Our Market Project illuminates the immigrant spirit of Philly’s Italian Market

Walk through the Italian Market with Our Market Project, and you’re not just browsing popular food stands — you’re stepping into generations of immigrant stories etched into every block.

The community-driven arts initiative, led by visual artist Michelle Angela Ortiz, transforms the Market into a living archive, blending oral histories, murals, and immersive tours that highlight the resilience of the families who built and sustained the South Philadelphia landmark.

Family legacy in the Market

Our Market Project, a community-driven arts revitalization initiative, has been servicing the City of Brotherly Love with a variety of creative experiences since 2019. But really, it’s been a 55-year investment for Ortiz’s family.

The visual artist has 25 years of experience working in communities and utilizing public art as a way to amplify “the existing voices and the existing power of the community.” The Project was conceived specifically as a way to invest in the South 9th Street Curb Market, or what’s popularly known as the Italian Market. But her inspiration for this organization and its mission began almost six decades ago (before she was born) when her mother made her move to this bustling part of Philly.

“My mother immigrated and left her small hometown in Colombia to be in this small hometown of South Philadelphia and the Market. The Market has been a place that my mother worked [in] for 25 years and placed a lot of emotional and physical labor in this space,” Ortiz explains.

Our Market Project — Michelle Angela Ortiz is shown.Nathan Venzara

“She worked for the Giordano family, which unfortunately, recently sold their store after 124 years of being a staple business in the Market,” Ortiz continues. “She worked with many of the different generations of the Giordano’s during her time there. And so that’s part of my story and part of my connection in terms of Our Market being a way to invest back into a community that has really been part of my foundation. It’s my home. It’s where I was born and raised. I’ve lived in this community for my entire life, for 40-plus years.”

Heart of the community

Our Market showcases the role this area of the city plays as a vibrant hub of immigrant entrepreneurship and connection through multiple immersive opportunities.

“I started having conversations with the different community members to begin to see if Our Market Project and these ideas that I was starting to develop would be something that would serve its purpose,” Ortiz says. “Our Market came at a time when there were a lot of people who were divided and were in a sense trying to survive. With these conversations, with these gatherings that we continue to do, and not just in the beginning of the project, but we’ve also facilitated story circles. It was all really a way of bringing people together.”

The offerings of Our Market currently spans 80+ oral histories, murals, light boxes, renovated market stands and in depth tours— with the latter holding sessions now through November.

“The tour is a way of being able to combine both historical facts and fill in the gaps where communities have not been represented with present-day stories,” Ortiz said. “That is our way of being able to share a more authentic representation of this Market, but specifically not on the superficial level around food or Rocky or cheesesteaks. It’s really about a community that has been very resilient.”

On the tour, participants will hear about immigrant families that overcame discrimination spanning the Italian, Irish, Jewish, Lebanese, African-American, Southeast Asian, Mexican, Central American and South American communities.

“The Market has always been a place that has allowed for these different groups to come in and really work towards their dreams. I share with people that my mother worked so hard in order for me to realize my dream as an artist. And so I’m utilizing my skills as an artist, as a community educator and as someone who is a creative, to invest back into my community,” Ortiz explains.

History comes alive

Every aspect of the work that Our Market Project does is meant to evoke conversation. From the tidbits you learn on the tour, to the murals representing Market ancestors in once-bland spaces, to the revitalization of produce stands to preserve a 100-year-old tradition that’s existed as the visual character of the area.

The tour — which was developed in partnership with Beyond the Bell Tours — features 30 stops with stories about Anthony Palumbo, an Italian immigrant who owned a boarding house and provided shelter, food and work before opening up his famous banquet hall; or the Mighty Writers who provide literacy programs for children of immigrants; or a subsection of the space on Washington Avenue now being impacted with gentrification by turning produce stands into parking spaces.

“What makes our tours really different is that we’re talking about. We’re not shying away from the struggles and some of the challenges that exist in the Market… but we also are speaking to the beauty and the power and the treasures of the Market,” says Ortiz. “The tour script itself started with conversations with different community members in which we discussed how do we want people to enter into our space? What are the stories that we feel are missing? How can these tours benefit the small businesses?”

The tour experience is led by three highly-experienced guides, one of whom is 18 years old (Alma), and the daughter of Mexican immigrants who run a fish store in the Market.

“When she’s giving the tours, people know who she is because they’ve known her since she was a little baby — just the same as me,” Ortiz said.

Additionally, attendees can download and use Our Market’s free digital tour app to bring historical images and first-hand community stories to life through video. It’s an immersive way to peek into the past and see what was happening throughout history in certain spots of the area, much of which many people walk over every single day.

Immigrant stories shine bright

The tours will also be part of Philadelphia’s 250th celebrations in 2026. There’s also options to schedule private tours, or for those who can’t afford it, ways to reach out and request pay-what-you-can options. But this year, there are a few more dates to jump in on including Sept. 6 (10 a.m.), Oct. 4 (10 a.m.) and Nov. 1 (10 a.m.).

There are also a few special activations to check out: A Day of the Dead themed version on Nov. 2 (10 a.m., plus a Spanish version at 2 p.m.), and the Light Festival on Nov. 8 and 9. With the latter, Ortiz was one of a few artists that were awarded a grant from the The Hearthland Foundation founded by Steven Spielberg and his wife, Kate Capshaw to complete this project.

“We are in production of those light installations that will showcase different immigrant stories along the Market. These light installations will be in these different spaces, and we’re trying to work with some of the restaurants and produce vendors to be open in the evening,” Ortiz explains. “People will be able to not just look at the light installations, but actually walk through and see either historical images or present day stories and also support some of the businesses that are open in the evening.”

Philadelphians and beyond can get a feel for Our Market Project’s mission just by visiting it’s site, which features over 70 stories collected from neighbors, business owners or people that come and shop in the market. There’s also a full breakdown on where to find the different artwork in the area from the organization, and of course, ways to book your tour.

“We’re reminding our present day people in the Market that we come from ancestors that have also faced struggles but have survived. We can we learn from them, especially in this current climate that we are in which has seen the presence of ICE in the Market several times already,” Ortiz finishes. “The tours have been an opportunity to be able to make those connections within our community. But on the outside, having folks come in and really see the Market in a very different way…that’s more of a deeper-rooted perspective, and I think we’re really able to achieve that in this space and through our tours.”

To find out more information on Our Market Project and book your tour, visit ourmarketproject.com