We’re eternally thankful for the fantastic community of artists who make TMoms beautiful on a daily basis. In 2019 we celebrated 22 years of creative chaos as Philadelphia’s unoffically official Street Art Museum and home to an ever changing international collection of graffiti, wheatpaste, stencil, sticker and 3-D installation work. And beyond the daily dose of fresh new street art fun we’ve been lucky to work with many of these talented folx on art shows, pop ups, larger scale installations, limited edition tees, stickers, posters, postcards and more!
You can explore a brand new masterpiece every time you come to Mom’s. That sense of discovery is a heady thrill that we look forward to every day. In no particular order here’s a 12 of our 2019 art at Mom’s highlights.
TMoms Bike Rack: Art by Adam Crawford
ADAM CRAWFORD’S BIKE RACK MURAL
We’ve been wanting to work with Adam Crawford forever & we’re so stoked to have a chance to commission a piece of LITERAL street art from him. With the support of the South Street Headhouse District Adam’s bike rack mural out front greets everyone who rolls up here with an epic piece of his work. A companion piece at 9th and South was completed later in the year.
Shock Exchange: Art by Lowlvl
Fused Underground: Art by Michael E. Kelly
Most Known Unknown: Art by Barrett Capistran
The Color Collective
ARTIST CURATED SHOWS AND POP UPS
Celebrating Philadelphia’s incredibly talented creative community is at the heart of what we love to do. It’s been an amazing experience this year to work with so many great artists who are producing art show series that bring such diverse and gifted groups to the walls here. From our longest running series, Jerks Production’s Fused Underground to fresh new work from Noni Astro’s Color Collective & Corey Dank’s Most Known Unknown; from shows that celebrate the creative spirit while raising awareness and funds like Kyle Confer’s Art Heals and our very own Sarah Cowell’s Artists Against Gun Violence; from underground work from Lowlvl’s Shock Exchange and Patchwork Culture’s NSFW series, we’re honored to be a home to a hugely diverse and passionate group of artists.
Snack Attack: Art by Nathan Hurst
Call Me: Art by Lauren Cat West
Roach World: Art By Flesh Prince
THEMED ART SHOWS & POP UPS
Some of the most inventive shows of the past year have been art that shines a light on a specific part of culture through art. Lauren Cat West’s Call Me show transformed the upstairs into a House of Love complete with swan boat ride cars & giant old school cell phones. Nathan Hurst’s Snack Attack’s take on junk food gave us the munchies with cereal box art & an edible mountain of candy and tastykakes. Jerk’s Production’s Nightmares & Dreamscapes riffed on Stephen King’s writings for a surreal scare. Roach World & Gaudmother showcased the future of Philly fashion with hand crafted, upcycled and remixed clothing and hand painted fabric photo booths.
South Street Art Mart’s Nicole & Nicole at Spring Fest
SPRING FEST
Our friends at South Street Art Mart helped us kick off the warmer weather here by curating the TMoms big top art tent the annual South Street Spring Festival. We love sharing the work of local creators with the world and the festival gives us an opportunity to take it to the streets (literally). Neighborhood gem Art Mart showcased many of the artists they champion including Taped Off TV, Wicked Queer, The Machine Shop Rocks, Nite Owl Designs and more. It was a fun early spring day with our friends from Art Mart (plus 40,000 new pals who stopped by to check it out!).
TMoms At 22: Art by Nathan Hurst
TMoms at 22: Art by Caroddo
TMOMS @ 22
TMom turned 22 (!) this May with a giant group show filled with thee most incredible art tributes from so many of our friends and family. Over 100 artists, including Air Rat, Jacci Stallone, An Ordinary Daze, Sawdust Eyes, Dark Meal, Creature Rhythm, Kelly Campanile, Cloud Apparatus and more contributed work inspired by their experiences here. We partied, ate cake, happy cried, toasted with tiki kitties, ugly cried, ate pierogi, happy ugly cried and felt very loved and inspired.
