In Philadelphia, when it’s time to eat, what do you do? Head to the farmer’s market? Go to the grocery store? Get takeout? For some people, there isn’t really a lengthy list of options, and oftentimes the so-called ‘food deserts’ of North Philly and elsewhere provide only scant choices. The most prevalent of these is, of course, the far flung and generally maligned ‘corner store’ at which customers purchase food from behind a perforated wall of Plexiglas.

Artists Keir Johnston and Ernel Martinez of Amber Art and Design set out to bridge the cultural divides among ethnic groups by utilizing these staples of lower-class neighborhoods as vehicles for understanding and worthwhile exchange rather than merely transactions. Working at Amber Art and Design, the pair regularly find themselves stopping by local shops for a snack. Thanks to these encounters, they were able to begin a dialogue about what these locales and interactions really mean to individuals and communities throughout the city. These conversations ultimately led to their project, “Corner Store (Take-Out Stories),” which is currently on display at Asian Arts Initiative, a Knight Arts grantee.

Ernel Martinez and Keir Johnston in their handmade ‘corner stores.’ Photo by Linda Fernandez

The “Corner Store” collaboration, which also includes exhibition coordinator Katherine Shozawa, is an interdisciplinary exploration of the dynamics between customers and owners of these establishments. It exists in multiple phases, the first of which is simply opening up a discussion from “both sides of the glass” about the experiences of shoppers and salespeople in environments that don’t necessarily foster positive relationships. By interviewing shop owners and neighborhood residents, the artists set out to compile a new survey of immigrant-owned businesses and the people who frequent them.

On First Friday, Johnston and Martinez were set up in the Asian Arts Initiative gallery space surrounded first by large photographs and video footage of their artistic excursion, but more directly by the portable storefront capsules they constructed for themselves and then rolled across the city.

Martinez and Johnston roll their structures across town to Asian Arts Initiative. Photo by Linda Fernandez

Separated from visitors by transparent boundaries both actual and perceived – windows, bags of chips, glowing signs, cigarette packs and wooden frameworks– the pair shook hands through tiny slots, and had to constantly repeat themselves to be heard through their surroundings. This small exchange was entertaining at times, and frustrating at others, highlighting all of the problems and possibilities inherent in such a social setting.

Keir Johnston inside his storefront at the opening on First Friday.

Working with local youth is another major component of the project, and “Corner Store” collaborates directly with the Asian Arts Initiative’s Youth Arts Workshop (YAW) in order to build their own stores through woodworking, painting, sculpting and photographing the process. They are then able to perform acts of commerce in the structures they made, giving them firsthand knowledge of what it is like to run a business and interact with a range of people in challenging new ways.

A collage of Philadelphia made out of corner store product packaging.

For the show at Asian Arts, the YAW students also acted as a documentary video team, filming the progress and participating in Chinese take-out/corner store walking tours. In this way, they are able to expand their definitions of what art can be, while simultaneously engaging the community firsthand and learning from the neighbors with which they share their city.

There is no doubt that “Corner Store (Take-Out Stories)” offers people from all walks of life some insight about the people and places we regularly encounter and just as readily take for granted. With a broad scope and a powerful message, the artists offer each of us a new perspective on ourselves, our city, and the people that make it tick.

Be sure to catch the “Corner Store (Take-Out Stories)” exhibit at Asian Arts Initiative through August 22.

Asian Arts Initiative is located at 1219 Vine St., Philadelphia; [email protected]; asianartsinitiative.org.