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July 13, 20267/8/26 Community Newsletter
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April 7, 20254/2/25 Business Newsletter
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Manuella Guillen

Lu-compass Instagram

Biography

Manuela Guillén is a Philadelphia-based artist whose work blends her Cuban and Salvadorian heritage through painting, murals, and digital illustration. Inspired by tropical colors, plants, and community, her art explores culture, social issues, and environmental themes. Through public art and teaching, she aims to inspire creativity and bring people together.

Inspiration

Street has long been a gathering place for outsiders, artists, immigrants, and independent thinkers. Inspired by my teenage memories of discovering music, art, and alternative culture along the street, this piece celebrates the communities who built and continue to shape South Street and the lasting impression they leave on those who pass through it. Through imagery of music, street art, small businesses, and cultural exchange, the artwork honors the diversity and experimentation that define this historic corridor.

Manuella Guillen

Sam Sankey

Instagram

Biography

Sam Sankey is a painter, illustrator, and handpoker living in Philadelphia, PA with their partner and two cats. Using mainly gouache, sometimes mixed media, their work captures themes of teenagehood, queerness and the grotesqueness of everyday life.

Inspiration

For my banner, I wanted to really research the history of South Street and the different eras, people, and businesses that made it iconic from the 50’s until now. From theater, to music, to food and culture, South Street’s history is incredibly rich, exciting, complex, and ever evolving. I hope my banner shows the past, present, and future of South Street.

Sam Sankey

Susan Ragland

Instagram

Biography

An alumna of the Black Artist Fellowship with Mural Arts Philadelphia, Susan has exhibited in such institutions as the Colored Girls Museum and the Woodmere. Her work has been collected by art enthusiasts throughout the U.S.

Inspiration

I am an African-American folk artist who came of age in the 1970s dancing to funk music and marveling at the works of Harlem Renaissance artists. For the banner project, my image is consistent with the aim to highlight themes of human connection. I hope viewers join my parade of characters as they rep sports teams that unify Philadelphians and bring festive energy to a typical summer evening on South Street.

Susan Ragland

Shebani Rao

Lu-compass Instagram

Biography

Shebani is an illustrator, writer, and visual artist. Her work has been featured in The New York Historical, Tiger Strikes Asteroid, and Vox Populi, and by publications like McSweeney’s Internet Tendency and Lit Hub. She also teaches cooking classes in Philly.

Inspiration

My banner artwork is a celebration of the cultural foods of South Street, from gyros to arepas to jerk chicken. South Street and its restaurants, both past and present, are a testament to the beauty of melding of flavors and cultures when the very idea of diversity is under threat. This piece brings together my passions for illustration and cooking in a visual love letter to South Street’s diverse cuisines.

Shebani Rao

Michele Scott

Lu-compass Instagram

Biography

Michele Scott is an illustrator, muralist and street artist. Their work is character based, bright and bold. While a lot of Michele’s work stems from mental health issues, background, pop culture, & food, he mainly sticks to the core principle of making things he loves. Go Birds.

Inspiration

For my banner, I wanted to really research the history of South Street and the different eras, people, and businesses that made it iconic from the 50’s until now. From theater, to music, to food and culture, South Street’s history is incredibly rich, exciting, complex, and ever evolving. I hope my banner shows the past, present, and future of South Street.

Michele Scott

Marian Bailey

Lu-compass Instagram

Biography

Marian Bailey is a self-taught visual artist whose work explores themes of memory, history, and identity through the use of digital and physical media. Bailey’s works are often characterized by her use of bold colors and dynamic color blocking.

Inspiration

South Street is a place where queer folks gather and immerse themselves in the culture. I wanted to showcase that by putting a drag queen at the center of the image. While on South Street, I also enjoy taking in all of the amazing fashion that people adorn themselves in so I wanted to highlight that along with some of my favorite South Street businesses.

Marian Bailey

Kyle Confehr

Lu-compass Instagram

Biography

Kyle is a multidisciplinary artist and designer with 10+ years of experience creating bold, hand-drawn visuals for brands, public spaces, and digital platforms. His work blends street-art energy with thoughtful design and collaborative storytelling.

