Just Do It

Neighborhood Hearts and Hands

by Jakob Dorof

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Published: Aug 5, 2008

Opening reception Thu., Aug. 14, 6-9 p.m., exhibit runs through Aug. 23, Nexus, 1400 N. American St., Suite 102, 215-684-1946, nexusphiladelphia.org

What's in a name? Just ask the residents of North Philly's Fairhill section: Ever since ex-Inquirer columnist Steve Lopez's novel Third and Indiana dropped in 1995, they've had a hard time escaping the negative associations of "the Badlands," a name given to the neighborhood by police and the media, and popularized by the book. To an outsider, the term conjures images of rundown row homes, rampant poverty, a street-corner drug industry and the violence that goes with it. 

But if Nexus' upcoming "Neighborhood Hearts and Hands" exhibit is any indication, the children of the area see things a little differently. The showcase features photography by 11 ambitious locals ages 5 to 12, as part of Centro Nueva Creación's "Goodlands" art program. Right down to the blooming flowers and sunny skies, the young photographers portray a side of North Philly that no one else does: smiling people working honest jobs, proud kids cradling baby siblings, bright pastel playgrounds across from happy homes. Even clichés of poverty, like graffiti, vandalism and a rusted chain-link fence, are reinterpreted in a positive light with surprising artistry.

"We definitely try to use the exhibition as an educational tool, giving the kids an outlet for self-expression and a valuable skill they can use in the future," says Centro Nueva Creación executive director Brady Sanders, who has helped guide the Goodlands program through mural projects, painting classes and ceramic collaborations with the Clay Studio's Claymobile. "We want to express that North Philly can be a positive place to grow up."

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