News

Adelina Vlas, shot by Roberta at her farewell party at the PMA.

Adelina Vlas, a friend of ours, is leaving her position as contemporary art curator at the PMA and journeying to a new one in Toronto! Last week was her going away party, where Roberta and many others came to say their goodbyes. Seven years in Philly, and now a new chapter at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto.

It feels like only a month ago that we wrote up Visit Philadelphia’s Phillyosophy Photo Contest (which is true), and that tons of fantastic submissions were made (which is also true). We now have a winner, chosen by Philadelphia residents and fans. This fall, look out for billboards on I-95 with a beautiful shot by Philly’s own Vikki Sloviter. Featuring Rock School for Dance Education student Zachary Downer, Sloviter’s kinetic work comes from her background as a ballet and portrait photographer Nearly 3000 total entries came in for the challenge, which asked for one of six Phillyosophy ad lines (e.g. “Philadelphia freedom is a state of mind”) paired with a photo.

The Art Gallery at TCNJ is soon holding the super-inclusive 2014 Alumni Art Exhibition, featuring 30 of its own artists from the seventies all the way up to the present: Bonnie Berkowitz, Rocky Canonica, Kevin Carr, Al Compoly, Elizabeth Connor, Eileen Conte, Keith Cosby, Lisa Czernikowski, Natalie DiSantis, Amy Hurley Heath, Elisa Hirvonen, Amanda Kamen, Jess Lauren Lipton, Kyle LoPinto, Roxi Marsen, Teri McCans, Michelle Nugent, Katie Petrillo, Erica Engfer Pizza, Bill Plank, Helene Plank, Michael Pyrdsa, Gabe Randazzo, Rachel Razza, Cody Rounds, Josh Sender, Frank Sung, Loriana Takacs, Saima Yousuf, and Grace Zambelli. Drawing from all media and the last few decades, the exhibition opens Wednesday, September 3, 5-7 PM. and stays on view through October 9, free and open to the public. The exhibition was juried by Sara Reisman, director of New York City’s Percent for Art program.

Since his time as a Tech Connectors volunteer and even briefly as interim director of the program, Cliff Stevens has lent his talents to Culture Spots, a seriously innovative solution for the use of mobile audio tours in museums and galleries can afford. With a launch in October planned, Culture Spots has designed a way to leverage visitors’ constant access to smartphones and bring big-budget-style visitor experiences to all institutions, big and small. They’re keeping their secret tightly under wraps until October 1, but that’s even more reason to be intrigued….

Opportunities

Won this year by Nic Coviello, Tim Portlock, and Jennie Thwing, the Main Line Art Center Memorial Exhibitions (deadline: September 29) includes $1000, a solo show, and the Meyer Family Award for Contemporary Art. Any adult fine artists, who are not full time students, living in the Mid-Atlantic Region are eligible to apply; all mediums are welcome. If selected, artists are notified in December 2014, with the exhibition taking place in March-April 2015. Access the prospectus and application on MLAC’s site.

If you’re planning on making Philly Stake a thing this year, better step to it: we’ve been told the team “is re-imagining our structure and goals,” and this may be the last one for a while. So in addition to buying your tickets now, you should definitely also check out the proposal guidelines and how to share your idea. They’re accepting submissions until Sunday, September 7 at noon. This year’s Philly Stake is Sunday, September 21 from 4-7pm (note the time change), picnic-style at Bartram’s Garden, complete with several beers brewed just for Stake by the South Philly Homebrew Club and other neighbors. 150 tickets are available now, and another 50 are going to be available after the proposals are selected on September 8 ( they’re not doing tickets at the door).

Artist News

Judith Schaechter's "Mother and Child," now in the collection of the Hermitage Museum. Photo courtesy of the artist. — Judith Schaechter’s “Mother and Child,” now in the collection of the Hermitage Museum. Photo courtesy of the artist.

via Judith Schaechter – Judith Schaechter graced our inboxes with a barrage of news early this week, and then some. First up, she’s got a solo exhibition opening at Claire Oliver Gallery on September 4 from 6-8 PM, wherein she’s debuting her cast glass sculptures, plus some stained glass pieces on view until October 25. Second, congratulations are in order: Judith’s been named a Fellow of the American Craft Council, and a piece of hers, “Mother and Child” from 2006, was acquired by the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia! Not a bad month!

Zoe Strauss has an upcoming engagement on October 21 at Terminal 5, where she’s participating in a benefit for the Aperture Foundation. Celebrating photography and the American road trip, there’s a Strauss piece alongside a tribute to Robert Frank, a performance by The Kills, and Alec Soth, Billy Bragg, and Joe Purdy. The social media campaign is already in full swing – @littlebrownmushroom and #ApertureOpenRoad are Instagramming, tweeting and Facebooking from the road.