JJ Tiziou wants to share. And he wants you to share too. "You have to give people a voice," says Tiziou, a Philadelphia photographer and all around activist for the arts. "Everyone has a voice, but TV and billboards have such louder voices." Tiziou is the force behind the massive public art project
How Philly Moves, the 50,000 square foot
Mural Arts Program gateway project for the Philadelphia International Airport, scheduled for completion this June. Philadelphia's dancers are the subject, and everyone gets involved.
Tiziou is all about the crowd. As a community photographer, he's taken tens of thousands of pictures of Philadelphia residents. Some will end up in the airport mural, and some will grace the facade of the Kimmel Center as part of a
projection project that will run during the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts.
Tiziou's passion is crowdsourcing: getting lots of citizens to contribute a little bit of time and and a little bit of money. People still want to express themselves as artists, and for that matter, says Tiziou, as investigative journalists, but these days major funding is scarce on all creative fronts. Who will pay for materials, or for the electric bill at the studio? "It used to be that there were gatekeepers," says Tiziou. Magazine editors did the selection, but also paid contributors. With the web, explains Tiziou, there is no formal exchange. A photographer can self-publish thousands of images, and people have come to expect all kinds of content without the price tag. "I want good stuff to be out there," says Tiziou. "That's the challenge. And an audience can be a powerful thing. The crowdsourcing component is key to the
new paradigm. People need to be paid for their time in a sustainable way."
Tiziou cites
Kickstarter and
spot.us, two thriving examples of crowdsourced funding for creative projects. If each person contributes just a few dollars, the collective can provide money for major endeavors in both the arts and journalism. Tiziou also runs community supported house concerts out of his rowhome in University City. He asks the audience to make a donation to support the musicians as well as the venue.
Right now, you can stop by
temporary studios set up in empty retail space on the top floor of The Gallery at Market East to see the How Philly Moves project in progress. And you can join the project's final
Community Paint Day at The Gallery on Saturday, March 12.
Source: JJ Tiziou
Writer: Sue Spolan
Photo by Danilo Balladares