Reimagine the Budget, Transform the City

The budget is more than numbers—it’s a blueprint for Philadelphia’s future.

At the People’s Budget Office, we envision a thriving city, teach Philadelphians how the City Budget works, and provide pathways to advocate for change. In order to build a city that works for all of us, we must first imagine it.

Visit our new website to learn more!

Get Involved

Join: Attend a Budget 101 workshop, visit us at Love Park, and attend an advocacy training
Support: Donate to Mural Arts Philadelphia with subject line “People’s Budget Office” to sustain this vital work and bring equitable budgeting to every Philadelphia neighborhood.
Connect: Follow us on social media for updates, event announcements, and stories from our community partners.

About Us

Philadelphia’s City Budget is more than just numbers—it’s a reflection of our city’s values, priorities, and future. It determines what gets funded, what gets cut, and whose needs are prioritized. Yet, the budget process can feel boring, complex, and inaccessible. The People’s Budget Office wants to change that.

Founded in 2021, the People’s Budget Office is a project of Mural Arts Philadelphia that transforms the municipal budgeting process into an inclusive, creative, and community-driven experience. Facilitated by socially engaged artist Phoebe Bachman, we use public art, education, and advocacy to empower residents to engage directly in shaping how public funds are allocated.

By making the budget process transparent, accessible, and playful, we ensure that all Philadelphians—regardless of background, age, or experience—can have a say in how their city is built and resourced.

What We Do

We provide opportunities for Philadelphian’s to learn about the city budget and share their funding priorities through programming that blends civic education with creative expression. Our work is guided by core areas of learning, imagination, and advocacy.

Learn – we host Budget 101 & 201 Workshops in neighborhoods across the city and online.

Budget 101 breaks down the basics of the budget process, making it easier to understand how city funds are distributed.
Budget 201 takes a deeper dive into key issues such as public safety, taxes, housing, education, and environmental justice.

Imagine – we’ve created The People’s Budget Office at LOVE Park

From April to June, we transform LOVE Park into an immersive installation and the site of our Artist in Residency program. The public can join artist-led workshops and contribute their priorities through participatory artworks and installations.

Advocate – We launch citywide surveys and digital tools to gather and visualize resident priorities.

We equip community members with the skills to testify at budget hearings and advocate for their needs.
We collaborate with organizations like The Alliance for a Just Philadelphia to provide advocacy training and resources.

Why It Matters

The city budget shapes our daily lives—from schools and libraries to public safety, transit, parks, and housing. Yet, many Philadelphians, particularly in historically disinvested neighborhoods, have little say in how these funds are allocated. We believe the budget should reflect the people it serves.

By breaking down barriers to participation, we are building a future where all residents—regardless of income, race, or zip code—have access to the knowledge, tools, and creative spaces to advocate for their needs.

Get Involved

The People’s Budget Office is powered by community participation. Here’s how you can be part of the movement:

• Attend a Budget 101 or 201 Workshop to learn about the budget process.
• Visit the People’s Budget Office at LOVE Park to engage with public art and share your priorities.
• Take our citywide survey to make your voice heard.
• Advocate for a just budget by giving public testimony at a City Council hearing.
• Follow us on social media for updates, events, and ways to take action.

Learn. Imagine. Advocate.

Project partners and funders

Alliance for a Just Philadelphia, Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity, Committee of Seventy, Resolve Philly, Love Park, Councilmember Kendra Brooks’ Office, Councilmember Nicholas O’Rourke Office, Councilmember Rue Landau’s Office, Councilmember Jamie Gauthier’s Office, Village of Arts and Humanities

The People’s Budget Office is financially supported by the William Penn Foundation and the City of Philadelphia.

About the Project Team

Phoebe Bachman, Facilitating Artist

Phoebe Bachman (she/they) is a socially engaged artist whose interdisciplinary practice bridges community-based projects, anti-oppression facilitation, and collective imagination. Their work amplifies acts of resistance, focusing on economic and criminal justice. Through mapping, collage, installation, and popular education, they transform complex systems into tangible, participatory experiences.

Bachman has led and contributed to major projects including People’s Budget Office (2021–present), a public art initiative reimagining Philadelphia’s city budget; Moon in Venus (2020–2022), a project supporting women facing financial stress in Liverpool; and End the Exception (2020–2024), a multi-disciplinary project advocating for the end of the 13th Amendment’s exception clause.

