News

Asian Art Initiative's vision for Chinatown North/Callowhill. Photo courtesy of the gallery. — Asian Art Initiative’s vision for Chinatown North/Callowhill. Photo courtesy of the gallery.

For Asian Arts Initiative, “activating the alley” is the goal of the year. Along with DesignPhiladelphia, AAI is working to create the Pearl Street Passage, a temporary, cutting-edge, outdoor exhibition on the 1100 block of Pearl Street. Designed to regenerate the spot while fostering relationships among a diverse range of people in the neighborhood, this means some germane opportunities for those of you eager to contribute creatively to the marquee event of the 2015 DesignPhiladelphia Festival (October 8-17). These opportunities are detailed further on!

Join Leeway Foundation and Bread & Roses Community Fund this Thursday, February 26 for the opening reception of RELEASE: An Exhibition and Program Series on Gender Justice and Mass Incarceration. With portraits and stories curated by Chicago-based activists Mariame Kaba and Rachel Caidor, RELEASE prominently features local artists and paintings by Mary DeWitt (LTA ’10, ACG ’09, WOO ’03, ’00) in the service of a powerful examination of the mass incarceration of women, transgender, and gender non-conforming survivors of the prison industrial complex. DeWitt and Caidor are helming a tour and artist talk on opening day from 5:30pm-8:00pm at the Leeway Foundation. RSVP, and be sure to check out the program schedule as well.

Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture has an exhibit coming to City Hall! “We went looking for home but we found” opens tomorrow, February 25, 5 – 7 pm, in the 5th Floor Gallery with free admission; it’s up from February 9 to April 17. An interactive multi-media exhibit of works created by participants in last summer’s camp, led by Lebanese guest artist Joan Baz, the show’s opening reception includes performances by Al-Bustan Takht Ensemble and The Moffet School Choir & Drummers.

Coming from a tenure as President of the Museum Council of Greater Philadelphia, John Orr is the new Executive Director of Art-Reach of Philadelphia. Having worked with Fleisher Art Memorial, Masonic Library and Museum of Pennsylvania, The Franklin Institute Science Museum and The Academy of Natural Sciences, Orr’s 15 years of experience are a huge asset to Art-Reach and we’re excited to see where they go from here!

Opportunities

via DesignPhiladelphia – 1. DesignPhiladelphia has put out the Pearl Street Passage Call for Participants, seeking architects, designers and artists of all types, construction companies and builders and other creative disciplines, who are interested in forming multi-disciplinary teams to design, build and install short-term installations. For the benefit of prospects, they’re holding a Pearl Street Passage Team Info Session today, Tuesday, February 24 at 5:30pm at the Center for Architecture (1218 Arch Street, RSVP required). 2. As a simultaneous project, Asian Arts Initiative is accepting proposals on a rolling basis for Micro-Projects on Pearl Street. Proposals may be event-based or exhibition-based (involving the installation of temporary or semi-permanent public artwork in the alley), with budgets of up to $2,500. The Round 3 Application Deadline is April 24, 2015.

via Tyler School of Art – Radius 250 2015 is calling for entries, with a deadline of April 6. A major art show open to artists working within a 250-mile radius of Richmond, VA (that includes us), the show seeks fine artists working in two or three dimensions, or in digital and video mediums. Held in Planet Zero, a renovated industrial building in Richmond’s Manchester Arts District.the show wruns Friday, May 22 – Sunday, July 19, 2015. The postmark and online deadline for submissions is 11:59 PM Monday, April 6, 2015. The award, up to $1000 and a solo exhibition in artspace’s Helena Davis Gallery, is given at the discretion of juror Amy Moorefield.

Artist News

Jesse Krimes, with his mural created while incarcerated. Courtesy of Sarah Kaufman.

Jesse Krimes, who made the news for his clandestine 39-panel mural piece created during a 70-month jail sentence, is fittingly featured in Paris for the exhibition “Le Bord des Mondes.” Running from February 18-May 17, 2015, the show focuses on creative works generated by those outside of the art establishment. Curated by Rebecca Lamarche Vadel, “Le Bord des Mondes” includes a full schedule of e vents, including “Humain trop humain” on Saturday, February 28, 4 p.m. to midnight, and “Légers décalages” on Saturday, April, 25, 4 p.m. to midnight.

Michelle Handelman, Irma Vep, the last breath, 2013. Courtesy the artist. © Michelle Handelman.

Michelle Handelman, an Eastern State Penitentiary installation alum, has an upcoming show of her work Irma Vep, The Last Breath at The Henry Art Gallery Museum in Seattle. The show runs July 18, 2015 — October 18, 2015.