Callowhill News

Callowhill News
429 N. 13th Street, 1A, Philadelphia, PA 19123 www.callowhill.org
Winter/Spring 2007, Volume 3, Quarter 1
February 2007
22
Around the World Wine
Dinner 101 at Siam Lotus
www.siamlotuscuisine.com
28 CNA LAST WEDNESDAYS at Siam Lotus
6:30-7:30 pm
March 2007
2
2
13
13
15
28
29
Anthony Ciambella Recent Sculpture
Cerulean Arts Gallery & Studio
www.ceruleanarts.com
5:00-9:00 pm
Retrospective Exhibition: Will Stokes, Jr.
Fabric Workshop and Museum
www.fabricworkshopmuseum.com
6:00 pm
Town Watch Patrol, 7:00-8:00 pm
Neighborhood Artist
Meeting at Studio Incamminati
All artists and community
supporters are invited to attend.
7:00 pm
CNA Board Meeting
Board Members Only.
6:30-7:30 pm
CNA General Meeting
All are Welcome.
7:30-8:30 pm
CNA LAST WEDNESDAYS at Siam Lotus
6:30-7:30 pm
Around the World Wine
Dinner 101 at Siam Lotus
www.siamlotuscuisine.com
April 2007
5
10
19
20
25
26
27
Grand Reopening of Vox Populi
6:00-11:00 pm
Town Watch Patrol
7:00-8:00 pm
CNA Board Meeting
Board Members Only.
6:30-7:30 pm
Open Studio Days at Studio Incamminati
www.studioincamminati.com
CNA LAST WEDNESDAYS at Siam Lotus
6:30-7:30 pm
Around the World Wine
Dinner 101 at Siam Lotus
www.siamlotuscuisine.com
Open Studio Days at Studio Incamminati
www.studioincamminati.com
Please check the website, callowhill.org,
for locations of events and other info.
Letter from the Editor:
Old City, Watch Out!
By Sierra Skidmore
This issue is truly an inspiration—it’s warranted a “Letter from the Editor.” We received so
many submissions for this issue that we had
to expand the Callowhill News by 4-pages,
bringing it up to 12-pages.
Not only was I excited to receive such
an outstanding showing of editorial, but
I was very excited to see the roots of our
neighborhood really starting to push to
the top. You may not be able to see it with
the naked eye, but this neighborhood is
crawling with the arts.
We are home to many artists, studios and
galleries. Some of the artists include Sarah
McEneany and C’Anne Anderson, who
have been in the neighborhood for
about 25 years. Some of Sarah’s paintings
appear in the permanent collections of the
Philadelphia Museum of Art. Leslie Mitchell,
painter and dancer, has been in the area for
about 12 years. For more than 5 years, Raye
Cohen, who is a sculpture, adjunct professor
at University of the Arts and works with the
Philadelphia Art & Education
Partnership has had a studio in the
Wolf building—the location of many
artist’ studios.
Some of the featured studios/galleries
in this issue are Studio Incamminati, Fabric
Workshop, Vox Populi and the Philadelphia
Museum of Jewish Art.
Studio 915, Black Floor, Cerulean Arts,
and Khmer Art Gallery are also on the list
of studios and galleries that are filling the
neighborhood.
Looks like we could give Old City a
run-for-the-money on First Fridays!
Art Imitates Life
One of the most unique and intriguing
artistic traditions of Tantric Buddhism is
dultsonkyilkhor, which literally means
“mandala of colored powders.” This type
of painting is done with millions of grains of
sand that are painstakingly laid into place on
a flat surface over a period of days or weeks.
As tradition dictates, usually mandalas are
destroyed soon after they are created as a
tribute to the impermanence of life. The
sands are swept up and placed in an urn.
To fulfill the function of healing, half is given
to the audience at the closing ceremony,
while the rest is brought to a nearby body
of water, where it is emptied into the water
to be carried to the ocean for a healing blessing that travels throughout the world
for planetary healing.
Folk Arts Cultural Treasures Charter School (FACTS)
artist-in-residence, Losang Samten (shown here),
creates a sand mandala. The design of this mandala, “The Wheel of Life” is one which the artist
has created many times over the years. A resident
of Philadelphia for the past 18 years, he has been
recognized with a 2002 National Endowment
for the Arts National Fellowship in honor of his
accomplishments as a sand mandala artist, as
well as a Pew Fellowship in the Arts in 2004.
Photo by Robert Hakalski.
Calendar
This newsletter is brought to you by the Callowhill Neighborhood Association.
For more information and editorial submissions, contact Sierra Skidmore at sierra@skidmutro.com.
For a media kit or to advertise, contact Travis Skidmore at travis@skidmutro.com.
The Avenue in Transition
The future of North Broad Street
Introduction by Sierra Skidmore
Shelly Electric Congratulates
The Shoe Factory
314 North 12th Street
CNA 2006
LIGHTING AND
GREENING AWARD
This is part 2 in a series on the revitalization of North Broad
Street. The Philadelphia City Planning Commission (PCPC),
the City of Philadelphia and Avenue of the Arts are working
together to see that North Broad Street becomes as successful
as South Broad Street. The first installment of “Extending the
Vision for North Broad Street” touched on the history of North
Broad Street. Part 2 focuses on the sections of North Broad
Street that will be effected in this revitalization. Upcoming
issues will feature the Goals of the PCPC and the steps to
fruition of their vision.
