Philadelphia International Unity Cup Banner Art Project Exhibit

The Philadelphia International Unity Cup is a soccer tournament celebrating the rich cultural diversity of the City of Brotherly Love through the worldwide appeal of soccer. The 32-team World Cup-style soccer tournament was composed of mainly diverse immigrant groups across Philadelphia, and culminated in a final championship game played on November 5, 2016 at Citizens Bank Park. To complement this tournament, the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy in partnership with the Office of Immigrant Affairs, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, Small But Mighty Arts, Office of the City Representative, and the Mural Arts Program organized a “parade of nations”. The central pieces to this parade were art banners designed by artists working with communities involved in the tournament. Through numerous workshops hosted at various recreation centers and City Hall, 32 banners were created to reflect Philadelphia’s diverse communities.
The Philadelphia International Unity Cup (PIUC) also honored the teams’ artistic heritages at the Final Championship Game on Saturday, November 5th. Each team banner was showcased in the Parade of Nations at the PIUC championship game on November 5, 2017, and at a one-day exhibition during the PIUC closing reception at the Penn Museum on November 14, 2017. Additionally, the banners were displayed in the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy throughout December.
Designing Artists:
-Henry Lee Blount (Senegal, Congo, Jamaica, South Korea)
-Alana Bograd (Vietnam, Indonesia, Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania)
-Emily Coleman (Italy, Germany, Sudan, Nigeria)
-Carolina Gomez (United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia)
-Monna Morton (Ivory Coast, India, Ireland, Liberia, Sierra Leone)
-Amy Sheidegger (Mexico, Turkey, Argentina, Haiti, Puerto Rico)
-Brian Taylor (Bhutan, Cambodia, Myanmar, Spain, Cape Verde)

Workshop Facilitating Artists:
-Patrick Dean
-Stephanie Fuentes
-Richard Harvey
-Tu Huynh
-Nathaniel Lee
-Christine Rad
-Cesar Viveros

Location Note: Banners no longer on view at this location (temporary project). Banners were on view at Art Gallery at City Hall, Room 116 and City Hall Public Stairwell on Juniper St. and JFK Blvd.