River River River is an interactive outdoor installation that features graphics and text translations of the word “river” in many languages. Like the Delaware River with its changing tides and colors, the sculpture is ever shifting, transforming at the hands of both visitors and the elements. Find photos, videos, and stories from Shira’s residency on display in the Main House.

Walisnky hosted four community events at Glen Foerd, welcoming an ELS class of Ukrainian language speakers to explore the river, gardens, trees, and historical buildings. Youth form the PA Migrant Education Program (MEP) enjoyed kayaking on the Delaware River, and participated in a haiku workshop. A group of Karen Burmese visitors made a fusion meal of pizza and Burmese food in Glen Foerd’s kitchen.

Walinsky strives to create innovative projects which elevate the resilience of immigrant and refugee stories. “River River River” is a radical welcome to immigrant and refugee communities of Northeast Philadelphia created in response to questions of equity and access, and which invites a sense of belonging within Glen Foerd’s natural landscape along the Delaware River. Walinsky explains “We talk about building bridges, We talk about people who are bridge builders, but what I learned from this residency is that the river itself is the bridge, The river connects us.”

Glen Foerd’s 2024 Artist in Residence, Shira Walinsky, is an interdisciplinary artist and teacher. Her work centers on people and places in the City of Philadelphia. She has worked in Philadelphia for 20 years on murals, paintings, photography, films and other public participatory projects. The map can be a portrait of places, and the face a map of our experiences. She is interested in how the vibrant and the sensory can amplify the stories of people and place. This manifests in bus wraps, films, photography, painting and murals. In 2012 she co-founded Southeast by Southeast with Mural Arts Philadelphia. Southeast by Southeast is a community space co-created with social workers and artists and community leaders for and with refugee and immigrant communities. Shira strives to create innovative projects which elevate the resilience of immigrant and refugee stories. She currently co-teaches in Philadelphia with Mural Arts Executive Director, Jane Golden, at the University of Pennsylvania.