Words and photos by Streets Dept Editor Conrad Benner.

If you’ve walked around Old City in the last week, you might have noticed something new on Independence Mall, along Arch Street between 5th and 6th Streets.

From afar, you see a staged glass room. Another park Starbucks? Rest assured–it is not. At night, the room is brightly illuminated in a cold white light, making it especially curious for passersby. Moths to the art flame for the post-dinner Old City crowd. Looking more closely, there appears to be something in the room–human shapes become clearer. Closer still and you realize that these figures are formed by stacks of paper.

What you’re seeing is a new, temporary public art installation that’s advocating for the rights of those with criminal records.

Titled Waiting Workforce, the artwork, which will be up for the next few weeks, was commissioned by JPMorgan Chase (of all people) and created by Australia-based arts collective The Glue Society. Its goal: to inspire people to fight for Clean Slate laws in their home state.

According to The Clean Slate Initiative, Clean Slate laws “automatically clear eligible records for people who have completed their sentence and remained crime-free, and expands who is eligible for clearance.”

This is something that effects tens of millions of people across the country. And while certainly not everyone who has had a criminal record has been incarcerated–don’t forget that the U.S. incarcerates a larger share of its population than any other country. (Source: Pew Research Center)

“One in three Americans has a criminal record,” the artwork’s plaque reads. “And even when they’ve served their sentences, they still face significant barriers in their search for meaningful employment.”

While I was initially confused why a financial institution would directly commission art like this, the second paragraph of their project plaque reminds us that, in addition to humanitarian concerns, maintaining this bureaucratic status quo also hurts the economy: “As they wait to rejoin the workforce, the complex paperwork needed to clear their records keeps those millions of people from fully contributing to society-and costs the U.S. up to $87 billion a year in missed economic opportunity.” Everyone has their angle, I guess. Nevertheless, the objective here is admirable.

I will engage in one point of criticism, however: if JPMorgan is so invested in the U.S. economy, I might have expected them to commission U.S.-based artists. Even Philly-based artists, if the project was always going to debut here.

“We used this paperwork to create 38 statues, representing each state that hasn’t yet enacted Clean Slate legislation,” their plaque concludes. Adding that they chose Pennsylvania as the site for this artwork in recognition of the fact that PA was the first state to pass Clean Slate legislation in 2018.

In front of the National Constitution Center and steps away from the Visitor’s Center and Independence Hall in the heart of our city’s tourist-hub-for-the-history-focused, this artwork’s prime location will ensure many eyes see it.

This site has been used before for art projects highlighting the struggles of other folks who’ve had criminal records. In this case, incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals: A 2022 project called End The Exception used public art to talk about the 13th Amendment and the horrific conditions of modern-day slave labor in the U.S. prison system. You can see a Streets Dept video about that installation on our Instagram here.