The following excerpt is taken from the PCPC’s publication
“Extending the Vision for North Broad Street”
North Broad Subareas
As a means of organizing the analysis of this long and
diverse corridor, it is useful to divide North Broad Street
into six subareas. These subareas are defined by centers
of activity and they are bounded by major cross streets or
by significant change in land use or built form. They are
presented below, south to north:
Center City North (JFK Boulevard to Callowhill Street,
12th to 16th Streets) derives its character from its Center
City location and assemblage of typical “downtown” uses:
commercial office, municipal government, public plaza
space, as well as major medical, cultural and religious
institutions. Of particular note is the location, within a few
blocks’ distance, of six National Historic Landmarks—the
most significant historical designation awarded a structure
by the federal government—creating one of the densest
concentrations of such landmarks in the United States. These
buildings are: City Hall; the Insurance Company of North
America at 1600 Arch Street; the Masonic Temple at 1 North
Broad Street; the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
(PAFA) at Broad and Cherry Streets; the Race Street Meeting House at 1515 Cherry Street; and the Reading Terminal
Market and Train Shed at 1115-1141 Market Street.
Within the Center City North subarea one can find other
buildings of cultural importance and architectural merit,
such as the Arch Street Methodist Church, and a fine collection of late 19th and early 20th-Century office and hospital
buildings. There are two pockets of small-scale 19th-Century
residences, one along Mole Street between Arch and
Race Streets, and the other at Camac Street between
Race and Summer Streets. Institutions in the area continue
to flourish as evidenced by the current investment in a
new building/campus at PAFA, the expansion of Roman
Catholic High School and the continued growth of Drexel
University’s medical school and Hahnemann Hospital. The
Pennsylvania Convention Center is another major public
use in the subarea with plans for expansion. The Packard
building and other loft and former-office conversions exemplify growing demand for residential living in this area.
Spring Garden (Callowhill Street to Fairmount Avenue)
is a mix of commercial office, institutional, and residential
uses, and marks the transition between Center City and
North Philadelphia neighborhoods. The headquarters of
Philadelphia Newspapers Inc., publisher of the Inquirer
and Daily News, is located in a landmark building at the
Winter/Spring 2007
www.callowhill.org
northwest corner of Broad and Callowhill
Streets. Other significant sites include the
State Office Building at Spring Garden
Street and the future home of the School
District of Philadelphia central offices at
440 North Broad Street, which will infuse
the area with additional office workers
and visitors. Numerous other employers,
located in different parts of the subarea,
add substantially to the employment base.
Long-standing institutions and landmarks include the Rodeph Shalom
Synagogue [at Mt. Vernon St.] (founded in
1795), Divine Lorraine Hotel [at Ridge Ave.],
the Wallace Building, and several educational facilities: Benjamin Franklin High
School; Mathematics, Civics and Sciences
Charter School; and the Stoddart-Fleisher
School. The Community College of Philadelphia also occupies many parcels in the
vicinity of Broad and Spring Garden Streets.
Residential neighborhoods of Spring
Garden and West Poplar flank North Broad
Street north of Spring Garden, and are
exhibiting new investment and increased
value. This area also includes a major presence of active, auto-related establishments—
though a number of storefronts in this area
are vacant and unkempt—and two large
surface parking lots. Surprisingly, except for
the autooriented uses and a preponderance
of street vendors, there is relatively little
commercial retail in the subarea.
Girard Avenue (Fairmount Avenue to
Jefferson Street) is a major transportation
and commercial hub undergoing a number
of capital improvements and public-transit
enhancements, including reintroduction
of light rail following the historic Route 15
trolley line along much of Girard Avenue.
Residential development in the area
has occurred recently in the West Poplar
neighborhood, located just southeast of
the intersection of Broad and Girard. The
long-standing Yorktown community to the
northeast of the intersection remains stable,
but is composed of an aging population.
Convenience retail, fast food, and automobile-oriented uses characterize much of the
recent commercial investment on North
Broad Street in this subarea. However, the
recent transportation improvements have
spurred interest in transit-oriented development, which may help to create a more
mixed-use character to the area.
This subarea contains important
institutions that are closely related to the
strong sense of cultural identity of many
North Philadelphians: the New Freedom
Continued on page 5
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Winter/Spring 2007, Volume 3, Quarter 1 Aliza Olmert: tikkun
The Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art, Jan. 8 - April 22
An exhibition of constructions and photographs by internationally known artist and
writer Aliza Olmert went on view at the
Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art on
January 8, 2007. “Aliza Olmert: tikkun”
continues through April 22, 2007.
“Olmert’s constructions—made of broken
eggshells reunited with electrical wires and
safety pins—are improbable works of art,” says
coordinating curator Susan W. Morgenstein.
