Philly artists get kicked out of Rittenhouse Square by police, say artwork is damaged
After three artists were kicked out of Rittenhouse Square Monday, a local arts collective will host a gathering to "stop police harassment."
Rittenhouse Square has long been a site for Philly creatives to display and sell their artwork. But on Monday, three artists were kicked out of the neighborhood park by city officials, who damaged artwork and tossed some of it into the back of a van.
Artist Sean Hassett, who goes by the moniker “Irregular,” shared a video on Instagram on Tuesday that shows fellow creatives NEEK, NZ One, and Ginger being directed by police officers to hand over their work. As reported by Billy Penn, the incident happened near the 18th Street entrance on the east side of Rittenhouse Square.
In the video, which has amassed over 80,000 views, city officials are seen grabbing and loading paintings, drawings, and merchandise into a white van.
Ginger, a Philly-based printmaker and collage artist, said the situation kept escalating, as more and more Philadelphia police officers arrived at the park. Police then called in officials from the Department of Licenses and Inspections. “I still can’t believe what went down. Throughout the three to four hours of the ordeal I kept thinking, ‘They can’t be serious,’” the artist said to The Inquirer.
While Ginger was able to retrieve her items from police before the L&I van arrived, NEEK’s pieces were damaged, the artist said. “They dropped a number of pieces on the ground, damaging them, and literally threw them in the back of the truck in a big pile.”
NEEK’s work was “tossed in the van [along] with our liberty,” said a statement from the Anti Flower Show Movement, a local collective where NEEK serves as a committee member. And after that, the artist was “ignored” and wasn’t given proper instructions on how they could get their artwork back.
In a video shared with The Inquirer, NEEK is heard saying, “I’m getting a ticket illegally for my First Amendment, my constitutional right to protest.”
Philly-based NZ One opted to destroy artwork before the police could take it “because I knew what time [the police] were on.”
“They were wrong and doubling down,” NZ One said. “I could see them all working together to find a way to shut us down. I knew I wouldn’t receive my stuff back and I destroyed it rather than see it fall into hands of our oppressive police force.”
In Philly, to sell products on a sidewalk pop-up, vendors need several permits and licenses, such as a Commercial Activity License and a $330 Sidewalk Sales License. These regulations are often overlooked in spaces like Rittenhouse Square, according to Billy Penn.
The city’s policy advises that anyone issued a Vending Confiscation Notice for selling products on the street has 30 days to file an appeal with the Board of License and Inspections Review. If an appeal isn’t filed within that window, L&I will “abandon or dispose of the items.” To retrieve the items, sellers must get or renew their vending license and pay a fine. Once the fine is paid, they can then schedule an appointment to collect their items.
On Monday, some artwork on display expressed dissent against the proposed construction of the 76ers arena in Chinatown. “Once we announced we were protesting the arena, and made that clear, they started calling in more and more supervisors. We’ve been displaying there for over a year, never with any trouble,” Ginger said. “But the one day we have our protest signs out and T-shirts on is the day they kick us out and confiscate everything.”
A city spokesperson said the content of the artwork wasn’t the issue, it was the location. Instead of selling their goods inside Rittenhouse Square park, the artists were stationed on the sidewalk, which requires additional vending approval.
After the artists were asked to move, they refused, the spokesperson added. At that point, L&I officials were authorized to confiscate the artwork. “The city has a responsibility to maintain the accessibility of the public right-of-way for all pedestrians, including those that use wheelchairs or strollers,” the spokesperson said. “The requirement to obtain a permit before vending on the sidewalk is intended to ensure safety and accessibility of city sidewalks.”
On Tuesday, Anti Flower Show Movement announced a peaceful protest gathering in Rittenhouse Square on Saturday. The collective announced the meetup in an Instagram post, with a graphic urging supporters to join their fight to “stop police harassment.”
“What do we want? A right to be alive, a right to be ourselves, a right to provide beauty, not just for Philly, for everywhere. Freedom of Speech,” the event flier reads.
The gathering will take place from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the east and south end of Rittenhouse Square.