Social Glue: The Paper City Project
Space 1026
844 N Broad St.
Philadelphia
Closes June 27, 2026
Running through the center of the current exhibition "Social Glue" at Space 1026 is a bountiful reimagining of Philadelphia. It’s called The Paper City Project: “a public art piece that invites people to create the buildings, greenery, streets, and structures of their dream city” that “act[s] as a canvas for the diverse people and cultures of our region to leave a mark upon."
Four two by two feet squares - “city blocks” if you will - were built over the last year during various public workshops organized by Hannah and Charlie of The Free Library, then all fit together to display an iSpy level smorgasbord of creativity. The outcome is a dense, chaotic, and colorful publicly-produced cityscape filled with puns, surprises and gems to be found in every corner. Not a single spot is left untouched by hot glue, glitter, cardboard or foil.
What are the best parts of our city in its current form? What might constitute an "ideal" city? When I ask myself these questions, I think of places to play, to convene. I think of a city that’s easy to navigate with everything you could want nearby, like gardens and delis galore; something that has a bit of something for everyone to live comfortably and feel at home in community.
When chatting with Social Glue’s curator, TK, about the show — about both its substance (the city) and its medium (paper mache) — he underscored the difference between something being child-like versus childish. Childish might mean naive or immature; but child-like embodies something pure and unabashed.
To imagine a city of the future, I think the first stage of brainstorming should suppose a child-like sensibility, considering potentials beyond the limitations of material things before scaling back to something a bit more realistic, plausible or actionable. Paper mache and recyclable materials allow for this exact sort of experimentation. It’s accessible, affordable and surprisingly versatile.
Let’s take a look at some of my favorite bits of Paper City:
Combination discotheque and Planet Fitness:
This disco club doubling as a Planet Fitness looks a bit like a cathedral. What an idyllic spot to move and groove and worship. What kind of after hour shenanigans go on in this place? I imagine doing Belgian squats to the beat of a Sylvester tune sung by a robed choir.
Frog or gator (?) music bus:
This object reminds me of the Catbus in My Neighbor Totoro. Except instead of a cat, it’s... an alligator? Maybe a frog? An amalgam of both? It isn’t obvious whether or not there are passengers inside, but it’s bloody mouth tells me there might have been some unfortunate encounters at the bus stop. There’s a coiled cord weaving through it’s body that connects to the headphones of the figure behind it. Hm, maybe it’s not a bus at all, but an oversized novelty walkman with teeth and legs. But music is a key added feature to this SEPTA-style transit gator.
Lovers holding hands under the pom pom tree:
Perhaps one of the more tender scenes in the city — a pair of lovers or friends nestled together beneath a flowering tree, right at the entrance of the race track that leads to the beloved Disco Club-Planet Fitness. On top of the tree is a smiling butterfly, holding a key. Perhaps a key to the city? Perhaps something more symbolic like… the key of life? That key being the love and companionship of others? Maybe the key is embracing the nature around us?
The Fishtown Coffee Lake:
I enjoyed a paper-mache interpretation of Philly's Fishtown (as realized by the fish head jutting out of the larger home on the left). TK was tickled by the concept of a *fish* town reimagined within a desert environment (catch the cactus on top of a doghouse). I’m tickled by how the inhabitants of the house seem a bit bored — even in a supposed utopia, we might still be jaded or looking for something beyond what is there.
It takes a village to bring a project like this together. Not too long ago I watched Secret Mall Apartment, a documentary sharing the story of a small group of artists in Rhode Island that built out exactly what the title of the film explains: a secret apartment inside a shopping mall that, in the movie, represents unwanted overdevelopment. In that film, one of the main artists involved in the project, Michael Townsend, speaks to the importance of community engagement and autonomy in his general practice as an artist. There’s also a little bit of archival footage from Fort Thunder, another artist-led (and vaguely illegal) live-work space in Rhode Island that honestly doesn’t look too dissimilar from Paper City (I just discovered they actually held an exhibition in collaboration with Vox Populi in 2013). Although "Trummerkind," the mall apartment, only lasted for about four years, it’s an exemplary showing of possibility outside conventional norms.
Back at the show, TK and I talked together about how not all art has to have serious conceptual weight; it can primarily be a tool for enjoyment or self-fulfillment, for collaboration and entertainment. The Paper City Project, and Social Glue overall, shows what’s possible when we allow ourselves to reimagine everything around us — including what counts as high art. How beautiful the city could be in our own hands.
