NEWS
In Case You Missed It…Octavius Catto statue to be unveiled Tuesday, Sept. 26, 11 AM, City Hall, South Apron
You may have just heard about Philadelphia undersung hero of the Civil Rights movement in the 19th Century, Octavius Catto, but two Philadelphia authors have known about him for years and wrote the definitive biography, “Tasting Freedom: Octavius Catto and the battle for equality in Civil War America.” Dan Biddle and Murray Dubin‘s Tasting Freedom, published by Temple University Press, is coming out soon in paperback. It chronicles the early civil rights leader, educator and public speaker, who helped desegregate Philadelphia’s streetcars; and as an athlete and organizer, established the first Negro baseball team, the Pythians. Catto, was targeted and murdered at 9th and South by a white assassin. Here is Biddle, speaking on NPR recently about the O.V. Catto statue soon to appear in Philadelphia.
And, in this Stephan Salisbury article in Philly.com, Dubin is interviewed:
“He’s not in any history books kids in high school and middle school have now,” says Dubin. “Nobody knows about Catto. He was an extraordinary, forgotten African American, American hero.”
Get the book here or at Amazon. And come out for the dedication/unveiling of the Octavius Catto statue, 11 AM on Sept. 26.
Via Gilda Kramer, Artblog Board member, the multi-talented architect/photographer George Manos has a show in Old City
George Manos also has some interesting things to say about nature. His show, Naturally Speaking, opens Friday, Sept. 1, 2017, at DNB First – Old City, 36 North 3rd Street. Reception is 5 – 7 PM. Below is a quote from him about his work. Check it out and go see the show.
“As artists and photographers, we often struggle to give expression to our inner thoughts, feelings, and observations, whereas, to nature, candid and uninhibited self-expression seems to come as easily as falling off a log. From the beautiful to the grotesque, nature displays its artistry everywhere, seemingly effortlessly. We honor it through our efforts to capture it, drawing inspiration from such greats as Ansel Adams, Suzi Eszterhas, Andy Rouse, Joel Sartore.”
Manos, a member of the Philadelphia Photo League, and an avid photographer from age 13 – when he built his own darkroom in the basement of his family’s home in Camden,NJ – has spent most of his career documenting buildings, a consequence of his being an architect. Here, he turns from photographing buildings to photographing nature, attempting to capture some of its essential artistic ingredients – earth, water, sky, greenery. For more, see the artist’s website.
OOPS, A CORRECTION
Astrid Bowlby’s Exhibition Opening at Arcadia University is Tuesday, September 26th
We are sorry that in today’s Our Picks Newsletter we misstated the day of the opening reception of Astrid Bowlby‘s show at Arcadia University. The reception, preceded by a conversation between the artist and the show’s organizers, is Tuesday, September 26, 2017, 6:30pm. Here’s the full (corrected) Listing from the September Our Picks that just went out. We apologize for the error.
Astrid Bowlby: When the Shadow is not your Shadow
September 14 – October 29, 2017
Opening reception and conversation between the artist and show organizers, David Dempewolf and Yuka Yokayama of Marginal Utility, Tuesday, September 26, 6:30pm, The Great Room, University Commons
Arcadia University Art Gallery, 450 S. Easton Rd., Glenside PAAstrid Bowlby works as a drawing artist, a sculptor and printmaker. She also writes and teaches. The various streams of her art practice have in common an intense focus that is both inward in its origin and outward in its communicative desires. Her work transmits an urgency about the world, about nature’s beauty and about mankind’s crazy goings on. The show will include photography, texts and a soundwork and an etched granite marker that will later be moved to a meditation garden in Maine. Marginal Utility was founded in 2009 and until recently was located at 319 N. 11th St. A fire in June of this year shut the building indefinitely.
OPPORTUNITIES
Picasso Project grant for innovative arts project in a school – Deadline Nov. 10, 2017
Application period: September 11- November 10, 2017 (deadline: 6pm)
Grant period: January-June 2018
Picasso Project provides grants of up to $5000 to support innovative arts projects (visual art, music, dance, theater, and digital media) in under-resourced Philadelphia public schools. The grants support a school’s need to boost arts offerings, integrate arts into other core subjects, and use arts to improve school climate. Many schools use the grant as an opportunity to partner with artists and community organizations. Additionally, grant recipients engage in advocacy activities to support equitable arts education funding for Philadelphia’s students.
Who are we?
Public Citizens for Children and Youth (PCCY) works to improve the lives of our region’s children by developing initiatives and advocating for quality health care, child care, public education and family stability. An initiative of PCCY, Picasso Project has provided access to arts education for over 40,750 students at 100 Philadelphia public schools since its inception in 2002.
Eligibility:
• Staff at public (District–managed and charter) schools with no more than 2 full-time arts teachers may apply. Your school may have no more than a TOTAL of 2 full time arts teachers combined if you add together all teachers in art, music, dance, drama, and digital media (not including part-time/itinerant teachers).
• Schools must have a CEP Economically Disadvantages Rate of 60% or higher.
• Schools that have received a Picasso Project Grant for 3 consecutive years must skip a year before applying again.
Full application information at the PCCY website.
For more information please visit the PCCY website here.