They hold a BFA from Tyler School of Art, Temple University, and an MA from Goldsmiths, University of London.

Artists in Residence:  Ro Adler, Lily Xie, Aaron Brokenbough

Ro Adler is an interdisciplinary artist who makes paintings, large-scale protest art, and site-specific ecological art. Their work is about communities telling their stories and about the relationships between people and land. Ro’s work lives in the gardens, classrooms, telephone poles, and streets of Philadelphia.

Aaron Brokenbough is a filmmaker, writer, and producer dedicated to using storytelling as a tool to connect and amplify diverse voices. With over a decade of experience across commercial, documentary, and narrative projects, Aaron specializes in exploring untold stories and championing underrepresented communities.

His portfolio includes the short narrative Trading Stories (in development), the feature documentary Born/Raised (in pre-production), and award-winning films like Is My Living in Vain. Aaron’s projects also include stories centered on marginalized voices, such as Don’t Cry For Me All You Drag Queens and An Endoscopy.

With a background in journalism and content creation, Aaron brings a collaborative, innovative approach to every production. His work reflects a commitment to authenticity and the belief that storytelling can bridge cultures and perspectives, creating meaningful connections and shared understanding.

Lily Xie (she/they) is a Chinese-American visual artist and animator whose socially-engaged work explores desire, memory, and self-actualization for frontline communities. She uses her background as an artist and urban planner to facilitate creative projects with a focus on public space, housing, and racial justice. The magic they create together often takes shape in animation, print media, and video. Lily lives and works in Philadelphia, PA.

Sophie Greenspan (she/her) is a designer, illustrator, muralist, and therapist-in-training. Her work facilitates community participation through the framework of design justice, seeking to listen and amplify community visions. Through a focus on public space, urban planning, vernacular art and map-making, she believes that art and storytelling can imagine new futures into being.

Sophie arrived in Philadelphia after nearly a decade in Mexico City, where she was co-founder of a community muraling collective (Mi Calle Nuestra Calle). She created the definitive map of Mexico City’s imaginative street names, collaborated on mutual aid iniciatives, and was a founding member of the Sindicato de Miniaturistas, a dedicated union for miniature enthusiasts.

Sarah Bishop-Stone, Project Manager

Sydney Nicole, Social Media Manager

Programming

Our work is guided by the belief that everyone deserves a say in how public funds are spent. Through a mix of educational programs, artistic interventions, and hands-on advocacy, we invite residents to reimagine what a fair and just budget looks like.

Budget 101 and Budget 201 Workshops:

Introductory and advanced sessions held in neighborhoods across Philadelphia, providing tools for understanding and influencing the city budget.

Public Art Residencies:

Led by local artists, these residencies transform complex budget data into vibrant public art that reflects the priorities of Philadelphia residents.

Youth Engagement:

Activity booklets and creative workshops tailored to engage younger generations in the budgeting process and inspire civic involvement.

Advocacy Training:

Partnering with advocacy groups to equip residents with the skills to communicate effectively with city officials and push for equitable budget policies.

People’s Budget Office at Love Park

A resource hub and engagement space to learn about the city budget and contribute funding priorities. Resident artists, Ro Adler, Lily Xie, and Aaron Brokenbough, host free weekend workshops at the Office as a way to creatively engage people in the budget.

People’s Budget Roundtable

The People’s Budget Roundtable brought together advocates, residents, business owners, and youth at City Hall to speak on their funding priorities. Through a collaborative script, they highlighted the intersectional nature of budget requests, emphasizing that a People’s Budget isn’t about a single demand—it’s about investing in all of our needs to build a better city.

Seated around the Caucus Room table, participants engaged in a live dialogue, prompting one another to address key issues: housing, transportation, education, public safety, environmental justice, and decarceration. Their testimonies painted a vision of a fully funded city that prioritizes free transit, fully funded libraries, youth mentorship programs, public art, expanded housing access, and an end to illegal dumping and mass incarceration.

This conversation was just the beginning. We will be hosting another event in Fall 2026. Reach out to us to get involved.

