Four years in the making (sort of) Hidden City returns to the festival world with the much anticipated 2013 Hidden City Philadelphia Festival (May 23–June 30), which “celebrates the power of place through the imagination of contemporary artists, inspiring people to explore the city’s history and imagine new futures for our urban landscape.”

Creative director Lee Tusman has curated 10 projects ranging from participatory social experiments, such as Jacob Wick’s government offices for an imaginary “Free Germantown” create inside Germantown Town Hall, to massive sculptural installations by Rabid Hands and  Dufala Brothers. Other featured artists and collectives include Camp Little Hope, King Britt, Data Garden, Ars Nova Workshop, Ben Neiditz and Zach Webber, Andrew Dahlgren, and Ruth Scott.

What sites have they chosen this year? Let’s take a peek! (To get the full skinny browse the site for more photos and history of the sites.)

Photo: Peter Woodall

Germantown Town Hall, 5928 Germantown Ave. In a comic book, someone would crash through that ceiling.

Photo: Joseph E.B. Elliott

John Grass Wood Turning Company, 146 North 2nd Street. The man had wood  on the brain.

More sites after the jump!

Athenaeum of Philadelphia, 219 South 6th Street. A classy joint, I’ve never been.

 Fort Mifflin and Mud Island, right by the airport. One of my favorite, weirdest Philly places.

Photo: Joseph E.B. Elliott

Globe Dye Works, 4500 Worth Street (in Frankford).

Photo: Peter Woodall

 Historical Society of Frankford, 1507 Orthodox Street. What an adorable creepy baby. (And go Frankford for representing with 2 sites in the festival, and we always thought the only thing in Frankford  was the fantastic Insectorium.)

Photo: Joseph E.B. Elliot

 Shivtei Yeshuron-Ezras Israel, 2015 South 4th Street. It looks a bit like it grew a story from being squeezed by its neighbors.

Photo: Peter Woodall

Hawthorne Hall, 3849 Lancaster Ave. Thank goodness it’s the last photo because I have nothing cheeky left to say.

For more info on the festival go to festival.hiddencityphila.org. Tickets go on sale May 1. Funding, volunteers and materials are being crowdsourced through the festival’s website.

–Said Johnson