Phoebe Bachman
Phoebe Bachman (she/they) is an artist, facilitator, and curator based in South Philadelphia. Their interdisciplinary work amplifies ongoing acts of resistance, centering economic and criminal justice. Using methods like mapping, collage, installation, and popular education, they aim to make complex systems tangible and participatory.
Bachman has led and contributed to major projects including People’s Budget Office (2021–present), a public art initiative reimagining Philadelphia’s city budget; Moon in Venus, a project dedicated to supporting women facing financial stress in Liverpool (2020-2022), and End the Exception (2020–2024), a multi-disciplinary project advocating for the end of the 13th Amendment’s exception clause.
Bachman holds a BFA from Tyler School of Art, Temple University, and an MA from the Center for Research Architecture at Goldsmiths College, University of London. They are a member of Urban Front, a transnational cooperative consultancy, Rising Wing, a Philadelphia-based arts network, and the Philadelphia Revenue Project.
They have worked with institutions such as Mural Arts Philadelphia, The Free Library of Philadelphia, Worth Rises (New York), Anti-Recidivism Coalition (Los Angeles), Arts for Healing and Justice Network (Los Angeles), BAK (Utrecht), Energy Peace Partners, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Creative Time (New York).
Awarded Grants
2025
Art and Change Grant (ACG)
Related grantees
Overview
Phoebe Bachman and Christina Morton’s project will reimagine the “go-bag” – a core tool of disaster preparedness. In collaboration with Color Me Back and Broad Street Love, they will host workshops with individuals experiencing housing insecurity to co-create a go-bag prototype that reflects lived experience and need. Participants will develop moodboards and design concepts for their ideal bags, which will then be prototyped using upcycled and salvaged materials with support from The Menders, a volunteer group that repairs clothing at Broad Street Love. Through this participatory design process, the project will uplift unhoused and housing-insecure Philadelphians, reframing the go-bag as both a practical tool and a collective meditation on preparedness and care in uncertain times.