PEOPLE’S PETITION FOR THE AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM PHILADELPHIA

A 45 ft interactive art installation.

On December 30, 1799, Reverend Absalom Jones and seventy free Black men from Philadelphia submitted a petition to the United States Congress calling for an end to the transatlantic slave trade, protection for free Black people from kidnapping, and a future in which liberty and justice extended to all. Though Congress refused their appeal, the petition remains one of the earliest collective assertions of Black civic participation in the United States.

The People’s Petition extends that act into the present.

Through participatory technology, each visitor contributes a digital signature that joins an ever-growing procession across the installation. The work transforms an archival document into a living civic space where historical testimony and contemporary participation exist together. Every signature affirms that the questions raised in 1799 remain unfinished and that the responsibility to pursue justice belongs to every generation.

NOTES FROM DIAPHANOUS-AR Update

Youngest Elders expands our storytelling into augmented reality, inviting viewers to step inside layers of memory, imagination, and ancestral presence. What began as a single artwork has grown into an interactive portal where illustrations, sound, and movement come alive through your phone. The experience is now accessible to everyone through a simple QR scan, no app needed. This AR journey reflects our ongoing commitment to blending analog craft with emerging technology and creating work that feels alive, responsive, and rooted in community.

Sister Gold Whack

Sister Gold Whack is a speculative AR jam session that bends time and brings together three boundary-breaking Philly artists,Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Santigold, and Tierra Whack. All of them were ahead of their time, a little bit strange, and a lot brilliant.

This piece is a tribute to that spirit. We imagined what it might feel like if they could share a room, swap stories, and influence each other’s sound. The project was developed using augmented reality as a way to play with presence, absence, and imagination, allowing viewers to witness this layered moment through their phones and tablets.

This was also an experiment in what’s possible when artists remix tools, timelines, and technology. Sadly, the AR experience was built in Adobe Aero, a platform that has since been discontinued. But the spirit of the project lives on in the video and documentation, and we’re thinking about future ways to revive and reimagine it.

We still believe in the weird. And we still believe in the power of imagining the impossible.

This Project was made possible with the generous support of The Black Music City Grant. Much gratitude to @recphilly, @wxpnfm, and @wrtimusic.