for The Futures Gallery has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage and MacKenzie Scott (Yield Giving). Support for the Village Oracle has been provided by The Kresge Foundation.
Click here to learn more about the symbols, archetypes, and soundscapes that make up the Village Oracle.