Inspiration

This banner celebrates South Street’s energy, humor, and individuality through color, imagery, and references to its street art, music, fashion, and signage. “South Street for the Homies” is a statement of belonging that honors the people and communities who shape its identity.

Kyle Confehr

Jonathon Balbi

Instagram

Biography

Jonathan Balbi was born and raised in South Philly. Everyone draws as a child, and he just never stopped.

Inspiration

South Street has a history as a Mecca of Philly culture, in particular music culture. As a shy kid, learning about DIY and underground music helped me come out of my shell and find community. My banner is in honor of the community thay music builds.

Jonathon Balbi

Joe Klaus

Instagram

Biography

Joe Klaus is an interdisciplinary artist based in Philadelphia whose work explores memory, identity, and queer experience through painting, photography, and mixed media. A FIT graduate, they have exhibited nationally and are a member of 3rd Street Gallery.

Inspiration

My work examines memory, identity, and the ways we construct meaning from lived and imagined experiences. Using painting, photography, collage, and mixed media, I layer fragments into compositions that explore personal and queer narratives, embracing transformation, ambiguity, and the tension between reality and invention.

Joe Klaus

Jodi Faber

Lu-compass Instagram

Biography

Jodi Faber is a Philly-based Multidisciplinary Artist and Muralist. Her work plays with dimension and color, weaving bright, whimsical forms into pieces that spark joyous creative exploration.

Inspiration

My design represents South Street as a dynamic source of creative inspiration, where the clash of culture, art, and history is palpable. I wanted the composition to capture the explosive energy of the neighborhood, its many facets intermingling into the atmosphere that makes South Street a haven for the curious and creative.

Jodi Faber

Haley Potter

Lu-compass Instagram

Biography

Haley Simone is a painter, public artist, and director creating in Philadelphia. Her practice revolves around music, distilling the joy and energy of live musical performance into vibrant, bold works. Haley’s work has a permanent home at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, the New Brunswick Rail Station, and the Asbury Park Boardwalk.

Inspiration

South Street holds an important place in the musical history of Philadelphia as a home for incredible contributions to the world of jazz and punk. I wanted to honor this incredible history through a design that captured musical celebration. My piece depicts musicians of various genres, surrounded by community, filling the air of South Street with joyous music.

Haley Potter

Haley Harmon

Lu-compass Instagram

Biography

Haley Harmon is an illustrator living and making in Fishtown. She loves to draw, paint, and cut shapes out of paper. She is heavily influenced by folk art and believes that the best illustrations come from a spirit of play. Her flat bold illustrations reflect her background in graphic design and surface pattern design.

Inspiration

When I think of South Street I think of letting loose. I wanted to show people dancing, enjoying themselves and basking in the music that’s inevitably playing.

Haley Harmon

Emma Cortellessa

Lu-compass Instagram

Biography

Emma Cortellessa is a designer and illustrator working in Philadelphia. Her work currently focuses on using the absurd to find joy in the modern world. She graduated from Moore College of Art & Design with a BFA in illustration in 2020.

Inspiration

My piece is intended to speak to the diversity of characters, culture, and cusine on South Street. The hands sharing a variety of foods at the dinner table, represents a mosaic of identities coming together to form a vibrant corridor with some of the best food in the city! The cheesesteak takes center stage as Philly’s most iconic food offering.

Emma Cortellessa

Devyn Dais

Lu-compass Instagram

Biography

Devyn Dais is a Philadelphia-based figurative abstract painter creating expressive work with acrylic, pastel, and mixed media. She earned her BFA from Tyler School of Art and is currently pursuing an MA in Art Education at Moore College.

Inspiration

My banner is inspired by growing up visiting South Street with my family. I have sweet memories of grabbing Lorenzo’s pizza and a Gremlin from Ishkabibbles. I wanted to capture the neighborhood’s mix of art, music, food, and people with bold colors and a playful composition that reflects the creative energy that makes South Street so special.

