Forgotten Creeks Cyanotype Workshop w/ Resident Artist Ingrid Raphaël

What: Forgotten Creeks Cyanotype: Ritual with Fabric  w/ Artist Ingrid Raphaël

When:Friday, May 8 — 2-4pm

Where: Awbury Arboretum Lightning House, 945 E. Washington Lane Philadelphia PA 19144

(pedestrian entrance at 6336 Ardleigh street or East Washington Lane; parking available on both streets)

Join WaterShed Resident Artist Ingrid Raphaël for a cyanotype image transfer public workshop using archival images of waterway and creek burials from the late 19th – early 20th century, adding your own cyanotype designs.

The event will begin with a short introduction of the artist’s research on flooding in Germantown, and a meditation/ceremony at the only remaining vestige of the Wingohocking Creek, flowing through Awbury Arboretum  

Informed by Ingrid Raphaël’s storytelling and research for their upcoming film weaving together the history of flooding in Philadelphia with Black Memory, this workshop will provide a space of contemplation, reclamation, and collaboration, and experimentation as twin forces of ecological repair and human intervention.

Join us on May 16th (2-4pm) for part two of the workshop series, where we will collage and sew the prints together, culminating in a piece of collaborative artwork that will be publicly displayed at the WaterShed as part of their Resident Artist Program.

About Ingrid:

Ingrid Raphaël’s art, films, teachings & research weave ecology, technology, images and landscapes as objects of memory, temporality & Blackness. They are an award-winning filmmaker, educator, exhibiting artist & the co-founder of NO EVIL EYE CINEMA and founder NSISIM Studio: a slow burn study of ecological embodiment.

During their residency at the WaterShed, Ingrid will expand development research for their upcoming film: weaving archival history of buried rivers in Philadelphia and Toni Morrison’s literary references to water with recorded oral storytelling from impacted residents in NW Philadelphia. 

About The WaterShed:

The WaterShed is a climate hub empowering flood resilience in Germantown through community-driven art, resources, education, and science. Opened in November 2024 in partnership with the Philadelphia Water Department, Mural Arts Philadelphia and the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, the Water Shed is a community-based hub offering flooding resources and free educational programs focused on empowering flood and community resilience. https://www.water-shed.org/ 

About: Awbury Arboretum

Awbury Arboretum is a free public garden and farm serving Northwest Philadelphia. Building on the social justice values of our Quaker founders, we make a positive environmental impact, educate children and adults, and nurture an inclusive community.

About Lightning House:

Created in 2023 out of a former stone carriage house, the Lightning House serves as a collective woodworking, performance and gathering space. Follow @streetworkprojectphilly for updates on this summer’s Lightning House activations, including the Sensory Sessions series, an Artist-in-Residence and fungal/birding/whittling workshops.