{"id":215993,"date":"2026-06-10T23:30:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T23:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/215993\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T23:30:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T23:30:12","slug":"philly-suburban-stations-new-artistic-third-space-makes-graffiti-and-street-art-legal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/215993\/","title":{"rendered":"Philly Suburban Station\u2019s new artistic third space makes graffiti and street art legal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Love Philly? So do we. Let\u2019s be friends.\u00a0Sign up for the Billy Penn newsletter today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In addition to getting us from point A to B, Philly\u2019s subway stations serve as canvases to a world of graffiti, stickers and wheatpastes. While typically illegal, SEPTA\u2019s flagship hub, Suburban Station, is now embracing that street art status.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlatform X\u201d \u2014 the latest Step Outside<\/a> show \u2014 is taking place in the Center City concourse and features different artworks from Philadelphia\u2019s street art and graffiti communities. It runs through the end of July.<\/p>\n

The exhibition has both outdoor and indoor installations, including commissioned works for sale. The pieces are inspired by the prompt \u201cUSA (United Street Art) 250\u201d \u2014 where artists reflect on the nation\u2019s history, legacy and continuing challenges.<\/p>\n

\"\"The indoor gallery space in Suburban Station. (Julia Binswanger\/ Billy Penn) <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re blessed being here in America,\u201d said organizer and artist Doomed Future<\/a>. \u201cBut the way it is now is way different than when our parents were born, and their grandparents\u2026 Democracy is out the window, I don\u2019t know what\u2019s happening. It\u2019s every man for himself \u2014 every man, woman, they\/them for themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

The gallery features subversive images of the American legacy, from the Founding Fathers to the Epstein Files. In the middle of the indoor space sat an alt delivery robot by Doomed Future<\/a> named Mitch Bot (a play on Hitch Bot and his landlord\u2019s name, Mitch). The robot is remote controlled and can move around the gallery.<\/p>\n

Doomed Future is hoping that the extra foot traffic from the World Cup and 250 celebrations will draw new people to this \u201cauthentic show that suits the griminess and grit of the subway.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a nonprofit organization, so we don\u2019t even make money,\u201d he said. \u201c100% of sales goes to the artists.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Jane Golden, founder and executive director of Mural Arts, attended Friday night\u2019s opening. (Julia Binswanger\/ Billy Penn)<\/p>\n

Jane Golden, founder and executive director of Mural Arts, attended Platform X\u2019s show\u2019s opening last Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I walk in here and I see the energy and the enthusiasm and the organic nature of what everyone is doing, it takes me back in time,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it also reinforces to me how important art is, and how it should be accessible and available to all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople who are working with spray [paint], it\u2019s reminiscent of abstract expressionism.,\u201d she added. \u201cThere\u2019s something really spontaneous and bold about the work.\u201d<\/p>\n

The show\u2019s outdoor space sits in the belowground courtyard between Suburban Station and City Hall. According to organizers, the public space has been unused since pre-COVID.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cStreet art brings a lot of character back into the city,\u201d said artist Jakki Valentino. \u201cI know a lot of people might have mixed opinions on that, but I really do think a lot of this is not only tasteful but it\u2019s expressive and it\u2019s nice to kind of see what it brings back into the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"The indoor gallery at Platform X in Suburban Station. (Julia Binswanger\/ Billy Penn)<\/p>\n

The Step Outside team put up temporary makeshift walls around the space, so that anyone can create art and make tags without actually damaging property. There are also street signs waiting to be painted in.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This interactive element has become a regular feature of Step Outside shows, however, the organization has yet to create an artistic playground as large and open as the one at Platform X. Putting it all together was no easy feat.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of leaks in this building, coming from a lot of different areas,\u201d said Raw G, who helped build the installation. \u201cSome of it lands on SEPTA. Some of it lands on other property owners, and we had to take matters into our own hands and unclog drains, put in backup pumps, find leaks coming through our ceiling \u2014 try to repair them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Raw G spent a week, working from 3 p.m. to midnight to bring the space together.<\/p>\n

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\"\"A large piece from the late artist El Toro sits in the middle of the outdoor space. (Julia Binswanger\/ Billy Penn)<\/p>\n

\u201cI just like to do this,\u201d he said. \u201cThis all comes from the heart of a couple people. We\u2019re a pack of strays, and we\u2019re gonna keep doing it, and doing it, and doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Right in the middle of the space is a large piece from the late artist El Toro<\/a>, who passed away last March.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Different generations of street artists attended Platform X\u2019s opening night.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Old school legends like Darryl McCray<\/a>, also known as Cornbread, were at the show with a merch table \u2014 inviting people to chat and pick up a signed t-shirt. Eddie Kes, also known as RESSINBLOOD<\/a>, was selling original comic books and toy figurines.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cThese guys really know how to put an event together,\u201d Darryl \u201cCornbread\u201d McCray said of Friday\u2019s opening. (Julia Binswanger\/ Billy Penn)<\/p>\n

A few artists were even selling their own bootleg merchandise.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI make bootleg cultured stuff,\u201d said artist Yunk. \u201cYou know the Grateful Dead? I have a bootleg brand called Laughing Dead\u2026\u00a0 I got 10 buck shirts right here. Step Outside bootleg shirts, they let me do it, because they know what\u2019s up.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the night wore on, it became clear that the show was not only serving as an art exhibition, but also a real community space for street artists.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat Step Outside does is very special. It brings a safe space for people that are usually, I feel like, pretty fringe in society to come together and share ideas,\u201d Yunk said. \u201cTattooed Mom, the bar in South Street, is a good place that harvests the same energy, and this is just another third location for everyone to come together and express ideas and share art.\u201d<\/p>\n

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