Urban Art Fest 52 is bringing an art festival and block party to 52nd Street

Outside the African Cultural Art Forum, or ACAF, on West Philadelphia’s 52nd Street, a poet known as @brotherbangbang painted a message on the sidewalk about what “City of Brotherly Love” really means.

“That’s not just the phrase for our City. It’s actually the secret to STOP the VIOLENCE and kill NEGATIVITY. DON’T KILL THE BROTHER OVER STUPIDITY.”

Kaddi Rahim, a second-generation member of the “tribe” that owns and operates ACAF, said the poet’s words have special meaning for the people who shop on 52nd Street.

“Some people never walk on it,” Rahim said about that section of the sidewalk. “People walk by, or they’ll walk around it. They’ll stop and take pictures.”

He said the sidewalk’s message reflects a philosophy that the owners of ACAF also believe. ACAF, at 221 S. 52nd St., sells African art, clothing, incense, oils, and personal-care and health products.

Rahim and other 52nd Street merchants will be out on those sidewalks and in the street this Saturday for Community Art Day X Urban Art Fest 52. The event takes place from noon to 7 p.m. on 52nd Street between Walnut and Spruce Streets.

Traffic will be blocked off for the event that is being sponsored in the 200 and 300 blocks of 52nd Street by a group of merchants known as the 52nd Street Cultural Art Corridor Coalition.

In addition to traditional block party events for children, this extended block party will feature African art, workshops on how to make jewelry and shekere musical instruments, a fashion show, guest speakers, live musical performances — including hip-hop, jazz, and soul — and a virtual reality game by XVR Lounge.

Rahim said his father, Sharif Adur-Rahim, and uncle, Rashie Abdul Samad, were members of a group of about 10 people who started ACAF in 1969, which was then located on 60th Street. The business moved to 52nd Street in 1995.

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Rahim said he and his siblings began working in the store before they were 8 or 9, and among the first jobs they had was to package incense into wrappers.

He said ACAF had a block party in 2017 and another one in 2019, but this time he asked other businesses to take part in a bigger celebration.

“We want to bring our corridor back to what it used to be,” said Rahim, 29. “I understood that we have to organize among ourselves as Black business owners.”

Because ACAF sells products representing several countries of the African Diaspora, Rahim said it was intentional to plan the Community Art Day for Aug. 17, the birthday of Jamaican-born Black activist Marcus Garvey.

Sharif Adur-Rahim, who is 81, said he is proud that all of his children are working in some aspects of the business. “I feel blessed,” he said.

ACAF was once the site of the jazz venue Aqua Lounge, and the state historical commission recently installed a historical marker honoring Lee Morgan in front of it.

Hakim’s Bookstore & Gift Shop, at 210 S. 52nd St., will have a series of children’s book authors reading to children throughout the day.

Yvonne Blake, owner of Hakim’s, which her father, Dawud Abdel Hakim, founded in 1959, can remember when 52nd Street was thriving and known as “The Strip” or the Main Street of West Philly.

Blake recalls other jazz stars who played on 52nd Street too: “Roy Ayers played there, and so did Hugh Masekela, and I think, Cannonball Adderly too. This was before they became big names,” she said.

She also remembers a time, maybe around 1968, seeing cars pulling up to Mr. Silk’s 3rd Base, a nightclub on 52nd Street, “where the women would get out wearing rhinestones and fur coats.”

Faye Anderson’s All that Philly Jazz website reports that the night club was humming with major stars, such as Stevie Wonder, Muhammad Ali, and James Earl Jones.

» READ MORE: Hakim’s Bookstore, the city’s oldest African American bookstore, receives state marker after 64 years in business

For several years now, Karl Morris, owner of the Urban Art Gallery at 262 S. 52nd St., had been thinking of having an arts festival on 52nd Street, just as there are art festivals in Manayunk, Northern Liberties, and Rittenhouse Square.

Morris, who opened his gallery in 2013, said he has invited 25 artists to set up individual tents to display their works.

“We’re going to have some amazing artists,” Morris said.

» READ MORE: Urban Art Gallery’s Caribbean Creatives Art Show celebrates a community within a community

When Rahim came to him to suggest a Community Art Day and block party, it was the perfect timing to showcase the artists he’s met through his gallery.

Black Ice, another business on the street, will have water ice, and Brown Sugar, a bakery and cafe, will offer food for sale at a discount, he said. Among other businesses that are part of the Cultural Art Alliance are Cotton’s Place, 2nd Threadz, Dynamite Pest Control, and Bushfire Theatre.

Events at Community Art Day x Urban Art Fest 52 are free and open to the public.