Hello, Fishtown! I’m Julia, the new managing editor of this monthly magazine. I’m excited to bring you stories about this vibrant and eclectic neighborhood that help you get to know its community members, businesses, artists, and the area itself.
In this issue, Sophia Stopper performs a close reading of the artist Kah Yangni’s landmark trans-affirming “We Are Universal” mural, which Yangni made for Mural Arts Philadelphia in close collaboration with the residents of Morris Home, a residential recovery program dedicated to transgender and gender-nonconforming people.
Yangni told us that her assistants Sammy Kovnat and De’von Downes — immensely talented in their own rights — were instrumental in rendering the artwork on a large scale. Yangni makes their art by hand, scanning screen prints and painted paper they cut up and organized into finished pieces on a computer. Downes taught Yangni how to use a flat-top brush and turn their wrist in different ways to make “pencil-mark” texture in the hand-lettering. Kovnat taught Yangni how to copy the look of ink dragged across paper by a squeegee, a process that happens in screen printing. Kovnat handbuilt tools to create that texture for the mural on a large scale. Some of the design elements Yangni used in the mural were from Morris Home residents. Yangni had them make collages in a workshop as part of figuring out what the mural should be like. The sun, the butterfly, and the fists are from their art. Yangni fused those elements with their own style.
Also, Kathy Chang reports on the annual Fishtown Freeze and Shopping Spree, during which more than 25 intricate custom ice sculptures are displayed. Marc Collazzo, the executive director of the Fishtown Kensington Area Business Improvement District, says the beloved annual event — which also includes trolley tours and live ice-carving demonstrations — celebrates the area’s “creativity, spirit, and heart.”
Finally, Mindy Toran profiles Mallory Minor of the shop Minor Details Philly. A few short years ago, she worked as a project manager for a construction firm, never imagining that by this fall, she’d have two storefronts in Philly — one in Manayunk and a new one in Fishtown — where she sells hand-designed Philly sports apparel and items from local vendors and artists. Read more about why she encourages women to become small-business owners and how her construction background helped her build out the perfect shop in Fishtown for a selection of strong and whimsical designs. (Many items are in Eagles’ and Phillies’ colors!)
Enjoy!
