Displays of plans, sketches, photographs and models rarely make one's pulse race because they can only represent ideas and expectations. They lack blood and muscle. The installation of angled partitions creates an inviting pathway through the show. Besides a large site photograph by Abbott, a typical niche might include a model of the proposed artwork, drawings, diagrams and even archival photographs that relate that project to the community it addresses. The designers might have left out the several mural-scale photos, which don't add anything contextually but do make the installation feel overstuffed.
Multiculturalism is another obvious characteristic.
There are projects in African American neighborhoods with black artists and in Latino neighborhoods with Latino artists. The artists doing projects with an Asian flavor are both Asian American. Most of the projects involve sites outside Center City - not surprising, given the program's altruistic objectives. Every project tells a story. The multiple narrative threads engage one's interest even when the art proposals don't.