Students at Samuel Powel school design sashes inspired by North African tile patterns in a partnership with University City Arts League (Photo by Gudmund Iversen).

Thirteen Philadelphia groups that offer youth arts enrichment programs have recently received recognition and some financial boost from the city, and it’s great to see some West Philly arts organizations on the list.

The Philadelphia Cultural Fund announced the 2016 Youth Arts Enrichment Grant recipients, which include well-known West Philly-based organizations: Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture, University City Arts League, and Spiral Q Puppet Theater. Grants are ranging from $10,000 to $20,000.

The Youth Arts Enrichment (YAE) Grant Program supports specific programming that uses the arts to enrich the lives of Philadelphia’s young people both in and out of school. YAE grants provide project support for programs that occur between July 1, 2016 and December 31, 2017 and will deliver high quality arts instruction, training, and participatory experiences to young people (aged 5 to 18) who are least likely to access cultural enrichment through other avenues. This includes programming in Philadelphia’s most underserved, impoverished communities.

Besides the YAE grants, the Philadelphia Cultural Fund has awarded general operating grants to dozens of local arts and culture organizations. See the full list of recipients here.

                          Click to enlarge.

Community members are invited to come by Malcolm X Park (51st and Pine) from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 22 to help paint a mural-in-progress by artists James Burns and Eric Okdeh and to explore the mental health services available to all Philadelphians.

The invitation is part of The City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program Painting a Healthy City, an event from the behavioral health and wellness department, Porch Light.

Painting a Healthy City is a public paint day plus a behavioral health resource fair (inclusive of legal, employment, housing, trauma, counseling, and food insecurity resources), achieving Porch Light’s mission to connect communities in Philadelphia to health and wellness resources in low-stigma environments.

Featured murals this year come from Kirkbride Center and Girard Medical Center’s Goldman Clinic, where Okdeh and Burns have been hosting workshops since October. The artists’ designs draw from participant artwork and stories to create a vibrant picture of recovery, resilience, and hope.

An art show featuring work by young homeless mothers will take place this Sunday (May 15) at Indigo Bleu Design Collaborative, 3870 Lancaster Ave. The work displayed in this exhibit, titled Mothers and Others, is the result of a powerful partnership between People’s Emergency Center (PEC), which provides housing and social services for homeless moms and their children, and the Homeless Health Initiative (HHI) of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

HHI volunteers visit PEC’s Center for Parenting and Early Childhood Education several times each month. Led by an artist, these volunteer healthcare professionals bring not only the canvas, paint and brushes, they offer their time, encouragement and expertise. The young mothers experiencing homelessness feel empowered and excited for their first exhibit.

The reception for the exhibit will take place from 1 – 4 p.m. on Sunday. Proceeds from this event will benefit the artists and future creative expression programming at People’s Emergency Center. General admission tickets are $20 and can be purchased here.

Indigo Bleu Design Collaborative is one of the newest event spaces in West Philadelphia.  Continue Reading

As we mentioned earlier, this year’s Fringe Festival is expanding into West Philadelphia neighborhoods and is currently seeking venues and artists who would like to be part of this great shebang planned for Sept. 9 – 24.

Tonight, there is a chance for interested artists and venue managers to meet each other in an informal atmosphere during a West Philly Venue and Artist Mixer. The event will be held from 5 -7 p.m. at Dock Street Brewery (50th and Baltimore).

Here’s some more information from the event’s Facebook page:

“Are you a VENUE? Do you have an awesome space in West Philadelphia? Are you interested in hosting some rad performances in this year’s Fringe Festival?

Or are you an ARTIST looking for a location to perform your work in this year’s Fringe Festival?  Continue Reading

40th Street Artist-in-Residence (AIR), a program that awards West Philly artists free studio space for one year, is currently accepting applications for its 2016-2017 residency. The application deadline has been extended until 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, May 4, 2016.

40th Street AIR Gallery at 4007 Chestnut St.

Selected artists will be given studio space at either 4007 Chestnut Street or 4013 Chestnut Street starting Sept. 1, 2016 and ending Aug. 15, 2017. During residency, artists will work on developing their own creative work. In exchange, they will be asked to share their talents with West Philadelphia through a minimum of 40 hours of outreach service, which may include a public installation, a workshop or a class.

Applications are accepted from artists who are affiliated with West Philadelphia – you must live, work, volunteer, or create art here in order to apply.

Applications can be submitted online here, but first please visit the 40th Street AIR website for more information.

If you have questions, email: 40th.AIR.app@gmail.com

Work by Tegan Bellitta is currently on display at Gush Gallery at Jinxed (4521 Baltimore Ave.)

Artists Stephanie Slate and Sarah Thielke, co-founders of Gush Gallery, which had to close its location on the 5000 block of Baltimore Ave. last summer due to sustainability issues, are sending some great news: the gallery is very much alive and kicking at a new location in West Philly, also on Baltimore Avenue. Here’s what Stephanie wrote us in an email:

     Sarah Thielke and Stephanie Slate

“Gush Gallery (formerly at 5015 Baltimore Ave) has now teamed up with Jinxed on 4521 Baltimore Ave. Mike, the owner, has graciously offered us to take over the large brick wall in the new location. We have successfully curated two gallery shows from the new space, and have just confirmed upcoming shows with more local artists. We are VERY excited…”

The women have scheduled to have one solo or group show each month. They kicked things off in March with shows by Kate Harrold and Syd Torchio. Currently, Tegan Bellitta’s work is on display, and here is the gallery’s schedule through December, 2016:  Continue Reading