News
In equal measures of happiness and sadness, we’ve learned that Gallery Joe is presenting its final exhibition in its Old City location. After 22 years, Gallery Joe is departing 302 Arch Street. They’ve apparently got big plans for the future, but for now are working by appointment from a nearby space in Washington Square. Bye Bye Old City: The Last Picture Show opens on Saturday, May 2 and runs for two weeks, through May 16, with a reception on May 2 from 5-7 PM.
A great permanent addition to the landscape! The Association for Public Art has received a grant from the Daniel W. Dietrich II Trust, Inc. to acquire Symbiosis by artist Roxy Paine for Philadelphia. The sculpture was originally on temporary loan to us courtesy of the artist and Marianne Boesky Gallery. Paine discussed his work and his sculpture Symbiosis the other night at the Association for Public Art (aPA)’s 143rd Annual Meeting.
Running May 1-31, Art Sanctuary is hosting the historic 31st Annual Celebration of Black Writing. This year’s festival showcases the work of pioneering photographer and Philly native Barkley Hendricks, whose ‘Barkley L. Hendricks: Oh Snap!’ is a month-long exhibition featuring rarely seen works. The 2015 Celebration of Black Writing Lifetime Achievement Award & Ceremony takes place on Friday, May 29, 7 PM, at the Temple Performing Arts Center Other award winners include R&B and soul duo Kindred the Family Soul, who are picking up the ‘Gamble & Huff Award for Excellence in Songwriting’; award-winning children’s & young adult book author Jacqueline Woodson (2014 National Book Award Winner, Young People’s Literature), receiving the ‘Celebration of Black Writing Award for Excellence in Literature’; and Barkley Hendricks will receive the ‘Celebration of Black Writing Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Visual Literacy.’ Other events include a Storytelling Circle, the Art Sanctuary Corridor at South Street Headhouse District’s Spring Festival, and the Hip H’opera & North Stars Showcase, featuring the youth with whom Art Sanctuary works in schools and community centers.
via Pepon Osorio – Also coming up in a few days, the reForm Project Fun Day at Fairhill is scheduled for Friday, May 1. This extremely special day is the culmination of a Pew-funded project by Pepon Osorio. In response to the 2013 closing of two dozen Philadelphia schools, Osorio was commissioned by Temple Contemporary to create a new installation that responds to these closings, particularly an elementary school in North Philadelphia, not far from Temple University. Osorio and a group of teachers, students, and neighbors are planning a parade of objects from one of the shuttered school’s classrooms down the street and onto Temple’s campus, incorporating those objects into an installation, living exhibition and discussion space in a Tyler School of Art classroom. Come celebrate with the accompanying cookout from 3:30-6 PM on May 1, on the Fairhill school grounds on West Somerset between 7th and 8th.
Opportunities
The Call for Entries for Philadelphia Photo Arts Center’s Annual Juried Competition is coming to a close. Juried by Whitney Richardson of the NY Times Lens Blog, and Paige West of the West Collection and Mixed Greens Gallery, selected works are going to be shown at PPAC from June 1 – August 8, 2015 as well as PPAC’s website. This year’s event, held June 11, 2015 is set to be PPAC’s largest group exhibition to date, given their space’s recent expansion and renovation. The competition is open to all subject matter, photographic techniques and processes. The non-refundable entry fee is $45 for a maximum of 5 images. A cash prize of $1,000 is awarded to a first place winner for best photograph in show. All entries must be received online only by 11:59 pm on Thursday, April 30, 2015; selected works are announced May 11, 2015.
The Cloud Project invites US artists, new and emerging, to submit work for consideration to the 2015 Cloud Prize. With artist, writer and curator Phong Bui of The Brooklyn Rail reviewing all completed submissions and choosing one to three recipients of an award up to $1,500, the competition is open to artists working in sculpture, painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, site-specific installation, video, sound, performance, collaborations and socially engaged practices. Additionally, the chosen artists have an opportunity to exhibit their work together in Philadelphia in early 2016. Submissions must be sent electronically to Cloud Prize: cloudartistprize@gmail.com. All application information should be attached to the email, not embedded or shared. Please submit images of 5 to 8 work samples. Images must be labeled with the artist’s name plus a 2-digit number (janedoe01.jpg, janedoe02.jpg, etc). Still images must be formatted as jpeg files, at 72 dpi and no larger than 1 MB each. Video or Sound files must be sent as a link, either via YouTube or Vimeo (please include password if locked). In a separate image list, please include the media, dimensions or specifications, title, and year for each work provided. Please also include a short statement (one paragraph), and a current CV (no more than two pages). All written documentation should be formatted as pdf files. A $25 non-refundable fee must accompany all submissions (via PayPal). The deadline for submissions is Monday, June 1, 2015, by 11:59pm. Submissions are reviewed in the beginning of June and final decisions are announced by mid/late June 2015. Please email cloudartistprize@gmail.com with any questions.
Artist News
Dread Scott, one of whose public sculptures has appeared in Philly, is one of the artists chosen by A Blade of Grass (ABOG), established in 2011 as the first organization solely devoted to nurturing socially engaged art, is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2015 ABOG Fellowship for Socially Engaged Art. Six other artists, including one collective —Sol Aramendi, Laura Chipley, Steven Ciampaglia & Kerry Richardson, Suzanne Lacy, Mary Mattingly, Nigel Poor, and Adaku Utah— are also recipients of ABOG Fellowships for Socially Engaged Art. The one-year fellowship endows artists with 20,000 USD in unrestricted project support.
Yinka Shonibare MBE has three upcoming shows across North America, including one at James Cohan Gallery. Catch one of them if you can, whether it’s Rage of the Ballet Gods from April 30–June 20, 2015 at James Cohan Gallery; Pièces de résistance from April 28–September 20, 2015 at DHC/Art Foundation in Montreal; or Colonial Arrangements from May 1–August 31, 2015 at Morris-Jumel Mansion
Nancy Agati is presenting a second community carving, public art event as part of the FLUID 2015 exhibition at the Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art at Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Staten Island. Ripple Effect, her sculpture for this project, uses patterns from the movement of water along the bay at Snug Harbor to create the surface imagery to be carved into the sculpture’s circular form. There’s also a participatory element, as visitors to the park can help with wood carving process on Saturday, May 2 from 11am-4pm. The final completed piece is scheduled for installation on Saturday, May 30.
News from the St. Claire:
Get your hands on work by some of the best artists in Philadelphia and help Chloë Rombach, who was struck by a car this December and faces a long road to recovery. This auction is an outpouring of love by Chloë’s sister, AJ Rombach, who is a member at FJORD Gallery.
