For 10 months, selected local and international artists have worked in a newly-renovated storefront space at 4017 Lancaster Avenue as part of the “Neighborhood Time Exchange” Artists-in-Residence Program. This Friday, the artists along with the Mural Arts Program, The People’s Emergency Center, Broken City Lab, and The City of Philadelphia Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy will present their culminating exhibition, Reciprocity: Exhibiting Moments and Momentum from Neighborhood Time Exchange.

Three cohorts of artists participated in residencies between January and September 2015 and worked for one to three months: The first cohort of residencies, which took place between January and March, included artists Ian Sampson, Betty Leacraft, Kandis Friesen, and Philippe Leonard. The second cohort, between April and June, included Macon Reed, Camae Dennis and Rasheedah Phillips, Matt Neff, and Sasha Phyars-Burgess. The third included Pato Hebert, Lucy Pistilli and Brian Bazemore, John Phillips, Mark Clare, and Meredith Degyanski.  Continue Reading

UPDATE (11/10/2015): Curio Theatre’s Benefit scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 14 has been postponed to a later date. Stay tuned for more announcements.

Two local arts organizations, University City Arts League (UCAL) and Curio Theatre, are holding delicious and fun events soon, which will help them raise some cash.

The annual Chili Bowl fundraiser supports the Arts League’s pottery studio. (Photo courtesy UCAL)

• UCAL’s annual Chili Bowl event will be held this Sunday (Nov. 8), from 1 – 4 p.m. at 4226 Spruce Street. Everyone is invited to purchase a hand-crafted bowl for $20 and fill it with chili (kids eat free with a bowl-purchasing adult).

The chili, including vegetarian and vegan, is donated by local restaurants: Corner Bakery, Tortas Frontera, City Tap House, Rx the Farmacy, Harvest, Renata’s Kitchen, Milk and Honey Market, Qdoba, Distrito, The Restaurant School, and the Green Line Cafe. After guests stuff themselves with chili they can vote for their favorite.

All of the proceeds from the Chili Bowl supports UCAL and its beloved ceramic studio. Guests are encouraged to get to the Arts League early to insure that they get a ceramic bowl. Each bowl is individually crafted, a unique piece created by a potter, and they are in limited supply. For more information about the event, visit the UCAL website.  Continue Reading

Sterling Duns (right) and Caselli Jordan. Photo courtesy of City Love.

West Philly-based duo City Love, comprised of Mantua and Belmont resident musicians Sterling Duns and Caselli Jordan, writes songs to spread the love, make people move, laugh, and foster dialogue about social issues. Their music is a meeting point between the city and the suburbs; between black and white; heavy and light. They say they are here to bring people together and get everyone shining their lights.

So, City Love wanted you to know that they have just released their new album, Come True. The guys had a release concert at Gojjo on October 15th with over 100 people of all ages and walks of life crammed inside. They have also just been selected as one of five finalists in the City Council’s PHL Live competition for Pop music on November 10th at Underground Arts! Here is a link to a video of the title track from their new album filmed in front of Caselli’s new house on Mantua Ave. (He says he still has a LOT of work to do before it becomes livable!)  Continue Reading

We’re happy to announce the results of our 5th Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest.

Many thanks to everyone who voted for their favorite pumpkin. We received a record number of votes this year – over 400! This time around, there wasn’t a clear winner from the beginning; the winner pumpkin beat the second most favorite pumpkin by only seven votes (75 to 68). So here is the Readers’ Choice winner (drumroll…):

“Spooky Trumpkin” carved by Nate Johnson:

Congratulations, Nate! Many folks, including us, appreciate your pumpkin carving skills and your sense of humor. You will receive our grand prize: a $35 gift card from Renata’s Kitchen, a $25 gift card from a local business of your choice, and two Curio Theatre tickets ($50 value).

Just because it was so close, we also would like to mention Kathryn Kamowski whose “Skull” pumpkin finished second. Amazing work, Kathryn! We’ll also send you a prize.

Continue Reading

Once again, we received some great entries in our annual Pumpkin Carving Contest. Thank you to everyone who participated, and now it’s time to vote for your favorite pumpkin. Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 2. The Readers’ Choice winner, who will receive our grand prize, and winners in other categories (Scariest, Funniest, Best Philly-Themed, and Kids) will be announced on November 3.

First, check out the pumpkins (click on the images to enlarge them):

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The popular local dance group, Philly Thriller (Facebook page), which holds Michael Jackson inspired flash-mob performances on the streets of West Philly every Halloween, will be entertaining the crowds this year as well. We got in touch with the group director Rashida Holmes to see where folks can catch them this Saturday. According to Holmes, they’ll be at Clark Park (43rd and Baltimore) tomorrow from 5:30-6:45 p.m., so don’t miss their performances. For more Halloween events, go here.