Philippa Pham Hughes is a Social Sculptor, Cultural Strategist, Curator, Visiting Fellow at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins, and Visiting Artist For Art & Civic Engagement at the University of Michigan Museum of Art. She applies relational thinking and an aesthetic of care and delight to her work in democracy building, civic engagement, and repairing the social fabric of our country one creative conversation at a time. Philippa draws from the arts and humanities to design spaces for honest conversations across political, social, and cultural differences. She has produced hundreds of creative activations since 2007 for people who might not normally meet to engage with one another in unconventional and meaningful ways. She also curates multi-disciplinary art exhibits & experiences. These relational experiences build social capital, social cohesion, and social discourse. She is a curious and lateral thinker whose multi-disciplinary practice is informed by sociology, psychology, philosophy, political science, history, community organizing, design thinking, creative placemaking, art, and humanities. Philippa has spoken internationally, including SXSW, TEDxAmericanUniversity, Placemaking Week Amsterdam, University of Michigan's Penny Stamps Speaker Series, Fort Worth Women's Policy Forum. Her work has been featured by artnet, CNN, PBS Newshour, CityLab, and The Washington Post. Philippa’s mission: to create a society in which all humans flourish.

A few things she has written:

  • “Like All Americans Stories, Mine Is Complicated,” Washington Monthly, June 3, 2021.

  • “What Four Years Of Dining With Trump Supporters Taught Me About Polarization,” GEN, January 21, 2021.

  • “My Cousin Runs ICE. He’s Killing the Same American Dream Granted to His Own Parents,” GEN, November 3, 2020.

  • “Want to Bridge Divides? Start With a Blueberry and Cherry Crisp,” CNN Opinion, December 6, 2019.

  • “Community Conversations: Bringing People Together,” Siouxland Magazine, July 3, 2019.

  • "Regrets of An Accidental Placemaker," Shelterforce, June 19, 2018.

A few talks she has given:

“The energy in the room was powerful, and the attendee ratings were unanimously enthusiastic. Your thoughtful remarks were an important part of this event. We are confident that your participation will have tangible results in future support of the arts.”
— Karen Myers and Kendal Lake Smith, Fort Worth Women's Policy Forum

A few creative projects she has imagined and produced: 

  • We Should Talk: The Greatest Poem: The Greatest Poem is the first in a series of multi-media art installations and programs called We Should Talk in which multi-disciplinary Asian American women artists create space to explore the nuances and complexities of what it means to be an Asian American woman. We Should Talk is led by curator and artist Philippa Pham Hughes and artists Xena Ni and Adele 이슬 Kenworthy. We apply an aesthetic of care and delight to creating relational spaces in which we share deeply and honestly, learn from one another, explore, and grow together. The Greatest Poem features the paintings and poetry of Thu Anh Nguyễn, a short, animated film produced by Philippa Pham Hughes called The Greatest Poem, and expressions of Asian American identity from AAPI women across the country that have been turned into found poems by Thu Anh.

“The poems were magic — I think three times they made me turn to a stranger or someone I had just met (or drove them to turn to me) and dive into deep personal conversations about our journeys as AAPI women, and the tools and support systems that empower us to redefine ourselves. Such a powerful demonstration of how sharing our stories can create thought-provoking and inspiring connections.”
— Ayeh Bandeh-Ahmadi

  • Hey, We Need To Talk In partnership with the Ann Arbor City Clerk’s Office, the Creative Campus Voting Project is collaborating with UMMA to turn your art museum into an election hub — register to vote, get your ballot, access voting resources, and celebrate participation. In addition, visiting artist Philippa Hughes will host a dynamic and deeply engaging series of experimental social events across UMMA’s galleries, creating space for authentic and honest conversations between politically diverse people.

  • Treehouse Treehouse invites the viewer into a space of beauty that encourages us to wonder about the world and each other. Imagine a world in which we all can flourish, and are connected to nature and one another. This multisensory, collaborative installation is a portal for reflection, reconnection, remembrance and dialogue.

  • Blueberries and Cherries blueberries + cherries invites politically diverse guests to break bread and talk to each other face-to-face over a home cooked meal. the goal: to understand the things that influence our votes and to find ways to bridge the vast ideological gap that plagues our country. we engage in civil discourse that is unfiltered by the lens of political punditry and by the anonymity and bias of social media.

