People’s Budget Office at Love park

The People’s Budget Office at LOVE Park is an interactive public art installation that brings the city’s budgeting process into a highly visible public space.

Housed in a retrofitted shipping container, it serves as a civic hub where residents can learn how public funds are allocated, share their priorities, and advocate for a more just and equitable distribution of resources.

Through printed materials, live discussions, and streamed council hearings, the People’s Budget Office works to demystify the city budget and empower Philadelphians to take an active role in shaping it. Resident artists contribute creative interpretations of budget-related issues, exploring topics such as libraries, illegal dumping, art in schools, alternatives to incarceration, and harm reduction.

The space hosts regular events, including workshops, panels, screenings, and office hours led by community organizations and City Council.

By making the budgeting process public, transparent, and participatory, the People’s Budget Office invites residents to imagine and advocate for a city budget that reflects the needs of all Philadelphians.

Open Hours

April 18–June 12

1–4pm Weds

12–6pm Thu & Fri

1–4pm Saturday

Programs at Love Park

  • Philly is already experiencing a climate crisis - and all over the city, people are working hard to support the resilience of our neighbors, gardens, air, and water. 

    “Clean and Green” is a budget priority, but there is so much more to environmental justice and climate resilience than cleaning up litter. What does climate resilience mean to you? Which Philly plants, animals, and nature spots are important to you? What is being done to preserve and protect them? 

    Come and make sun prints with Ro Adler, one of the 2025 People’s Budget Office artist-in-residence.

  • Join artist Lily Xie to reimagine the police budget at the Budget Office. Lily has been researching the budget for police uniforms and equipment and reimagining an abolitionist set of tools for real "public safety". Come to this event to design an alternative safety uniform and share how you think the Philadelphia police budget should be reallocated to turn Philly into "the safest big city in the nation."

  • Design a fully funded city with us! Screen print your own t-shirt or tote bag with artist Alice Thompson, then decorate it with your funding priorities.   

  • Safety means a variety of things to people across Philadelphia. Artist in Residence, Aaron Brokenbough wants to know “What does a safe Philly mean to you?

    Join us for a creative workshop where you can contribute to a larger video project about public safety.  Whether it’s more community centers, less policing, cleaner streets, or something deeply personal, your story belongs here.

  • Utopian Interiors will be a cyanotype workshop where participants create sun-prints using domestic and architectural imagery to build depictions of ideal interiors for the present and future. Utilizing an almost 200 year old photography process that develops using UV rays, participants will cut and collage transparencies showcasing a range of images from vernacular interiors and exteriors. Considering issues of affordable housing, this experience will help participants envision how themes of housing justice impact our interior lives and landscapes.