The People’s Budget Office: Meet our Resident Artists
It takes many hands to produce the yearly City Budget, and it also takes imagination. At the People’s Budget Office, collaboration is at the core of everything we do. That’s why each season, we invite Artists in Residence to join us in imagining a People’s Budget; not just as a spreadsheet of numbers, but as a representation of our city’s values and possibilities.
Our Artists in Residence program brings together artists, researchers, and activists from across disciplines to spend two weeks embedded in the People’s Budget Office at Love Park. Prior to those two weeks, Artists in Residence research a specific part of the budget. In the past, this has included efforts to save the libraries, reimagining public safety, art in our schools, local taxes, public transportation, and affordable housing. Once they’re at the Office, residents transform research into public art, facilitate community conversations, and create new visual and participatory works.
Residents are asked to host one public event at the Office, ranging from teach-ins to performances. By the end of their time, each resident contributes something lasting to the People’s Budget Office: a zine, a poster series, an intervention, or a new way of seeing.
This year’s residents include Ro Adler, Lily Xie, and Aaron Brokenbough. Their research focus includes issues of climate change, resilience, and public safety. Each one helps us imagine not only what our budget is, but what it could be.
Meet our team of artists:
Ro Adler
Philly is already experiencing a climate crisis – and all over the city, people are working hard to support the resilience of Philly’s communities, green spaces, air, and water. Ro Adler is researching the city’s relationship to climate change and how climate crisis management and resilience are (or are not) written into the city’s budget. During their residency they will travel around the city, making site-specific sunprints that illustrate the impact that decisions made on a budget level have on our environment.
Ro Adler (they/them) 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
In a city as diverse as Philadelphia, the concept of safety and justice is shaped by personal experiences and community dynamics. While some may define safety as more community programs and better schools, others see it as less policing, cleaner streets, or access to affordable housing. Aaron has created What Does Safety Mean to You? A Community-Driven Video Installation. The People’s Budget Video Installation explores these perspectives, bringing together voices from across the city to create a collective portrait of public safety.
Premiering at LOVE Park from May 16–30, 2024, the installation presents a series of video portraits capturing the thoughts and experiences of Philadelphians. Produced by Aaron Brokenbough in collaboration with the People’s Budget Office, the project blends documentary-style storytelling with artistic expression, highlighting the diverse ways people envision safety in their neighborhoods.
By showcasing these perspectives in a public space, the People’s Budget Video Installation offers an opportunity to reflect on the evolving conversation around safety and justice in Philadelphia, challenging viewers to consider how public resources shape the well-being of communities.
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
Artist and animator Lily Xie is reimagining the police budget at the Budget Office. Lily has been researching the budget for police uniforms and equipment and reimagining an abolitionist set of tools for public safety. During their residency, she will create an event for Philadelphians to design an alternative safety uniform and share how they think the police budget should be reallocated to turn Philly into “the safest big city in the nation.”
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.
Find out more at People’s Budget.org
The People’s Budget Office opens at LOVE Park on Friday, April 18, 2025
15th Street and JFK Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19102
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
CITY WIDE WORKSHOPS
People’s Budget 101 Workshops
Learn how the City Budget works, including a breakdown of key terms, proposed funding, and the budget process.
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, Council Office of Cindy Bass, and PWD
North Chinatown, Thursday, March 20, 6:00 – 7:30 pm
VOX Populi Gallery, 319 N 11th St #3, 19107
In partnership with VOX Populi, Asian Arts Initiative
South Philadelphia, Sunday, April 13, 1:00 – 3:00 pm
BOK, 1901 S 9th St, 19148
In partnership with SE x SE, BOK, Council Office Rue Landau
Tacony Lab, Wednesday, April 16, 6:00 – 7:30 pm
6918 Torresdale Ave, 19135
In partnership with Tacony Lab
Eastern North Philly, Wednesday, April 23, 5:30 – 7:00 pm
Taller Puertorriqueño, 2600 N 5th St, 19133
In partnership with Ceiba, Hace, NAC
West Philadelphia, Thursday, April 24, 5:30 – 7:00 pm
Philadelphia Student Union, 501 S 52nd St, 19143
In partnership with Philly Student Union, Malcolm X Park, Council Office of Jamie Gauthier
RSVP
People’s Budget 102 Workshops
Dive deeper into budget topics
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, Monday, April 28, 6:00 – 7:30 pm
In partnership with Alliance for a Just Philadelphia