  • Looking For America How do different communities—in the Midwest, at the border, in cities and in rural areas—answer that question? Across the United States, we’re inviting local artists and community members of all backgrounds and political stripes to come together to share their stories and perspectives. 

  • Hello, Neighbor! Video portraits capturing the spirit of the Southwest neighborhood through storytelling and memory sharing.

  • A (GOOD) AMERICAN Art exhibit in which seven artists examined the immigrant experience in America and examined what it means to be a good American. The artists used the interior and exterior spaces of the Heurich House Museum, the historic home of 19th century German immigrant Christian Heurich, as backdrop and inspiration.

  • The Van Ness Social Club A new-fashioned town square and social gathering where millennial and elderly neighbors can get to know each other in dance and unexpected social interaction.

  • IF YOU LIVED HERE An interactive, site-specific installation that explores the meaning of home through personal reflection and within historical and archaeological context.

  • Us + Them = U.S. Finding Common Ground In a Divided Nation A co-curated visual response to the division our country faces, in which artists and activists examine and investigate our nation’s current political and cultural rift and explore how we can find a collective understanding through contemporary art-making methods

  • SEE/CHANGE Temporary creative pacemaking video art and community engagement project that put a human face on how population change and revitalization are affecting the Park View and Pleasant Plains neighborhoods of lower Georgia Avenue.

  • Supernova International performance art festival over three days throughout the streets and underused spaces of Rosslyn, Virginia.

  • LUMEN8Anacostia Temporary arts and culture festival in underutilized spaces.

  • Cherry Blast I, II, III, IV, and V Annual alternative, multi-media art and music events in raw spaces throughout DC. An official event of the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

  • White Party Art, dance, games, and technology in an interactive experience at The Phillips Collection.

  • North Capitol Main Street Art Walk Summer-long showcase of sculptures placed in front yards of residences along a main street in the Bloomingdale neighborhood.

  • ZestFest Pop-up performing arts sidewalk festival over 10 days.

“That was amazing! What an unconventional, sideways (meant in the best way), innovative way to get people to connect.”
— Erica Jin

Some press about her projects:

  • Peabody Magazine: Democracy and the Arts, “STRENGTHENING DEMOCRACY ONE CONVERSATION AT A TIME,” Mazy Zajac, Fall 2023

  • Artnet, “Artist Philippa Pham Hughes’s Latest Work is a Massive Dinner Party Bringing Conservatives and Liberals Together Ahead of the Midterm Elections, November 2, 2022.

  • The Washington Post, “Across the country, liberals and conservatives are coming together at moderated dinners to understand each other better," Leigh Giangreco, February 24, 2020.

  • CNN, “How to heal America’s fracture," Yaffa Frederick, November 2019.

  • El Paso Herald-Post, “El Paso Museum of History, national partners to host ‘Looking for America: El Paso,” October 9, 2019.

  • Siouxland News, “An art exhibition has Siouxlanders talking about what being American means to them," September 30, 2019.

  • Sioux City Journal, “New exhibit at Betty Strong encourages dialogue on what it means to be American," September 29, 2019.

  • Crude Magazine, “Crude Conversations with Philippa Hughes,” September 26, 2019.

  • Salt Lake Tribune, “Listening to each other will make us more civil," September 18, 2019.

  • Kojo Nnamdi Show, “Kojo Roadshow: How Gentrification Affects The Arts In The D.C. Region,” March 31, 2019.

  • Kojo Nnamdi Show, “Belonging, Civility, Ugh: What Happens When Commonly Held Ideals Backfire," November 20, 2018.

  • CityLab, “Encouraging Neighbors to See Eye To Eye,” Jessica Leigh Hester, November 17, 2016.

  • Bmore Art, "US + THEM = U.S.: Finding Common Ground In a Divided Nation," Michael Iacovone, February 9, 2017.

A few panels & podcasts she has joined:

A few honors she has been granted:

  • Friedrich Ebert Foundation Media Fellow.

  • DC Humanities Council, Distinguished Service to Humanities Award.

  • Aspen Ideas Festival Scholar.

  • Washington City Paper Best Arts Blog.

  • The Washington Post’s Favorite D.C. Arts Tweeter.

Affiliations: