Philly Daydreams: Stories In Transit
October 4, 2023
On Thursday, October 5, 2023 - Forman Arts Initiative (FAI) and Mural Arts debuted Philly Daydreams: Stories In Transit - a new augmented reality public art project by Indian-American artist and filmmaker Anula Shetty.
Shetty is the inaugural artist-in-residence of Public Works - launched by FAI and Mural Arts - which places artists in Philadelphia government agencies and organizations to develop artwork that forges new connections between the agencies’ work and the communities they serve. Since January 2023 - Shetty has been working within SEPTA - researching its history and filming stories from employees and commuters across Philadelphia who share intimate glimpses into how daily transit can serve as a space for daydreaming, wonder, and connection.
“Helping to bring art and transit together is just one way we strive to create an environment that is safe, inspiring, and beautiful,” said SEPTA General Manager/CEO Leslie S. Richards. “We are honored to be part of this public art project and are so excited for our customers to see this impressive display.”
Shetty’s project explores public transportation as a service that unites people through a shared experience. “The goal is to create connections between people who cross paths during their daily commute,” Shetty said. “Through Philly Daydreams - I want to provide SEPTA riders a moment to hear uplifting stories of human connection and a moment to be moved by a poem or performance, to imagine, and to daydream as I got to during the wonderful process of exploring SEPTA and meeting my inspiring city-mates.”
To encourage connections following the isolating effects of COVID-19 and to celebrate the collective nature of public transportation - Shetty filmed interviews with SEPTA riders and bus and trolley operators as well as with poets like Ursula Rucker, local business owners like YOWIE founder Shannon Maldonado, activists, and other cultural leaders including Street Dept’s Conrad Benner around the theme of “daydreaming in transit.”
Shetty shot the interviews in various SEPTA locations and commuter hubs, including inside a historic trolley at SEPTA Headquarters, The Southeast Asian Market in FDR Park, and the network of disused SEPTA tunnels beneath the city.
From these interviews - Shetty created a series of photographs around themes of commuting and daydreaming in Philadelphia transit; photography featuring portraits of riders and transit-related landscapes will line the areas above the windows in many of Philadelphia’s trains, buses, and trolleys, serving as the launchpad for Philly Daydreams’s augmented reality.
Through this augmented reality series of works born of Philadelphian stories, daydreams, thoughts, and performances that Shetty has filmed - Philly Daydreams allows travelers to be virtually accompanied on their journeys by fellow Philadelphians.
QR-triggered photographs taken by Shetty can be found on select Broad Street Line trains as well as on buses, trolleys, and digital screens across the system. Anyone with a phone can activate a transit story. Riders who hold their phone up to these panels will trigger one of Shetty’s filmed interviews to appear on their screen - creating the visual of a fellow rider accompanying them on their journey and sharing their dreams in transit.
The interview series will be housed online at anulashetty.com, formanartsinitiative.org, and muralarts.org - where all are encouraged to share their dreams.
You can also access the stories via Short Edition’s Short Story Dispensers throughout the city - including in transit hubs (Jefferson Station and Suburban Station), several Free Library of Philadelphia locations, and Philadelphia International Airport.
A special multi-channel presentation of Shetty’s films will be projected in City Hall Station’s oculus—closed since the pandemic—beginning October 5, 2023. The oculus serves as the central compass of Philly Daydreams - giving a collective home to the stories of Philadelphians that originated throughout the city.
City Hall Station’s Oculus Display:
Broad Street at Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
*Philly Daydreams at City Hall Station’s oculus is free to the public
Public Hours: October 6 – 8 and October 12 – 15
Thursdays and Fridays: 11AM – 2PM
Weekends: 1PM – 4PM
About the Artist: Anula Shetty is an award-winning filmmaker and new media artist. She is the founder of Fire Work Media - a production company that uses AR/VR and mobile apps to tell stories about the environment and marginalized communities. She is a 2020 CAAM (Center for Asian American Media) Fellow and a recipient of a Pew Fellowship. She was previously awarded three Media Arts Fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and was nominated for a USA Artist Fellowship. She received a Project Involve Fellowship, two Independence Foundation Fellowships, and a Leeway Foundation Transformation Award for her art and social change work.
Join Anual Shetty on October 23 from 5:30PM - 7:00PM at Parkway Central Free Library as she discusses the creative process behind Philly Daydreams. The talk will feature two of the project’s participants - Catzie Vilayphonh and Iris Brown - and will touch on Anula’s history of working with communities and the public, the sensory experience of travel and migration, and daydreaming as a spark for change, imagination, and connection. The discussion will be moderated by Atif F. Sheikh - co-founder of 12G and resident curator. To get here on SEPTA - hop Routes 32 or 33.
About Forman Arts Initiative: Forman Arts Initiative (FAI) - founded by Michael Forman and Jennifer Rice - is dedicated to supporting community-based arts and creativity in Philadelphia through programming, convening, and advocacy. Over the coming years - FAI will serve as a platform to connect, mentor, and support artists and organizations around Philadelphia to deepen and grow the rich cultural heritage of Philadelphia’s communities. Since 2021 - FAI has been working in partnership with the Philadelphia Foundation to distribute $3 million in unrestricted funding over five years to community artists and organizations in the Greater Philadelphia Area through a new grantmaking program called Art Works. More FAI initiatives for the city will unfold in the coming months and years. Forman Arts Initiative collaborates closely with DVDL - an agency of cultural strategists - to facilitate the programming and ongoing development of FAI. For more information, visit www.formanartsinitiative.org.
About Mural Arts: Mural Arts Philadelphia is the nation’s largest public art program - dedicated to the belief that art ignites change. For over 35 years - Mural Arts has united artists and communities through a collaborative and equitable process - creating over 4,000 artworks that have transformed public spaces and individual lives. Mural Arts aims to empower people, stimulate dialogue, and build bridges to mutual understanding through projects that attract artists from Philadelphia and around the world and programs that focus on youth education, restorative justice, mental health and wellness, and public art and its preservation. Popular mural tours offer a firsthand glimpse into the inspiring stories behind Mural Arts’ iconic and unparalleled collection, earning Philadelphia worldwide recognition as the “Mural Capital of the World.”