“The only verbal clue by the artist is the title
word ‘tikkun,’ a reference to our responsibility
to, in a rough translation, ‘repair the world.’” Olmert begins with broken eggshells she
collects from her local Jerusalem bakery.
She performs acts of painstaking repair with
careful pinning and joinery of the remains of
shells out of which she constructs new formal
arrangements. In reconstructing fragments
and shards—fastening, gluing, splicing
together “…the egg that arises from its ruins:
less perfect, but more full, more open (because
it is broken), broader (because it is spread
open), freer (because it is open to the winds),
more fascinating in its being liberated from
its expected and banal pattern of existence,”
Hana Kofler writes in the catalogue.
In Olmert’s computer-generated photographs, elements of the delicate and rather
small original constructions are manipulated,
isolated and/or repeated allowing her
ion
Winter/Spring 2007
www.callowhill.org
compositions to grow in scale. The resulting larger-thanlife photographs are new compositions based on the
constructions, not pictures of them.
In the installation process, completed photographs
become part of larger compositions by hanging the
works serially in stacks or in rows. In yet another act
of re-ordering, Olmert groups works to create a
photographic expanse.
The creamy shell fragments sit on black backgrounds that
provide contrast and highlights. The studio style and lighting
give weight and importance to Olmert’s fragile subjects.
“My focus is ecological,” says Olmert, “The recycling/revival
of the wasted/unneeded/already used; the acknowledged
beauty of the marginal and damaged; an attempt to prolong
the duration/to treasure the ready to be thrown away; a
reminder of the forgotten/taken-for-granted wonders of life.
Attaching value to the worthless. Appreciating the individual
form that every destruction creates, (contrary to the similarity
between not yet broken shells).”
Olmert’s sculpture, painting, installation and photography
have been exhibited in Israel, the United States and internationally. One-person exhibitions outside of Israel include: the
Nikko Gallery in Tokyo, Japan; the Ricolette Center in Buenos
Aires, Argentina; The Municipal Museum in Montevideo,
Uruguay; and the Bertha Urdang Gallery in New York. Works
have been included in group exhibitions in Great Britain, Italy,
France, Brazil, The Netherlands, Latvia, Spain and Germany.
“Aliza Olmert: tikkun” comes to Philadelphia from the
Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion Museum
in New York. The exhibition was organized with the artist
in Israel.
Presenting contemporary art that illuminates the Jewish
experience, the Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art (PMJA)
has, since 1975, presented solo and group exhibitions of
work in the broadest range of mediums by artists of diverse
backgrounds. The PMJA is located within the Metropolitan
Temple of Congregation Rodeph Shalom, 615 North Broad
Street, entrance and parking on Mt. Vernon Street. Open
Monday – Thursday, 10-4; Friday, 10-2; Sunday, 10-noon.
Hours are subject to change; please call 215-627-6747
to confirm.
For additional information, contact Carol Perloff,
Communications Manager for Congregation
Rodeph Shalom and the PMJA at 215-627-6747.
The Avenue in Transition
Continue from page 3
Theatre [at Girard Ave.]—Pennsylvania’s oldest African-American
theater, the Legendary Blue Horizon [at Girard Ave.], the headquarters
and training facilities of Philadelphia Opportunities Industrialization
Corporation (OIC), Progress Human Services Center, and the North
Central YMCA. William Penn High School is a large facility occupying
a full city block at Broad and Master Streets, and the historic Metropolitan Opera House [858 N. Broad] is a major, although dilapidated,
landmark in the subarea.
Temple University/Cecil B. Moore (Jefferson Street to Susquehanna
Avenue) features a rich mix of retail, educational, and cultural
assets, and has long been associated with the lower part of Temple
University’s main campus. Relatively recent additions to the campus
along North Broad Street include the 10,200-seat Liacouras Center at
Montgomery Avenue and new residence halls at Norris Street. Temple’s
Tyler School of Art [12th St. & Norris St.] is proposed to move to this subarea from its current location in Elkins Park. Community-based enterprises such as the Beech Interplex, a nonprofit development organization, lend to the changing face of Cecil B. Moore Avenue.
The surrounding residential community is undergoing renewal
spurred by significant public investment in affordable homeownership, and more recently, a growing demand for rental housing
targeting college students. Temple is actively encouraging off-campus
living in the area. The large parcel of land located at the southwest
corner of Broad Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue is the proposed site
of “Avenue North,” a major mixed-use development.
Uptown Theater (Susquehanna Avenue to York Street) features several
institutions and cultural anchors. Traditionally, entertainment and
cultural attractions such as the Uptown Theater [2240-48 at Dauphine]
have been important elements of this section of the North Broad Street
corridor. Today, social institutions have become the new anchors of the
subarea that tend to attract constituencies from the metropolitan area
of Philadelphia. Excellent public transportation is a major asset.
The Philadelphia Doll Museum, Black United Fund [2227 N. Broad
St.], and Kappa Alpha Psi National headquarters are significant institutions in the area. Additionally, the Black Family Reunion Cultural Center
[2233 N. Broad St.], Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the Shiloh Temple Community Church offer stability. With the growth in area
cultural institutions, social agencies and Temple University, new interest
in retail investment has surfaced.
