About Streets Dept
Founded as a photo-blog in January 2011, Streets Dept has grown into a multi-platform showcase of Philadelphia public art and public space. We discover and celebrate commissioned and non-commissioned art on the streets and in the public spaces of Philadelphia. And sometimes we also curate it! We believe deeply that the public space has a profound effect on us as individuals and on our city as a whole, and our purpose is to explore how all of us build and use public spaces creatively. You can find our work here on the blog, across social media (Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Threads), on our Patreon, in our publications, on our monthly walking tours, and, of course, on the streets.
Streets Dept was the winner of the Philadelphia Geek Award for ‘Geek Culture Journalism’ (2011); named one of the ‘Best Blogs for Travellers’ by The Guardian (2013); beat out the one-and-only Gritty to win of the ‘Never Delete Your Account‘ award at the first annual Billy Penn awards, The Billies (2019); and has been notably mentioned by Time Magazine (2011), Encyclopedia Britannica (2012), Instagram (2014), Mashable (2015), Thrillist (2016), Philadelphia Style Magazine (2016), Philly Voice (2016), Highsnobiety (2017), Curbed National (2017), Travel + Leisure (2018), Artblog (2019), South Philly Review (2021), 6 ABC (2021), Philadelphia Museum of Art (2021), Philadelphia Gay News (2022), Philadelphia Magazine (2022), The Philadelphia Inquirer (2023), NBC’s 1st Look (2023), and The New York Times (2023), among others!
About Streets Dept Walls
Streets Dept Walls are ongoing Philly public art projects curated by Streets Dept’s Conrad Benner: Learn about past Streets Dept Walls projects here!
About Conrad Benner, Founder/Editor
Conrad Benner is the Founder/Editor of StreetsDept.com. A Fishtown, Philadelphia born-and-raised photo-blogger, curator (Streets Dept Walls and Mural Arts Philadelphia), and podcaster (WHYY’s Art Outside), Conrad’s work explores the art of our public spaces and the artists who create it.
“At the heart of Conrad Benner’s work is a love for a city that he believes is particularly suited to a thriving street arts community.” -Joshua Needelman, The New York Times (2023)
Notable Awards and Recognitions:
- ‘Geek Culture Journalism’ at the Philadelphia Geek Award (2011)
- ‘Best Art Curator’ by Philadelphia Magazine (2014)
- ‘Rad Guy of the Year’ at the 3rd Annual Rad Awards (2017)
- ‘Never Delete Your Account‘ at The Billies (2019)
- ‘40 Under 40’ by Al Día (2021)
- Named ‘One of The Most Influential People in Philadelphia’ by Philadelphia Magazine three times–in 2017, 2020, and 2023!
- Profiled in the ‘More Than Likes’ series from The New York Times (2023)
Conrad has used his growing influence not only to celebrate Philly’s burgeoning arts scene, but also to affect change. Most notably with his successful #SEPTA247 campaign, in 2014, which pushed the South Eastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) to reintroduce overnight weekend service to Philadelphia’s elevated and subway trains. His work in 2016 with Covenant House Pennsylvania to create #AmICutOut, a pop-up art installation to help raise awareness and money to end youth homelessness in Philadelphia. As well as co-organizing Signs of Solidarity, a Trump Inauguration Day public art protest in opposition to hate and in protest of any and all that embolden divisiveness; co-organizing Collective Action, a silent art auction which raised over $23k for 10 local and national social justice organizations; and curating Revolutionary: A Pop-Up Street Art Exhibition, a six-week exhibition, commissioned by Visit Philadelphia, which featured the work of 13 contemporary Philly-based artists who are challenging the current political and social status quo installed at 13 locations across Philadelphia’s Historic District.
Central to Conrad’s curatorial work are his efforts to increase civic engagement through the act of voting. Starting with his work on Next Stop: Democracy in 2015, a Knight Cities Challenge winning project, which aimed to increase voter turnout in Philly by creating Election Day wayfinding signs with local artists. Co-creating Mailbox Voters, a series of social media videos that helped inform Philadelphians who were voting by mail for the first time in 2020. And his ongoing, bi-annual project with Mural Arts Philadelphia, To The Polls (2018, 2020, 2022), which creates temporary voting-inspired murals with local artists.
About Eric Dale, Lead Contributor
Designer, photographer, and writer Eric Dale joined Streets Dept in October 2017 after moving to Philly and falling in love with its street art scene. He contributes photos and articles to our blog and Patreon, co-leads our monthly walking tours, and hosts our monthly Philly Street Art Interviews series. Eric also contributes to and fully designs the annual Streets Dept Magazine and our annual booklet of walking tours, Artseeing. Find all of Eric’s contributions to Streets Dept on this page. Outside of Streets Dept, Eric runs a creative services business and also moonlights as Eric The Puzzler, designing real-world escape rooms and puzzle-based experiences for the adventurous.
“WOW, Eric. I have been covered in many prominent publications and never has anyone captured the best of me as you have. THANK YOU.” —Meg Saligman, Philadelphia muralist
FOLLOW + CONTACT + SUPPORT
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Join us for Streets Dept Excursions
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Email: StreetsDept [at] gmail [dot] com
Work With Us
We’ve collaborated with lots of great folks over the years—will you be the next? Drop us a line and tell us about your project idea! Most of our partnerships fall into one of these three categories: 1) Promotional Partnerships, 2) Curatorial Commissions, 3) Content Sponsorships. Email us at StreetsDept [at] gmail [dot] com to start talking!
Streets Dept 