7th Ward Tribute Tours

Join us on Saturday, January 13 and 27th at 11 am for a special 7th Ward Tribute tour focusing on the archival photo installation Reflecting Revenants: Recalling Black Life In the 7th Ward guided by the artists Amelia Carter and Beth Naomi Lewis, featuring historian Amy Hillier.

Reflecting Revenants is an outdoor installation that pays homage to the vibrant history of Philadelphia’s former 7th Ward as a center of African American culture and community. Using decals and banners, artists Amelia Carter and Beth Naomi Lewis skillfully merge candid archival photographs of Black residents between the early to mid-20th century with the present-day landscape of the Ward, conjuring an ethereal “energetic imprint” that transcends time.  This immersive experience unveils these images organically, adorning surfaces of buildings across the Ward, evoking a spectral presence. Reflecting Revenants offers a unique and introspective journey into the historical heartbeat of the 7th Ward, reviving its memory for the next generation.

Before the tour, guests are encouraged to visit the Richard Allen Museum and The Colored Girls Museum installation at Mother Bethel church, where we will depart promptly at 11 am. The doors of the church open at 10 am for those who are interested in coming early.

On this tour, we will walk about 20 blocks between 2 – 2  ½ hours, depending on the cadence of the group. For your comfort, please wear comfortable shoes. Walkers with mobility challenges are encouraged to bring a lightweight folding stool to take breaks along the way or a wheelchair for comfort. This tour will end at Rex at the Royal (on 15th and South St.), where guests can view the installation’s extended archival photo gallery and Li Sumpter’s Time Bandit.

Time Bandit of the 7th Ward features a “fictional artifact” from Illadelph Dreams: 2045, Sumpter’s latest chapter of the transmedia narrative Graffiti in the Grass. The artifact is a fully functioning 1910 Bell Mills vintage slot machine running on 5-cent nickels and its original century-old machinery but playing with a set of 6 new symbols. Sumpter designed these symbols to reflect the rich black history of Philadelphia’s 7th Ward, her own family legacy, and the archetypes and symbols of Illadelph Dreams: 2045. Time Bandit is designed to blur the lines between art and artifact, history and myth, the past, and the speculative future.

Photo: Li Sumpter’s Time Bandit of the 7th Ward. Photo Credit Jahlil Pleasant, SharpShooter Visuals.