The Uptown Theater is the most imposing building in the subarea.
In the past it was a popular entertainment venue that attracted large
numbers of patrons from the metropolitan area. Although currently
vacant, plans for its restoration as a live performance venue and
recording facility are in the works as the centerpiece of the Uptown
Square project along the 2200 block of North Broad Street.
North Philadelphia Transit Hub (York Street to Amtrak railroad
crossing) features strong transportation exchange points and provides
access to local and regional destinations, as well as to those along the
Northeast corridor (Washington, DC, to Boston). Between Broad Street’s
intersections with Lehigh and Indiana Avenues, there are several major
transit stops, including those of the Broad Street Subway, bus lines,
SEPTA regional rail and Amtrak. These facilities provide Philadelphians
with transit connections and options second only to Center City.
Area landmarks include Joe Frazier’s Gym, as well as the former
Botany 500 building, a significant development site. Other than the
recent investment and redevelopment of the North Philadelphia
Station shopping center, retail commercial activity in this area is limited.
For more information on the PCPC, go to www.philaplanning.org.
www.callowhill.org Winter/Spring 2007, Volume 3, Quarter 1 A Photographic Look into the Neighborhood History
By Abby Fritz
As rumbling trains roll in and out of
Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station and
commuter traffic pours down Market
Street, a massive, football-field-sized room
sits nearby in deep silence. The Department
of Records’ City Archives at 3001 Market
Street holds land records, huge leatherbound atlases, indentured servant records,
architectural drawings, and a collection of
over 2 million photographs—the largest
collection of its kind in the United States—
of Philadelphia dating from the 1860s,
contained in row upon row of 16-foot-tall
shelving. Like most of the city’s neighborhoods, Callowhill’s colorful history is
meticulously documented in hundreds of
photographs spanning nearly 200 years.
In 2005, the Department of Records (DOR)
made the decision to digitize their collection of over 2 million photographs. The DOR
went beyond simply preserving their collection of slowly decaying negatives and hired
Callowhill-based company, Avencia Incorporated, to create a geographically searchable
website for the photographs, aptly named
PhillyHistory.org. Open to the public, the
PhillyHistory.org website aims to assist students, teachers, historians, and genealogists
in going beyond their basic understanding
of Philadelphia’s events and dates history by
highlighting the city’s anthropological or
people-oriented history.
In the late 1800s the people of Callowhill
were hard-working families who thrived
on the burgeoning textile and railroad
industries. The Reading Railroad Company,
which drove the culture and commerce of
the neighborhood, was prolific in capturing
its own striking evolution in photographs.
Photographs from this collection taken in the
Callowhill neighborhood illustrate the deep
effect the Reading Railroad Company had
on the early development of the neighborhood. Rows of competing coal ‘depots’ lined
Bridge Surfacing—Broad Street Project, 1898. Looking North on Broad Street from Noble Street.
Baldwin Locamotive is on the left. Archive Identifier: Historic Commission PAB: 627-0
the streets near the train terminals. Main
thoroughfares were interrupted by complicated networks of tracks. In the late 1800s,
before there was the Wolf Building, Jany’s
and Billy G’s, the blocks near 12th & 13th
Streets and Callowhill Street were teeming
with foot traffic generated by a multitude
of row homes and shops selling everything
from tobacco and haircuts to oysters and
cough syrup.
In later years the City documented its
investment in major post-WWII development projects, all of which would bring
about yet another phase in the growth
of the Callowhill neighborhood. In 1949,
the City began to widen the existing Vine St.
in preparation for the decades-long project
of building the six-lane expressway to
Now Abandoned Railroad ‘Viaduct’, 1912. Spring Garden St. looking East towards 9th St.
The 915 Artist building on left still stands. Archive Identifier: Public Works 5639-0
Winter/Spring 2007
accommodate increasing traffic through
the city. Photographs of the project illustrate the scope of change imposed on the
landscape of Callowhill and its surrounding
neighborhoods.
Explore PhillyHistory.org to see more
historic photos of Philadelphia.
Widening of Vine Street—Removal of Reading
Railroad Bridge, 1949. NW view from South side
of Vine at 11th St. Goldtex Bldg. still stands at 311
N. 12th. Archive Identifier: Public Works 40553-4
Corner Store – 12th and Callowhill, 1894.
Archive Identifier: Reading Railroad: 1041-15
www.callowhill.org
Do They Really Serve Breakfast on Sunday?
By Janet Kroll
Many of us walk up and down 13th Street—
if not every day, then at least on weekends to
get to Reading Terminal, Rittenhouse Square
or other places in Center City. On
this route we pass a large building—on
13th Street just north of Vine—with the
words SUNDAY BREAKFAST ASSOCIATION
on the front, and we may see small groups
of men clustered on the sidewalk out front
and across the street. Although we pass this
building frequently, how many of us really
know what’s going on inside? I recently
talked to Sunday Breakfast’s Executive
Director Dick McMillen to find out
more about the organization’s history
and programs.
The Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission was
founded in 1878 and is the nation’s third
oldest rescue mission. The founders were
John Wanamaker (Wanamaker’s Department
Store), John B. Stetson (Stetson Hat Company),
W. Atlee Burpee (Burpee Seed Company)
and ex-governor James Pollock. They had
a simple goal: to provide a breakfast every
Sunday for the poor and to bring them under
Christian influence. They rented a building
at 11th & Wood Streets and served the first
breakfast on December 15, 1878. More than
250 men ate breakfast and listened as the
Bible was read aloud. The next Sunday more
than 500 men attended, and a Bible class
was started. Soon a committee was formed
to lodge and assist the homeless. Over time
the rescue mission moved and facilities were
expanded to include a chapel, an industrial work area, a shelter, a playground for
neighborhood children, and a thrift store for
families. The current building was occupied
in 1973; it had previously been a storage
facility for celluloid films for movie theatres.
Today, there is a men’s shelter on 13th St.
in our neighborhood, a women’s shelter is
located on Wayne Avenue in Germantown
and two thrift stores are on Rising Sun Avenue
in the northeast.
The founder’s Christian beliefs are still
central to Sunday Breakfast’s short- and longterm work with clients. Sunday Breakfast
works with their clients in two ways—first,
by meeting their immediate needs for
food, shelter and clothing, and second, by
creating a therapeutic environment which
inspires longer term life changes. At the 13th
St. location, Sunday Breakfast provides three
meals a day free to the general public; last
year over 115,000 meals were provided. In
addition, emergency shelter is provided for
up to 160 men at a time—totaling 50,000
beds last year. Men can stay at the 13th St.
location for up to 30 days with no charge.
Clothing and toiletries are provided free of
charge, and services are provided for men,
women and families in the areas of housing,
vocational training, health services, legal
aid, and referrals to relevant services at other
organizations and shelters. In addition, chapel is conducted twice daily by volunteers
from area churches or by a staff chaplain.
The men’s shelter also runs a one year
residential program called the Overcomer’s
Discipleship/Recovery Program. Participants
(up to 40) who commit to this program attend
daily chapel and bible study classes during
which time they are exposed to the biblical
concepts of recovery, life skills, work ethic
and scripture memorization. Also part of this
program are educational services (for instance
working toward a GED), job training (food
safety and handling, basic janitorial and
housekeeping), and case management to
help each client develop and meet his own
short- and long-term goals. Men who feel
called to ministry at the end of this program
Continued on page 11
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www.callowhill.org Winter/Spring 2007, Volume 3, Quarter 1 Spotlight on:
The Fabric Workshop and Museum
By Janet Kroll
Louise Bourgeois, Pregnant Woman, 2002. Part
of The Fabric Workshop and Museum’s Artist
Multiples program. Fabric, glass, and aluminum.
7 x 3 x 4 inches on 12 x 12 inch base with vitrine.
Edition of 6 + 1 AP. Photo: Will Brown.
William Wegman, Forest, 1999-2000. Part of The
Fabric Workshop and Museum’s Artist Multiples
program. Scarf of 100% silk twill. 38 x 47 inches.
Edition of 350. Photo: Aaron Igler
Winter/Spring 2007
The Fabric Workshop and Museum (FWM)
was founded in 1977 by Marion Boulton
Stroud as a place where artists could
experiment with an unfamiliar medium.
Initially, the FWM offered artists and
students the opportunity to explore silkscreen printing on fabric, but over the
past 30 years the limits of experimentation
have broadened as new materials and
new media have been explored and new
technology has become available.
FWM’s internationally acclaimed,
invitational Artist-in-Residence program
hosts emerging and established regional,
national and international contemporary
artists who have demonstrated a commitment to innovation and exploration.
Artists-in-residence are recommended,
reviewed and selected by FWM’s Founding
Director/Artistic Director, Marion Boulton
Stroud, and FWM’s artist advisory committee. The artists-in-residence are drawn from
all disciplines including painting, sculpture,
architecture and design, conceptual and
installation art, performance and video.
They work collaboratively with FWM’s staff
of printers and technicians who introduce
them to new techniques, and materials,
providing them with the resources to realize
projects that might not otherwise be possible. Besides utilizing its staff and facilities
to address artists’ creative needs, FWM also
provides fees and materials to artists-inresidence. Through this collaborative
process, artists stretch the boundaries not
only of their own work and of the medium
with which they work, but also of the
larger development of contemporary art.
Research, construction, and fabrication
occur on-site in studios that are open to the
public, providing visitors with the opportunity to see works of art from conception to
completion. There are currently 14 artists-
in-residence, from as far away as Johannesburg, South Africa and Paris as well as a local
artist Judith Schaechter, who usually works
with stained glass, but has been working
in silk screen at FWM, printing silk scarves
and yardage with the assistance of the
studio staff.