Sticky Art Machine: Art by Jayel
Sticky Art Machine: Art by Under Water Pirates
STICKY ART MACHINE
Volume 7 of our long running Sticky Art Machine series dropped this year and it was an epic release. Curated by Bob Will Reign, this run featured new exclusive work from the legendary Under Water Pirates & the wildly inventive Jayel. We debuted 10 new original limited edition designs from two of our long time sticker art heroes for our biggest release in Sticky Art Machine history. There may still be a precious few left so stop by soon before these collector’s items are gone forever!
Streets Dept Artist Interview Series: Install by Lace in the Moon / Photo by Eric Dale
Streets Dept x TMoms Art Market: Art by Bob Will Reign
STREETS DEPT ARTIST INTERVIEW SERIES
Partnering with Streets Dept, Philly’s premier street art blog, on the artist interview series has been a dream come true for us. Being able to share the stories behind the art you see here on the walls and in the streets all over town is an honor and a thrill. We can’t wait to sit down each month and dive deeply into Eric Dale’s conversations & photos. This year’s second season featured the art & the stories behind their creation from Kid Hazo, Under Water Pirates, Symone Salib, Seper, Morg & Lace In The Moon. We capped off the season with Art Shop, a street art pop up featuring all 6 of this seasons artists plus some special Season One guests. We can’t wait for you to see the line up of artists for this year’s Season Three Interview Series.
TMoms Artist Edition Tee: Art by Rainy
ARTIST EDITION TEE BY RAINEY
The latest in our series of Artist Edition tees was designed by Rainey. The piece was originally part of our TMoms at 22 Anniversary show & their unique take on all the fun little details of Moms combined with snippets of timely social justice issues made it a perfect fit for the tee shirt artist series. It’s a great way to wear our 22 years of love and good times (literally) on our sleeve.
Characters Welcome 8: An International Sticker Art Show
CHARACTERS WELCOME 8
The eighth year of Characters Welcome, our annual international sticker art show was our biggest and best ever. With thousands of stickers from hundreds of artists all over the world, Characters Welcome 8 showcased both the deep history of sticker art and the future of the medium. From iconic sticker artists to first time contributors, the two day exhibition celebrated the art and community of stickers while raising over $4000 for youth arts programs at Fleisher’s Community Partnership in the Arts and The Village of Arts and Humanities.
TMoms Curated Art at Counter Culture
Artist Virginia Mae Smith at Counter Culture
COUNTER CULTURE
We ventured out of our doors this year to curate the art at Counter Culture, a new event space on the block. The walls are a love letter to South Street with over 50 legendary artists contributing work that shines a light on Philly style and the street’s youth culture histoy . Lead artists NTEL, Septic & Lazy riffed with dozens of TMoms friends & fam to create a one of a kind space that inspires and invites creative conversation.
Limited Edition New Year’s Postcards: Art by Foreign Monsta
NEW YEAR’S POSTCARDS BY FOREIGN MONSTA
We mark the passing of each year and welcoming of the next by commissioning original work from a local artist for our New Year’s celebrations. This year, long time Characters Welcome contributor Foreign Monsta created two festive illustrations for our limited edition New Year’s 2020 posters and postcards. Sending you all greetings of Love & Good Times Always & wishes for inspiring art all year long!
Art by Blur Street Art
ART EVERY DAY
In addition to the great events and art shows we’re honored to host here, the daily additions to the space from countless artists create both a sense of artistic ownership and conversational community. We’re thankful to be able to open the doors every day and discover new work and develop new friendships with the folx that create it. From large installs by Bines, Marisa VR, Hysterical Men, Lace in the Moon, Symone Salib, Lowlvl, Lazy Beam & many more to countless smaller works from Blur Street Art, MPeachHim, City Kitty, Denied, Void Skulls, Phoebe NY, Melt, Who Do You Think and so many more, it’s always a thrill to find a new piece and share it in person here or with friends around the world through Instagram. We’d love to see YOU on the walls next, adding to the beautiful chaos, making magic and on the list of the next Art in Review highlights!
Art by Nero One
[Author’s Note: I mean, seriously, look how cute we are]
