Update (Feb. 12): Maggie has been found and reunited with her owner.

A black and white Toy Fox Terrier disappeared earlier this evening. Her name is Maggie and she is small, 7 pounds.

If you have seen this dog, please call: 704-906-3389.

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

Here’s another art show opening to add to your Second Friday Gallery Crawl list. Stop by the University City Arts League from 6 – 8 p.m. for Colette Fu’s exhibit opening reception. Photo Binge features Colette Fu’s photo collage work and some of her popup books. The photo collage components were photographed in Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia and Nebraska over two years with 35mm film and scanned into Photoshop. Here is a link to some images from the popup books included in the show: http://www.colettefu.com/personal-work2/my-first-pop-up-books/

Colette says that the title “mirrors [her] state of mind while photographing – an impulsive, out of control state that arises from similar rituals like binge eating, smoking, speeding, drinking, and shopping.” Colette chose sports related backgrounds as “a reference to bone, sweat, desire, spectatorship, competition, achievement and the repetition of continually judging, evaluating and comparing.”

Event’s Facebook page. Open through February 29, Monday thru Friday: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.; Saturday, Sunday: by appointment.

The Walnut West Chess Cadets are in need of volunteer staff to assist in conducting a weekly class and acting as mentors to our young student players. You do not need to be a “Master” chess player, but knowledge of the game would be very helpful.

Kids range from 1st to about 8th grade in age. The club is going into its fourth year and has experienced rapid growth and recognition at the city-wide tournaments where we compete during the school year. It is a very rewarding experience for the right person. The club meets on Wednesdays from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at the library, 201 S. 40th Street.

You can contact Joe Clarke, 215-626-7332 or philly.joe.c [at] gmail.com or Ms. Susan Ben at the Walnut West Library, 215-685-7671.

If you’re looking for something to do with your little ones tomorrow, stop by the Lucien E. Blackwell Library (52nd & Sansom) for the “Little Dog Lost” storytime with local author and illustrator Monica Carnesi. The event will begin at 2 p.m. at the Children’s Department.

Little Dog Lost is a picture book about the true story of Baltic, a dog who was lost on an ice floe in the Baltic Sea. As a special treat, Dandie and Gus, the library’s very own Certified Therapy Dogs (who are local West Philly residents), will be attending this storytime. Dandie & Gus visit the library once a month, and this month Gus (pictured) is also celebrating his birthday!

Books will be available for purchase and signing. For more information about the author and “Little Dog Lost,” go here.

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