Named after the New York-based avant-garde film society started in 1947 and inspired by Maya Deren’s Greenwich Village exhibition of experimental films, Cinema 16 is a new series of film experiences based at the International House that “seeks to confirm the relevance of the historic avantgarde by pairing it with contemporary sound.” For its opening night event this Friday, Feb. 17 artist and curator Molly Surno has commissioned musicians as varied as the internationally recognized pop rock band Yeah Yeah Yeah’s to the locally Brooklyn favorite krautrock group FORMA to create original music that will accompany a series of historic short, experimental films to create a mixed media performance that “remove film from the conventional big screen theater.”

This edition of Cinema 16 at IHP will explore themes of perversity, flesh, and the female form. The films are:

Asparagus
dir. Suzan Pitt, US, 1979, 16mm, 18 mins, color

Kusama’s Self Obliteration
dir. Jud Yalkut, US, 1967, 16mm, 24 mins, color

Lusting Hours (excerpt)
dir. John and Lem Amero, US, 1967, 10 mins, b/w

8:00 p.m. International House Philadelphia (3701 Chestnut Street). $9 general admission, $7 students & seniors.  For more information or if you want to buy tickets online, go here.

West Philadelphia independent small press, Thread Makes Blanket has announced that its next project will be its first full-length book entitled Justice, Justice Shall You Pursue: A History of New Jewish Agenda by local writer, performer, and organizer Ezra Berkley Nepon. Justice is a historical work that documents the history and legacy of New Jewish Agenda, a national grassroots democratic organization prominent from 1980 to 1992, that organized a progressive Jewish voice for the political issues of their time, including peace and justice in the Middle East and Central America, Worldwide Nuclear Disarmament, economic justice in the U.S., and a powerful Jewish Feminist Taskforce that included work on LGBT issues and the emergence of the AIDS pandemic. Furthermore, the movement that NJA created united activists from a wide range of religious and secular communities.

Nepon, who is also the author of the 2010 play Between Two Worlds: Who Loved You Before You Were Mine and who recently spent three years in NYC working for transgender rights with the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, says of the book, “My passion for telling this story is informed by my own commitments to feminism, anti-racism, Palestinian solidarity, and queer liberation. I researched this history by digging through archive boxes at NYU’s Tamiment Archives, interviewing seven former members, reading every relevant book I could get my hands on, and asking every Jewish activist I met what they remembered about NJA. In 2006, I turned that research into a website to make the information publicly available. Now, I’m asking for your help to publish a book that can be passed from hand-to-hand to share this crucial people’s history of progressive Jewish activism.”

With just 11 days left in its IndieGogo campaign, Nepon and Thread Makes Blanket have just under $1,000 left to raise. If you’re interested in radical Jewish history, People’s History, or history of social movements, consider supporting the project. The book features original cover art by Abigail Miller, and backers may also choose to receive a Celebrate People’s History poster in collaboration with Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative.

For more information or to support the project, click here.

– Emma Eisenberg

This second Friday, Feb. 10 is jam packed with exciting art openings in West Philadelphia. Check out the listings below and make your very own second Friday gallery crawl. From textiles to video installation to art by your next door neighbor, these shows promise big excitement with some local flavor.

Banished: Marie Alarcon

The AIR Gallery, 4007 Chestnut Street, 6-9 p.m. (Through March 2)

Banished is a curation of short video and installation pieces by 40th Street Artist-In-Residence Marie Alarcon that deal with transformation. Banished explores cathartic expulsion and violent removal, sometimes initiated by the subject, at other times imposed by another. One of the pieces, MAGIcicada, a 5-minute video, follows a magical ritual of transformation created through live action, animation, and video collage.  “She Lost Her Wings Before She Could Fly,” is a video of devotion in dreams. http://mariedaphnie.com

Textile Art: A Lifelong Collection

Art on the Avenue Gallery, 3808 Lancaster Avenue, 5-8 p.m. (Through April 7)

This unique collection of textile, garments and ornaments from Mexico, South and Central America, Asia and Africa has grown over 45 years of traveling, living and working in these parts of the world. The artistic talent exhibited in weaving, embroidering and sewing these artifacts is exquisite and each object has a story to tell. http://lancasteravenuearts.com

Carlos Urenia & Cloris Lowe

Correction: Opening Saturday, Feb. 11. Gallery 13 W, 4504 Regent St, 7-10 p.m. (Through April 13)

Two-dimensional/installation artist Ramon Carlos Urenia will present work along with woodworker and 3d artist Cloris Lowe, who will show sculpture from his One a Day Series (pictured left). Lowe explores construction and ownership through small found object sculptures made from household objects (superglue caps, playing cards, clothespins and more). Urenia layers paint on wood to address de-construction and abandonment, saying “My current work is a direct reflection of my environment, specifically the abandoned urban spaces and neglected commercial lots of Philadelphia and Brooklyn.” http://www.gallery13w.com

7th Annual Fun-A-Day

Studio 34, 4522 Baltimore Avenue, 7-11 p.m. (Through February 11)

Organized by the Artclash Collective, a Philadelphia-based group of artists who organize free non-juried art projects and shows that aim to be fun, inclusive and participatory, the Fun-A-Day show features Philadelphia residents who created a work of art every day for the month of January. Come out to support your friends and neighbors as they display visual art, sculpture, installation, musical performance, and literary work.

The show opens on Friday, Feb. 10 from 7-11 p.m. On Saturday, Feb. 11 there will be an open mic style reading for written work from 5-7 p.m., followed by the main show from 7-11 p.m.

http://www.studio34yoga.com/2011/01/art-7th-annual-fun-a-day-art-show-211-12/

– Emma Eisenberg

A new West Philly-based film project is in the works thanks to local writer and director Dan Papa. ‘Maya’ is an independent feature film that will be shot in the area and will tell a story about the changes love goes through over time (see promo video below). The film is planning to shoot in April, 2012, but Dan and his team need some help with it.

An online fundraising page has been set up on Kickstarter (link). The goal is to raise $7,000, which is the minimum of what it takes to produce a movie. You can pledge as little as $1. The project will only be funded if the full amount is pledged by March 1, 2012.

Besides fundraising, Dan is currently casting the male lead role. If you are age 24-30 and have some experience in theater and film please email danieljamespapa [at] gmail.com. Don’t forget to include a video of your recent performance. Dan also wants to hear from anyone interested in being on the crew or who would like to contribute equipment.

For updates, camera tests, and other videos, visit the film’s Facebook page.

Curio Theatre (4740 Baltimore Ave) has had a great season so far, hitting it off with both the public and critics with their first two shows – Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice and Dario Fo’s Accidental Death of an Anarchist. This week the theater presents the Philadelphia premiere of a work based on Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five.

The show is directed by Jared Reed and features seven Curio actors (most of them from West Philly) playing some 40 characters. No one in this show remains the same for long, except the time traveling main character Billy Pilgrim. The dynamic sets (built by Curio’s Artistic Director Paul Kuhn) and cast will often change, adding to the confusion Billy experiences during his travels.

The show preview begins Thursday, Feb.2, and the official opening is February 10. All shows begin at 8 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. For more information and to buy tickets ($10-$20) visit this page.

Tonight is the opening night of Dario Fo’s play Accidental Death of An Anarchist at Curio Theatre (4740 Baltimore Ave). This comedy is probably the best-known play written by Fo and features both real and fictional characters. The shows run through January 7 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays beginning at 8 p.m. Tickets ($15-$20) are still available for tonight’s show. To buy tickets click here.

Check out the promotional video below (it’s hilarious!).