I Am Glad You Are Here is an ongoing art and language project promoting mindfulness and gratitude through creative expression. Beginning in 2008, as a gratitude postcard project, I Am Glad You Are Here has grown into a broader community initiative.

Postcards and journals inspired by the original project are now sold locally in Philadelphia and online, with all proceeds supporting free and low-cost community-based art and language workshops throughout the city.

Over the years, I Am Glad You Are Here has evolved into an umbrella organization that includes ArtZine, a youth-centered art and language workshop series, rooted in mindful self expression, are held in bookstores and libraries and designed for young people and their families. And in 2025, the project expanded further to launch Penpals for Palestine!, an international, experimental art and correspondence exchange connecting youth in Philadelphia with youth in Palestine through postcards, zines, and shared creative dialogue.

We are also thrilled to announce the upcoming opening of our physical headquarters: the Penpals for Palestine! Clubhouse + ArtZine Workshop and Children's Community Library, located in Olde Kensington, Philadelphia , Pa 19122. This space will serve as a creative hub for children and their families, to connect through art, language, and solidarity.

iamgladyouarehere.org
www.instagram.com/iam_gladyouarehere/

Penpals for Palestine! is an experimental correspondence art exchange highlighting the voices of the youth of Philly and the youth of Jericho. Our approach to this project is rooted in bridging communities through mindful self expression and providing tactile learning environments. We aim to foster agency, self awareness and community centered in art and language.

Use mindfulness as a lens through which to explore eco friendly printmaking, book arts, collage, ephemeral graffiti and different forms of writing.

An ArtZine is an independently made publication that follows a do-it-yourself philosophy emphasizing expression and connection over exploitation and alienation.

We discuss: What is an ArtZine and why do we want to make them? What can your art contribute to your community?

+Zines are a tool for irl communication and creating personal connection

+Explore personal identity using image and text

+Consider historically how the invention of printmaking has contributed to social change, what unique point of view can you contribute to civic discourse?

+Strengthen community bonds through group mindfulness drawing and writing exercises, consider taking this workshop with a partner/friend/family member!

+Make beautiful gifts for your loved ones
follow curiosity

The Head & The Hand (H&H) is a nonprofit independent publisher and community bookstore based in the Kensington/Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia.
As a nonprofit arts organization, H&H is committed to serving as a launchpad for the next generation of local writers and growing as our neighborhood’s sole independent bookstore and publisher duo. Our mission is to create innovative relationships between local authors and their audiences. We publish and stock writing with the power to spark change and entertain.

The Nava Center Center is an inclusive, accessible trauma based therapy and antiracism center located in Philadelphia with tele health services.

What does Nava mean?

We chose this name because we do not want people to just "survive" or "exist"- we want people to thrive and flourish. Nava means "she flourishes" in Hebrew.

What is trauma?

Trauma is complicated and can be many things. We do not define trauma for anyone. Trauma can be experiencing abuse of any form. It can be experiencing racism and "micro"aggressions. Trauma can be neglect. It can be loss. Trauma does not need to define a person and the negative impacts of trauma do not need to last forever.

Big Ramp is a contemporary art gallery located in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded by four artists and two art historians, we are an alternative model artist-run gallery and studio space with the mission of providing a platform for experimentation, collaboration, and community building for artists, writers, musicians and dancers (regardless of career level) to explore experimental works that might not fit into a traditional exhibition format. We elevate community over profit.

In addition to our exhibitions, Big Ramp is committed to providing free and inclusive programming that draws upon the work in our exhibitions to develop innovative educational community art making events with the intention of connecting, block by block, with our neighbors in hopes of creating a bridges (or ramps) between local and international artists and Philadelphians at large.

bigrampphilly@gmail.com
www.instagram.com/bigrampphilly/

Information (Info) is an artist-run gallery and event space in Kensington, Philadelphia. Started in 2019, we provide a platform for emerging and established artists to showcase their work in a supportive environment. Always encouraging artists to blur the line between studio and gallery, challenge the conventional, and push the boundaries of their creativity. We believe that experimentation finds new depths of intrigue within the structured confines of a gallery space, and it is our mission to celebrate and champion such innovative expressions.