Vox Populi

Unexpected treasure of a gallery featuring risk-taking art and artists. It's off the beaten path and easy to miss in a nondescript building that requires you to be buzzed in from the outside. Highly recommend making time to stop by if you are in the area.

Great building, check out the 4th floor print and frame master Jeff Stockbridge! Best in the city!

This was my first visit to this unique Gallery! I enjoyed the visit. It was a very creative and varied exhibition. I also got an impermanent henna hand tattoo. Great fun as I prepare to celebrate my birthday!

The Voice of the People is the Voice of God. I've had dreams about this art gallery and its special stairways. Many a fun First Friday among the youthful artists... All personal tastes aside, this is earnestly a place where the public can encounter art.

Crazy contemporary exhibits. Wasn't really sure how to classify the exhibits with respect to genres of art. The personal platform that was held on sit was great. Duchess had a real cool vibe in bringing people together and performing. Thank you for a great experience.

Super cool spot. Place is large and has plenty of space. The only downside is when there's a lot of people in there it gets really hot. Combined with the warmer weather nowadays and you'll be dripping by the time you make it through one or two floors.

Vic Populi is a home for experimentation. It encourages artists in many genres to try different approaches and forms of collaboration. It encourages artists to speak from personal perspectives on social and political issues. The art is very personal and there are many different experiments both in terms of message and method for conveying message. As a result, there are going to be messages that are clear and messages that are muddled. There will be messages that seem important and messages that don't make an impact. A lot of what you get out of it depends on what you bring to it. I went for the work of the impermanence collective. This group throws together musicians, dancers, artists and spoken word artists who have never worked together before to see what happens. The artists who will work together are thrown together somewhat randomly. What happens interested me more for watching these artists struggle to communicate to each other than it did as a coherent communication. They didn't know what they would say together. Maybe they had individual agendas and maybe not. What emerged depended as much on their willingness to be giving to each other and listen to each other as it did on their own skill and ideas. I would say it was a struggle. A messy struggle. A struggle that was beautiful more for its attempt than for it's product. The impermanence collective believes that they are plenty of places for people to work together over time and learn how to collaborate. But this is a place that will rigorously throw people together who don't know each other or each other's work just to see what happens. They don't want to see the end result of what happens after people worked together for a while. They want to display the first efforts. It's a sink or swim approach, which I don't think is very kind to the artists. Artists are human beings who want connection; more connection than you can get in twenty minutes. This format is more of a tease, maybe even a form of bullying. It doesn't do anything to facilitate the getting to know you process other than put people in close proximity to each other. There are no efforts to allow the artists to introduce themselves to each other. No guidelines for how to interact. It's a form of free for all that reminded me more of a Roman gladiator contest than anything else. Some artists rebeled against this unkindness and tried hard to reach out to each other and break the bonds of the format but there was only so much they could do. I felt bad for them. It felt like there was a huge bureaucratic authority that was deliberately sabotaging them by refusing to let them interact except under these circumstances. That they were able to connect in any way at all seemed a triumph of humanity and artistry over Big Brother. But it was deeply saddening to be knowing that so much more could have happened if the artists had really been allowed to consciously develop a process instead of being forced together to perform for an audience without any conscious acknowledgment of each other's humanity.

Innovative visual and performance artists showcasing in a warehouse-loft space venue.

Fortunately I just found out that this place stills exists, Because the whole street that it used to be on is currently being revamped big time. now the address is 319 North 11th Street, 3rd Floor Philadelphia, PA 19107. it's Gallery hours are Wednesday-Sunday 12-6pm and they usually have a lot of good alternative arts. They have a special First Friday viewing that's open to the public from 6-11 PM. Although Vox has been in three different buildings, it has been a non-profit art collective that has supported emerging artists since 1988. so it's good to here that it's still going strong. The Vox on Cherry street had an occasional concert. so maybe this one will too, but it's too soon to tell.

Always fun to see what's going on at Vox... the exhibits range from powerful to silly, thoughtful to bizarre. You can spend between an hour or more depending on how much you delve into the work. Don't forget that the 2nd floor also has galleries as well. An interesting date spot too.

Fun hidden spot to check out on First Fridays. Usually spend 30min-1hr here depending on the exhibits. Great place to stop by before a show at Union Transfer if the timing is right!

This gallery is always a priority stop on First Fridays, and essentially anytime I go gallery-hopping in Philadelphia. They embrace a variety of media and artists- sculptors, painters, printmakers, photographers, film makers - some of everything. If you are looking for a contemporary space in Philadelphia with some young (well sort of young) members and some inspiration, go to Vox. It is also attached to Copy Gallery on the same floor- which is a smaller space, but definitely worth a look. It is not in Old City (but what is anymore besides AITA which is more like a store/party), but it is situated near the Fabric Workshop and Space 1026 and Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and not too far from the Print Center.

What a cool little gallery. Never would've found it had I not ran into some people headed there on First Friday - a great night to visit, by the way, as there's a bar, and on the night I went, some raffles. The installations were intriguing and great for conversation - the crowd was of the hipster slant, but I didn't feel any judgement going on. If anything, it was a diverse crowd, whereas I might feel uncomfortable at the more fancy fance First Friday venues. For art galleries, I bet you could write a new review each month. For example, when I went, there was a brilliant painting series, with both the painter and the painter's inspiration there to talk with - very accessible and very interesting conversations. I feel like Vox Populi is a unique space, and with the nearby watering holes (Trestle Inn, The Institute), visiting Vox Populi can make for a great night out.

Vox uses to be tucked away in this decrepit building in Olde City. Back then it had much more of a lassiez-faire feel, similar to Space 1026 with a lowish-brow skate punk aesthetic. Then it moved to the Cherry Street location and smartened up its act. This move was definitely a good one for the members who were then able to take the whole enterprise more seriously. Also, it put the gallery in close proximity to the Fabric Workshop and Museum and PAFA, both of which have established reputations in the world of art. What I like about Vox is that it still maintains some of the rebellious attitude that made it an interesting gallery to begin with. It shows more cutting edge work than many of the other galleries in Philly-- or I should say, the placement of the work within the overall scope of art is more on the inside-track than 1026 or Spector but a hell of a lot cooler than some of the other galleries like Nexus or Pentementi. Also, they used to have kick ass shows including Melt Banana which rocked. I don't know if they're still in show-biz, but it's definitely worth checking out.

It's a great gallery that really reflects the old and the new - historic beauty and the emerging culture in the city. Narrow, tall, stairs, labyrinth, kegs, rebellion....you get the picture.

'twas good. My favorite type of an evening is when I get an art high by seeing something novel and beautiful that sets my soul afire. Mission accomplished here.

This is such a great spot to visit on First Friday. There's a lot of interesting contemporary art to see and it's pretty accessible. The place has a visibly artsy/hip crowd but the vibe isn't pretentious, and it's packed on First Fridays. There are several levels of galleries to check out. They have a bar. It's an unassuming building from the outside and in a quiet part of town, but it's worth the visit. It's right by the Trestle Inn, too.

A first-friday staple. Always has a mixture of art-- video installations, found art, photography, painting, etc. Less yuppie tourists than the old city spots.

Been here a few times, mainly for music. The art is always interesting and fairly diverse. Definitely not the most convenient location for an art gallery but make sure you check 'em out! Also keep an eye out for upcoming shows as they occasionally have really great musicians/artists/bands play.