Start A Gang

Art Collectives

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Cadres

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Creative Coalitions

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Art Collectives - - Cadres - - Creative Coalitions - -

The energy is dying down. Outside it’s slow. Everybody is bored, to the point of depression. The city is starting to feel like zombie land. People walking in circles, puppeted around by dead traditions. There’s no new art styles on the walls. There’s not enough fresh color in the street. The fire is dying out.

It can be lit up again. You could do it now, and if you get up and move, before everybody else figures it out, you could gain some fame, and make a name for yourself.

Spark The Culture

Bring the city back to life. Start a Gang. Or an Art Collective or a Creative Coalition. Whatever you call it, get a crew of creative people, who can make art, and put it into the street. Hurry up though, before we beat you to it.

-Yada

Step 1: Find Some Friends

Because the world is not your friend

You can start alone, but it’s better to find some friends. Having a few people who are dedicated will keep you moving forward. When the gang gets a little success or attention, the momentum will take care of itself. But when things are slow in the beginning, having partners is useful in keeping the energy high.

Try to find at least one other person. Look for someone smart. Someone with a few creatives skills, in either writing, or art, or music. It helps if they’re frustrated with the world. If you partner with someone okay with things as they are, they will flake out on you the moment you hit a challenge. So find someone frustrated, discontent and a little anti-social.

Step 2: Pick A Neighborhood

Headquarters for Research & Development

There are 150 neighborhoods in Philly. Some have cafes and coffee shops. Some have abandon buildings. Tour around the city. Pay attention to the buildings and the people. Pick a neighborhood that looks cool. Somewhere where you can feel comfortable and find like minded people. A lot of the more gentrified neighborhood will put pressure on you if you’re an oustider. The pressure fades with time. The hoods in Philly might be scary if you’re an outsider. Nobody is trying to hurt you. If the neighborhood seems cool, if the people seem diverse and open to new ideas, choose that place to focus on. After you pick a neighborhood, pick a place where the gang can meet up.

A gang with some creative energy can inspire a neighborhood. If your team has style, you can light up a community. Not immediately, but people will come to appreciate you. Everybody in the city is desperate for fresh energy.

Step 3: Name the Gang

Make a name for yourself

Every gang needs a name. It’s how people will recognize you. But make sure the name you choose has some realtionship to the name of the neighborhood. If you pick Strawbery Mansion, you could be The Lords, because lords live in mansions. If you’re in Hunting Park you might be the Wild Foxes. Who doesn’t love a fox. We’re in Fishtown. We go by Pirate Radio

Whatever your name is make sure it has some connection to the name of the neighborhood.

Step 4: Create A Symbol

Do Not Make Your Symbol Pink

The symbol you choose for your gang should be based on the neighborhood name and the gang name. For example if you’re The Lords from Strawbery Mansion, you might choose a red crown or the king of hearts as your symbol. If you’re the Wild Foxes coming out of Hunting Park, you might pick a red fox as your symbol. Once you decide what your symbol is going to be you need someone to draw it up for you.

There are a few ways to get a symbol made. If you have an artist on the team you can ask them. Or you can commission an artist on instagram. If you’re broke ( since your gang is brand new, you’re prolly broke ) you can find a symbol that’s already made on the internet. The noun project is a good place to find one

Step 5: Build a Reputation

Graffiti is an American tradition

At this point you should have a name and a symbol. The next steps is to spread the name and the symbol around the neighborhood. The most traditional way to do this is through graffiti. When you’re first starting out concentrate your effort in the neighborhood. If you’re good, or you have an artist on the team, you can free hand on a wall. If you don’t have an artist, get a Stencil made. We get ours through this website. After you have your stencil get some paint. Then get busy.

Graffiti is in a legal grey area, but Philly cops do not care. If a cop does catch you painting, you can either run or lie. “Sorry officer, it won’t happen again” usually works. Take the night off, then get back to it.

People living in the neighborhood might be more of a problem. When you start putting up your name and symbol, try to avoid homes and independently owned business ( papi stores, pizza shops, Philly owned restaurants ). I can not legally say Starbucks is a good place for graffiti. I can not legally say Rite Aid is a good place for graffiti, so I won’t say those places are definitely good for graffiti.

Building a reputation is the hardest part. If you only put your name and symbol in a few places, nobody will care. You have to operate in the hundreds and the thousands. When you have your symbol in that many spots people will notice you. When your symbol gets famous, make some patches, or put it on a skateboard. If your name is decent and the symbol is stylish, you can fund the gang this way, and move on to larger projects.

Step 6: Promote the Neighborhood 

And they’ll promote you

After you’ve put your name and symbol all over the neighborhood, the next step is to start promoting the community. Help the neighborhood as a whole gain a reputation. You do this by making art based around the community.

Make a song about a street in the neighborhood. Shoot a skate video in front of your favorite shop. Make paintings out of places you like to hang out. Interview or photograph some people walking around. We made a map of the neighborhood. We’re about to make a magazine.

If you can do this part well, if you can make great music about the neighborhood or decent art, or videos, then the neighborhood will support you. It might take a minute, almost everyone is in zombie mode and it takes a second wake them up, but eventually they will appreciate you.

Step 7: Fly Away

Passports for the Gang

By this step your gang has a reputation. You’ve painted your name all over the neighborhood, and people recognize it. You’ve made art out of the neighborhood and the community appreciate’s it. The gangs status is rising and so is the neighborhoods. The last thing to do is start traveling. Take a trip to a new city and put the neighborhood symbol up there. Buy passports for the gang and spread your name across the world. Remind them you got started in Philly.