“Library workers are constantly innovating—imagine the possibilities with real city support!” – Noah Sturtridge

“The root of violence is poverty.” – Sam Lew

“Fully funded schools and libraries are also what keep us safe.” – Tracey Anderson

“Our neighborhoods are full of leaders; they should have a role in shaping the budget.” – Sterling Scott

“No one should be homeless in this city or in this country when there are empty houses and condos across this city.” – Sterling Johnson

“The city budget is more than numbers, it tells the stories of our neighborhoods, how our government functions, what pressing problems face the city, and what elected officials prioritize.” – Phoebe Bachman

Youth Engagement at the People’s Budget Office

At the People’s Budget Office, we are committed to empowering Philadelphia’s youth through creative civic engagement, equipping them with the knowledge and tools to actively participate in shaping a more just and equitable city.

In partnership with The Village of Arts and Humanities, we worked with young people to address issues of funding public safety. By exploring how city funding impacts their neighborhoods, youth gain a deeper understanding of the budget’s role in shaping public safety and essential services. Through creative workshops and storytelling they learned to envision a city that reflects their needs and aspirations.

We actively collaborate with Murals on the Move, a mobile program of Mural Arts Philadelphia, to bring civic education directly to young people through afterschool programs and community-based art projects. Murals on the Move transforms public spaces into interactive classrooms where youth can express their ideas, engage in discussions about city resources, and see their creative work make an impact.

To make these lessons accessible to all ages, we’ve developed a Youth Activity Booklet, designed to introduce young people to budgeting concepts, participatory democracy, and the power of collective decision-making. This resource makes civic learning fun, hands-on, and relevant to their daily lives.

By integrating art, activism, and education, the People’s Budget Office ensures that Philadelphia’s youth not only understand how public funding shapes their communities but also have the tools to advocate for the future they deserve.

The People’s Budget Office at LOVE Park

The People’s Budget Office at LOVE Park is an interactive public art installation that brings the city’s budgeting process into a highly visible public space. Housed in a retrofitted shipping container, it serves as a civic hub where residents can learn how public funds are allocated, share their priorities, and advocate for a more just and equitable distribution of resources.

Through printed materials, live discussions, and streamed council hearings, the People’s Budget Office works to demystify the city budget and empower Philadelphians to take an active role in shaping it. Resident artists contribute creative interpretations of budget-related issues, exploring topics such as libraries, illegal dumping, art in schools, alternatives to incarceration, and harm reduction.

The space hosts regular events, including workshops, panels, screenings, and office hours led by community organizations and City Council.

By making the budgeting process public, transparent, and participatory, the People’s Budget Office invites residents to imagine and advocate for a city budget that reflects the needs of all Philadelphians.

Open Hours

April 18 – June 6, 2025
Thursday, Friday, Saturday | 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Upcoming Events

Budget 101’s

Germantown, Saturday, March 15, 1:00 – 2:30 pm

The Water Shed, 5300 Wayne Ave, 19144

In partnership with The Water Shed, Penn Knox, GREAT, Office of Councilmember Cindy Bass, and Philadelphia Water Department

North Chinatown, Thursday, March 20, 6:00 – 7:30 pm

VOX Populi Gallery, 319 N 11th St #3, Philadelphia, PA 19107

In partnership with Asian Arts Initiative, and Vox Populi

South Philadelphia, Sunday, April 13, 1:00 – 3:00 pm

SExSE Room 413, BOK Building, 1901 S 9th St, Philadelphia, PA 19148

In partnership with SExSE, BOK, Council Office Rue Landau

Tacony Lab, Wednesday, April 16, 6:00 – 7:30 pm

6918 Torresdale Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19135

In partnership with Tacony Lab

Eastern North Philly, Wednesday, April 23, 5:30 – 7:00 pm

Taller Puertorriqueño, 2600 N 5th St, Philadelphia, PA 19133

In partnership with Ceiba, Hace, NAC

West Philadelphia, Thursday, April 24, 5:30 – 7:00 pm

Philadelphia Student Union, 501 S 52nd St, Philadelphia, PA 19143

In partnership with Philly Student Union, Malcolm X Park, Council Office Jamie Gauthier

Budget 201’s

Police, Thursday, April 3, 6:00 – 7:30 pm

In partnership with Abolitionist Law Center and Amistad Law Project

Taxes, Monday, April 7, 6:00 – 7:30 pm 

In partnership with Philadelphia Revenue Project

Clean & Green and Sanitation, Monday, April 22, 6:00 – 7:30 pm

In partnership with Trash Academy

Advocacy & Public Testimony, Monday, April 28, 6:00 – 7:30 pm

Location TBD

In partnership with Alliance for a Just Philadelphia