FWM’s permanent collection currently
contains over 5,500 objects created by more
than 400 artists who have participated in its
residency program. The collection traces
many major movements in the field since
1977, and includes significant works by artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Anish Kapoor,
Robert Morris, Robert Venturi and Denise
ScottBrown. Besides complete works of art,
FWM’s permanent collection also includes
material research, samples, prototypes,
photography and video of artists
making and talking about their work.
These photographic, video and process
materials are available for loan and
research, and can help illuminate the
conceptual and technical development
of works of contemporary art.
Major works from FWM’s permanent
collection are currently part of an exhibition opening at the Contemporary Arts
Center in Cincinnati. This exhibit, entitled
New Media/New Materials: Highlights
in Contemporary Art from the Fabric
Workshop and Museum runs from
February 2 through April 15. Closer to
home, work from the permanent collection
is also on exhibit at FWM. Entitled,
Selections from the Permanent
Collection: Multiples, this exhibit runs
January – February and focuses on artistin-residence multiples and includes work
by internationally recognized artists Anne
Hamilton, Mona Hatoum, Louise Bourgeois,
Edgar Heap of Birds, Kiki Smith, William
Wegman, and others, as well as new work
www.callowhill.org
Jorge Pardo, Untitled, 1999. The Fabric Workshop and Museum (FWM)
Video lounge and museum entrance. Created in collaboration with FWM.
Photo: Will Brown.
by Richard Taransky, Francesco Simeti, and Judith Schaechter. All
multiples are available for sale. And coming up on March 2 at 6pm, is
a retrospective exhibition of the work of self-taught artist Will Stokes,
Jr. which includes a selection of the artist’s figurative silk screen
prints, paintings and drawings, produced over 30 years at FWM.
There will be a tour of the exhibition at 6pm, which will be followed
by a party at Reading Terminal Market starting at 7pm.
The Fabric Workshop sponsors a range of education programs
for children and adults. These include Apprentice Training, through
which high school, college and post-graduate students can spend a
12-week term at the FWM and learn all aspects of silk-screen printing
on fabric; Evenings for Educators, which provide opportunities for
educators to learn more about how they and their students can get
involved with the FWM; Behind-the-Scenes Study Tours for groups
of students (all the way from K-college) and adults; In-School
Presentations; Onsite Studio, in which FWM-trained teaching artists
work with student groups (G 2-12) and their teachers twice a week
over a six week period; and Family Programs with hands-on activities.
FWM currently occupies the 5th and 6th floors of a renovated
industrial building located at 1315 Cherry Street. The museum also
has a new series of window installations by local artists on view at
1222 Cherry Street. Later this year, due to the Convention Center
expansion, FWM will be moving from its current location to 1214
Arch Street. They expect to announce the details within the next few
months. FWM is open Monday–Friday 10-6 and Saturdays 12-4.
For more information, visit their very informative website:
www.fabricworkshopmuseum.org.
310 North 11th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-922-2229
E
OP
N
SU
S
AY
D
N
Sample Amish fare,
select hip tableware...
Kelly Ray & Lesley Mitchell
ARGENTINE TANGO
Latin Club, Swing, Ballroom Dance
Lesley: tanguera@verizon.net 215.629.2344
Kelly: tanguero@verizon.net 215.574.9555
1315 Buttonwood Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123
www.dancephiladelphia.com
www.callowhill.org make it
12th & Arch
your
market
Mon–Sat 8–6 & Sun 9–4
$3 parking ~ readingterminalmarket.org
Winter/Spring 2007, Volume 3, Quarter 1 Studio Incamminati:
Studies in Realist Art
By Elizabeth Broadfoot
Featured in The Philadelphia Inquirer, International Artist,
American Artist and The Artist’s Magazine, Studio Incamminati
is a unique art school and 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded
in 2002 by the world-renowned artist, Nelson Shanks. Mr. Shanks
gained worldwide recognition for his paintings of His Holiness John
Paul II; Her Royal Highness, Diana, Princess of Wales; President
William Jefferson Clinton; Luciano Pavarotti; President Ronald
Reagan; Lady Margaret Thatcher and many other notable
personalities. A gifted painter, teacher, art historian and art
collector, Mr. Shanks has committed his life to the arts. Studio
Incamminati is but one manifestation of his dedication.
As “Incamminati” can be translated from Italian as “the Progressives,” Studio Incamminati offers a fresh, progressive alternative to
the customary educational approach to painting. Forward-thinking
and innovative, yet relying on time-honored traditional atelier style
of teaching, Studio Incamminati offers outstanding instruction and
a dynamic curriculum that completely immerses the artists in the
aesthetic and philosophical principles of humanist realism and the
techniques espoused by Mr. Shanks. Our 32 full-time artists represent
eleven states and five countries, an overwhelming majority have
relocated to Philadelphia to study at Studio Incamminati. Many hold
advanced degrees in art as well as other fields such as law, architecture and education.
At the core of Studio Incamminati’s mission lies the Professional
Program: a full-time, rigorous course of study for the serious artist in
the fundamentals of drawing and painting from life. Beginning with
simple gesture drawings in charcoal, artists work through a formal
program in which they learn progressively complex concepts about
form, light, composition and color. Regular reviews and critiques of
student work by Mr. Shanks and instructors celebrate artists’ progress.
