Ascendence
Ascendance is a multifaceted installation – part sculpture, part soundscape, part shade structure –that has become a landmark and anchor for uCity Square and conncetor surrounding neighborhoods. Bressi served as artistic advisor and project manager to Wexford Science & Technology and Mural Arts Philadelphia, lead partners in the project.
Date | 2025
Client | Wexford Science & Technology, Mural Arts Philadelphia
Collaborators | Nina Cooke-John, Yolanda Wisher and Kendrah Butler-Waters; The Clay Studio, 618 Design, Turner Construction, Pennoni Engineering, Quatrefoil Consulting, ZGF Architects, and Keast & Hood
Ascendance is a remarkable sculpture with a remarkable mission – to serve as a focal point for a newly emerging science and technology district in Philadelphia, and reforge connections to neighborhoods that were cut off by neighborhoods from the economic engines of University City by practices like redlining and urban renewal.
A century ago, the area where Ascendence is located was home to Blacks arriving from the South as part of the Great Migration. Over the years, the area was segregated through deed restrictions, zoning, and lending policies. After World War II, many blocks were demolished for urban renewal, and those that remained were among the poorest in Philadelphia.
In recent years, a second wave of urban renewal occurred to accommodate academic and health institutions, biomedical research, and new residential development. The area, however, was built on a grid of streets that re-established connections, and the developers worked with Mural Arts Philadelphia to commission artworks that would signal to the surrounding communities that they were welcome in the public spaces. Ascendence followed two murals that are nearby; Bressi was the project manager for all of the projects.
Ascendence seeks to capture and present the vibrance of West Philadelphia’s Black cultural life, past and present. New Jersey-based sculptor Nina Cooke John collaborated with poet Yolanda Wisher and composer Kendrah Butler-Waters to create a sculpture and soundscape that evokes the reclaiming of the territory.
In the spring and summer of 2023, the artist team and Mural Arts organized several block party-style events, a common form of gathering, to meet neighbors past and present and to collect audio recordings of their stories as well as of the sounds of everyday life. These recordings were collaged with originally composed music to convey the story of the neighborhood. The audio can be heard each day at noon.
Explore the full plan here.- link needs to be edited
