A new project is being implemented in partnership with Mural Arts Philadelphia that aims to build a digital archive of the stories of 9th Street Market’s immigrant and migrant community, including vendors, business owners, and residents, writes Hira Qureshi for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Our Market is the brainchild of Michelle Angela Ortiz and is part of a multi-year project that launched in 2019. The latest step is a vibrant yellow and blue cart she pedals down the 9th Street Market to draw in people walking by for interviews. Her team of researchers will be conducting interviews at various market locations on select Saturdays through July.

The project’s goal is to offer creative community strategies in an effort to deal with issues of gentrification, racism, displacement, and erasure in the market.

While there are already extensive archives of the market both at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and Temple University, these are mostly focused on Italian and Mexican communities.

“What we want to do is to honor the flow of all of the people that have contributed to the market, from Jewish vendors and Irish immigrants, to the presence and contributions of the African American community, [who are] often left out of conversations and the history of this work,” said Ortiz.

Read more about Our Market in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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