Because developing a successful career in the arts requires more
than the ability to draw and paint, Studio Incamminati offers a rich
variety of offerings to Professional Program students. Practical skills
such as preparing artists’ statements and biographies are honed
as widely-anticipated exhibition opportunities such as the recent
Mastery & Meaning exhibition hosted by the Union League are
scheduled throughout the student’s career. Exposure to other art
forms rounds out the program, as students attend lectures, concerts,
and theatrical productions and participate in the vibrant cultural
calendar of the Northeast Corridor. Renowned curators and other
experts lead students on private tours at the Philadelphia Museum
of Art, the National Gallery of Art, and other significant collections
All skill levels are welcome. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn
something new and meet some of your neighbors. To sign up
or for more info, please contact C’Anne at 215-923-0725.
10 Winter/Spring 2007
Nelson Shanks and students
readily accessible from Center City Philadelphia.
Complementing the Professional Program are Studio
Incamminati’s Portfolio Programs, a series of intensive weekly
classes taught by professional artists that offer the perfect
opportunity for local artists to concentrate on skill development
in specific areas of realist drawing and painting. The 15-week spring
session, beginning on February 11th, offers an exciting mix of classes
for artists of all levels, including Portraits with Kerry Dunn; Painting
from Life with visiting artist Michael Grimaldi; Oil Painting in Still Life
and Figure with Robin Frey and Figure Painting: Gestures and Short
Poses with Natalie Italiano.
Studio Incamminati also offers lectures for artists in a variety of
topics, including career skills for artists, art history and grant writing.
These lectures are open and free to the public, and are posted in the
events section of the website.
Studio Incamminati is spearheading neighborhood efforts in
planning the 2007 Philadelphia Open Studio Tour (POST), serving
as a center for Callowhill Neighborhood artists to meet and discuss
strategies on attracting visitors during this city-wide event. Andrew
Pirie, the POST coordinator will be presenting the mission and goals
of POST at Studio Incamminati on Wednesday, March 7th at 4:00pm.
This presentation will be followed with a neighborhood artists
meeting on Tuesday, March 13th at 7pm. All artists and community
supporters are invited to attend.
Studio Incamminati looks forward to serving the Callowhill
Neighborhood as its center for visual arts. Join us this spring at our
Open Studio Days on Friday, April 20th and Saturday, April 27th.
For more information on programs, lectures and the POST tour,
call 215-592-7910 or visit www.studioincamminati.org. Studio
Incamminati is located at 340 North 12th Street, Suite 400.
The first of three
workshop sessions
was a success (left).
A dozen neighbors
enjoyed making
masks with each
other with the
guidance of Raye
Cohen and Cora
Charpentier of
the Philadelphia
Arts & Education
Partnership.
www.callowhill.org
CNA Welcomes Vox Populi Gallery
to the Neighborhood
By Sarah McEneaney
Nationally recognized artist run gallery
Vox Populi, jeopardized by the plans for
an expanded Pennsylvania Convention
Center, has signed a long-term lease for
a new home at 319 North 11th Street. The
new facility provides over 4,000 square
feet of open, industrial space, and is in
close proximity to Chinatown, public
transportation and other arts organizations. Vox has to leave its home of 5 years,
the Gilbert Building at 1315 Cherry Street,
which will be torn down to make room for
the $700 million dollar Convention Center
expansion project. This is the fourth home
for the gallery since 1988.
For nearly 20 years Vox Populi has supported the work of emerging artists with
monthly exhibitions, gallery talks , performances and lectures. Vox continues to be
an artist-driven organization committed
to presenting exceptional contemporary
art and to provide an open venue in which
artists can realize their most experimental
and ambitious projects free from commercial constraints.
Opening receptions and monthly
gallery talks are free and open to the
public, and take place on the first Friday
of each month from 6-1pm.
“Not only does this new location let us
stay in Center City, but we will expand our
gallery space and our programming,” said
Amy Adams, Vox Populi’s Executive Director. “While we still need to negotiate with
the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority
for fair and adequate compensation and
do additional fundraising for renovation
of the new space, we are excited to have
a new, beautiful gallery and long term
stability for Vox Populi.”
The new location will also offer Vox
close proximity to other arts organizations,
including fellow tenants of 319 North
11th Street: Art in the Age of Mechanical
Reproduction, Fabric Horse, Khmer
Art Gallery, and Print Liberation.
Sunday Breakfast
Continued from page 7
can spend at least one more year at the
facility, during which time they receive
vocational training in the work of Rescue
Ministry (there are over 300 facilities across
the nation like Sunday Breakfast) or prepare
for ministry within a local church.
Sunday Breakfast is supported through
donations and volunteer assistance from
www.callowhill.org CONGREGATION
RODEPH SHALOM
615 North Broad Street
Philadelphia
Artist Members, Vox Populi Gallery, Jan. ‘07
“Our goal in the new building is to
recreate what we have enjoyed with our
many friends in the Gilbert Building. Vox
is going to be sharing the third floor with
other galleries, projects, studios and artist
businesses. It is exciting and will certainly
be a new center for creativity in the city,”
said Vox Member Artist and current Pew
Fellow Nadia Hironaka.
