Artblog | reviews, features & interviews

July 1, 2022 by Beth Heinly

June 30, 2022 by Tasso Hartzog

A journey by bike to Strawberry Mansion and the homes of Jazz legends Sun Ra and John Coltrane highlights the inequity of historic preservation in Philadelphia

Tasso Hartzog writes a street’s eye view of historic preservation inequities and imagines two possible outcomes to this ongoing tragic imbalance – an Afrofuturist vision where jazz lives on in preserved historic homes, and a realpolitik vision with sad consequences.

June 30, 2022 by Roberta

New Ruth Arts Foundation awards grants to five Philadelphia arts groups, Tom Devaney’s ‘Bicentennial City’ on WHYY-TV, Plus a video on gun violence panel, and help Philadelphia’s search for the right Harriet Tubman memorial

It’s summer! But there’s still news, even in the art world. A new foundation, The Ruth Foundation for the Arts (Ruth Arts), today awarded $1.25 to 78 nonprofit arts organizations nominated for the grants. We congratulate the 5 local groups chosen for the new grants: Ballet X, Blackstar Projects, Taller Puertorriqueño, Twelve Gates and The Clay Studio. In other news, two videos we recommend for this hot weekend, and a call from the city for citizen participation in shaping the choice for the new public art Harriet Tubman statue.

June 29, 2022 by Susan Isaacs

Expressive color and the materiality of paint make Joan Mitchell’s exhibit at Baltimore Museum of Art a must-see

Susan Isaacs sees the popular show of Joan Mitchell’s works at the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) and says the show lives up to its reputation: “It really is that good.” The show is at the BMA until Aug. 14, 2022.

June 28, 2022 by Jacob C Hammes

Grand Ballroom of Doom

June 24, 2022 by Beth Heinly

The 3:00 Book

June 23, 2022 by Andrea Kirsh

Recording the Unrecorded Art History of CETA, the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act

Andrea reports on the efforts of those involved in the CETA program in the 1970s to reveal and document – and add into the art historical record – the great work produced by the artists in the program and celebrate CETA’s lasting impact on small arts organizations, with funding of administrative staff positions that helped the groups stabilize and grow. Andrea points to CETA as an example of good funding policy that should be considered going forward.

June 22, 2022 by Morgan Nitz

Logan Cryer and Tim Belknap on their open-call show, “Now, One with Everyone!” at Icebox Project Space

Roberta and Morgan sit down for a Zoom with Logan Cryer and Tim Belknap about their wonderful open-call snapshot of Philadelphia’s art community in 2022. We talk of how the show idea came about, why it’s only 3 weekends long, (June 24, 25, and 26 is the last weekend to see it) and what surprised them about who showed up with their work and who didn’t.