1801 Vine Street

Philadelphia, PA 19103

The former Juvenile Family Court Building, and now the African American Museum of Philadelphia. A proposed public installation, for the opening day of Derrick Adams: Sanctuary exhibit. April 7 – August 28, 2022.

"Derrick Adams' Sanctuary installation reimagines safe destinations for the black American traveler during the mid-twentieth century. His body of work was inspired by The Negro Motorist Green Book, an annual guidebook for black American road-trippers published by New York postal worker Victor Hugo Green from 1936 to 1967, during the Jim Crow era in America. The publication served as a guide to finding businesses that were welcoming to black Americans, including hotels and restaurants, during an era when open and often legally prescribed discrimination against nonwhites was widespread. These designated safe spaces were places of refuge and leisure, where one could spend quality time with friends and family." - Museum of Arts and Design, MAD

In response, House Museum proposes to install classic cars, driven by African Americans from 1936-1966, to activate the 400 foot long facade of 1801 Vine Street. "In addition to trains and buses, 20th century cars furthered the African diaspora and enabled the Great Migration by transporting thousands of Blacks from the South. Philadelphia’s Black population grew by over 500% in part due to motor vehicles." Parked in a linear procession, classic cars invite guests to experience a similar physical space that transported African Americans and green books throughout the nation. Classic cars are time capsules that can bridge generational gaps through storytelling, resurfacing the memories—both joyous and traumatic–of previous generations.

Chevrolet Bel Air, 1955.