The new space, in addition to expanded
galleries, will include a fifth gallery for
screening experimental video and sound
art. There are also plans to include up to
three artist studios.
Vox Board President Ellen Napier adds,
“The expansion of the Convention Center
and the process of relocating the gallery
has been incredibly stressful for an
organization such as ours that has limited
staff and resources. This new home
really would not have been possible if
it were not for the continuing support
from friends, businesses and foundations
that made critical donations, generous
grants, and offered advice and help over
the past year.”
Vox Populi will be closed during the
months of February and March as it prepares the new gallery space. The grand
reopening will take place on April 5, First
Friday from 6-11pm. Vox Populi invites
everyone to attend.
To learn more about Vox, please see our
website www.voxpopuligallery.org.
members of the community. There are
many ways to get involved—including
organizing a clothing or food drive; volunteering time (needs include child care,
serving meals, and handyman/woman);
inviting a staff member to speak to your
group, club, house of worship or business
about the work of the mission; and donating clothing, baby items or furniture to the
thrift store the Beehive. To learn more,
visit www.sundaybreakfast.org.
215-627-6747
www.rodephshalom.org
Rodeph Shalom is a progressive
Reform synagogue, welcoming a
diverse population and interfaith
families into its membership.
Committed to its center city location
and neighboring community, Rodeph
Shalom serves as a vibrant center for
Jewish spirituality, learning and social
action.
JOIN US ON
Friday, February 23rd
at 6:00pm
for one of the following
Î Meditation Service
Î Taste of Pesach: Passover Cooking
with Chef Carlos Molina
Î Kids Creating: Arts & Crafts
Î Aliza Olmert’s Exhibit, “tikkun”
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Community Dinner Will Follow
(See RSVP below)
Friday, March 30th
at 6:00pm
for one of the following
Î Service of Nostalgia
Î Book Review with Beverly Rosen:
The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
ÎHow to Lead a Passover Seder
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Community Dinner follows - The
cost for dinner is $18 for adults and $10 for
children. Reservations are needed for the
dinner: RSVP Cheryl Freedman at 215627-6747 x17.
Secured parking available directly behind synagogue on Mount Vernon Street
Winter/Spring 2007, Volume 3, Quarter 1 11
The Garden is Growing… Even in the Winter!
By Gregg Moss
Much has happened since our last garden
potluck in the Fall. Beginning in October,
new sidewalks were installed on Ridge and
Mount Vernon Streets with ample room
along the curb for tree planting (see photo
below). The remaining rubble in the garden
was removed—it looks great!
Most recently in January, we received our
charitable organization status 501(c)3 from
the IRS. This makes donations to the garden
tax-deductible, and increases our ability to
receive grants from various organizations
who can help us develop the garden.
In October we were awarded an assistance grant from the Community Design
Collaborative (CDC)—a group of design
professionals who give time and expertise
to chosen projects each year. In three community meetings (in October and again in
January) we met to discuss possible uses for
our community/garden space. There were
some great ideas—like including school
children, and working as teams to restore
the soil, plant trees, make compost and
create a green community gathering space.
The more people talked at these meetings,
the more these unusual ideas began to
grow into a concept beyond the tradition of
individual plots into a shared green learning
space for the whole community.
In February, we began a Mask Making
workshop where community members
The City of Philadelphia’s
OHCD grant, facilitated
by the Neighborhood
Gardens Association, has
been authorized. Work began
in early October (above) on
the installation of a new sidewalk and street trees along
Ridge Avenue and Mount
Vernon Street, as well as
clearing the remaining debris
and junk from the site—
making way for our garden.
Left: An example of what our
sidewalk will look like when
the trees are put in place.
gathered at a local sculptor’s studio to create
faces from the wood of trees removed
because they had grown through the
garden fence. We had a great time together,
and plan to do more. Come join us!
Early this spring we will be going on field
trips to visit arboretums, nature centers, orchards, farms and other community gardens
to see what we can learn. In May we will be
taking part in a Tree Tenders class—part of
a state/local forest revitalization program
called TreeVitalize which teaches tree care
skills, and helps communities plant trees
throughout their neighborhoods.
Hands on work will begin soon at LemonRidge. Team gardening and soil reclamation
projects are on tap. We are also planning the
first annual Spring Block Party with music,
fun, food and a fleamarket. An announcement will be coming soon.
Think of warm summer evenings,
birds chirping, lush green plants reaching
into the sky, community teamwork,
relaxed conversation with neighbors
and the greening of our city. C’mon,
jump in! www.lemonridge.org
PUBLICATION
DESIGN
Magazines, Books,
Newsletters and More...
WEBSITES
Design and Programming
Logos
Stationery
Signage
Brochures
Digital Publication
Media Kits
Posters
www.skidmutro.com
For more information or a quote,
please contact Travis Skidmore
at 215.627.4945 x13 or
travis@skidmutro.com
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