Devyn Dais

Chelsey Luster

Lu-compass Instagram

Biography

Chelsey Luster is a Philadelphia-based artist, curator, and educator whose mixed-media work explores memory, belonging, and community through portraiture, installation, and collaborative storytelling centered on Black and Queer experiences.

Inspiration

This banner honors the people of South Street and the community members who organized against the proposed South Street Expressway. Their resistance protected not only a neighborhood but the relationships, histories, and culture that continue to make South Street a place of connection and belonging.

Chelsey Luster

Brian Langan

Instagram

Biography

Brian Langan, born and raised in Scranton, PA, is a renowned Artist/Musician who relocated to the city of Philadelphia in 2011 and has since made it his home. Working mainly with, but not limited to, bands, event promoters and venues, Brian has become known for his work adorning posters, albums, merchandise and logo art. He’s created numerous designs ranging extensively from murals to hot sauce labels with most of his inspiration being drawn from 1960’s psychedelia, video games, fantasy films and Cooper sharp cheese.

Inspiration

As a teenager growing up in Scranton, PA it was always exciting for me to visit Philadelphia. Exploring South Street was always the highlight for me. I remember thinking how eclectic it was and how special it felt. It never felt like just a shopping trip or a visit to a place with different buildings than my hometown but like a cool quest with people, places, and items I’d never seen before.

Brian Langan

Ash Ryan

Lu-compass Instagram

Biography

Ash Ryan is a Philly street artist and muralist who specializes in creating realistic works characterized by saturated colors, seamless blends, and vivid imagery. Her portfolio ranges from portraits and hands to depictions of flora and fauna.

Inspiration

South Street is responsible for my introduction to punk ideology so I wanted to honor the area’s history with counterculture, punk, and queer culture. The figure’s jacket is adorned with patches and pins from the alternative stores and collectives that continue to nurture the alternative culture, queer community, as well as the creatives of Philly.

Ash Ryan

Ashley Hewlett

Instagram

Biography

Ashley is a Philly-based artist originally from Oxford, Mississippi. Ashley has been creating art since childhood, but focused on getting her Masters in Social Work. After graduating during the pandemic, she found inspiration through digital art. Her work explores emotional struggles, daily life, vibrant colors, and textile patterns.

Inspiration

For this banner, I wanted to highlight the vibrant fabrics and cozy magical atmosphere of the stores on Fabric Row. After exploring the area’s fabric and notion shops, I was particularly inspired by the narrow aisles packed with colorful textiles and the trims that spanned the area overhead.

Ashley Hewlett

Andre Chaney

Lu-compass Instagram

Biography

Andre Chaney is a public artist, illustrator, and author whose work transforms everyday spaces into moments of wonder. Inspired by the communities he serves, he creates immersive experiences that spark imagination, connection, and hope.

Inspiration

For this series, I wanted to capture the quiet transformation that happens on South Street as the day gives way to night. As the light changes, so does the rhythm of the neighborhood, revealing moments of beauty, connection, and wonder that are easy to overlook in the rush of everyday life.

Andre Chaney

Albert Ciervo

Instagram

Biography

Albert, known artistically as Umby, has been creating art since his high school days. He attended the Art Institute of Philadelphia as well as the School of Italian Plaster in Smyrna, GA. Here he got his inspiration to create his twist on fresco painting, which he has been experimenting with since 2001. He has also painted several murals in Berks County and Philadelphia. Albert is a frequent participant in gallery showings and art fairs. He grew up West Reading, PA and currently lives in South Philly with his wife and 3 cats.

Inspiration

My thinking behind the banner was to use the pigeons. I have always seen them as an emblem of South Philly. The road in the banner is an homage to Isaiah Zagar, the artist of “Magic Gardens” as a tribute to what he has done for Philly. The colors on the path represent the rainbow honoring the LGBTQIA+ community. The icons in the mosaic are symbolic of life on South Street.

Albert Ciervo

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