PHILADELPHIA IN COLOR Kickstarter Launch Party

Join Hidden City at Paradigm Gallery + Studio to celebrate our Kickstarter launch for PHILADELPHIA IN COLOR, 1950-1990, a first-of-its-kind color photographic history of Philadelphia!

Mingle with fellow Hidden City supporters, take in the galleries, enjoy light drinks and snacks, and get a behind-the-scenes look at the photo research and curation process.

We also invite you to bring your own vintage Philly photos (or negatives or slides) to submit to the project — we can scan & digitize them for you right there on the spot!

ABOUT PHILADELPHIA IN COLOR:

Hidden City is working with archives, libraries, community organizations and amateur and professional photographers to amass photos, slides and negatives. The book was publicly announced and opened to individual submissions in November 2024. So far over 1,000 images have been identified for potential inclusion, and Hidden City will continue collecting photos from the public via phillyincolor.org/submit through April 2025.

We have specific criteria for photos to ensure that the final images aren’t just visually compelling, but also support our goal of illustrating what living in Philadelphia was actually like in those times. To that end, we’re prioritizing photos of street life, neighborhoods in transition, slice-of-life candids, as well as places and cultural touchstones that no longer exist today.

Soon, we’ll begin the process of narrowing down the photos that will make it into the book, with input from public historians, plus art and photography curators. In the end, we hope to have a stunning collection of photos that will be meaningful to Philadelphians of every neighborhood and walk of life. Publication is slated for Summer 2026.

For more information, visit phillyincolor.org