Gush Gallery co-founders Sarah Thielke and Stephanie Slate. (Photo courtesy of Thielke and Slate)

For local photographers Sarah Thielke and Stephanie Slate, art is a stimulus—a rapid stream of influence in their daily lives. After all, the lineage is there: Slate, a native of Florida, is the granddaughter of a professional photographer, and painters thrived in Theilke’s New Jersey-bred family.

“[Art is] just something that’s always been around us and that we are passionate about,” the duo, who met while attending Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute, told West Philly Local via email.

It’s a passion that’s amassed to Gush Gallery—a West Philadelphia interactive art gallery, community center and boutique Slate and Thielke hope to open in April with the help of donations through their Indiegogo fundraiser, which ends next month. So far, since its launch, Slate and Thielke have raised $1,315 of their $8,500 goal, which will go towards repair costs and equipment for their space (a lease is not signed at the moment; the pair are considering spots on the 5000 block of Baltimore Avenue and the 4700 block of Spruce Street).

Once opened, Gush will be an epicenter of sorts, serving an eclectic lot of emerging and underground artists from a hodgepodge of disciplines and styles—a call back to the gallery’s moniker, synonymous with “enthusiasm” and “torrents”—ultimately catering to a community rich with creativity but lacking in resources to foster it. At the start, Thielke and Slate will run Gush, curating the exhibitions, designing the annual Gush “yearbook” of shows, and leading the photography-based workshops for members and non-members alike (membership fees are three-tiered and start at $25 per year). Services like printing, scanning, film processing, alternative process printing, and digital workstations are also available through Gush at an hourly rate plus use of materials (discounted for members). And, as Gush evolves, the pair hope to bring on local artists to teach workshops in their respective field (like painting, illustration, or sculpture), bring on interns and possibly a small staff, offer a free monthly critique, and classes for children.

But Gush Gallery’s reality isn’t driven by hard numbers. The Indiegogo campaign the two 27-year-old artists are running is flexible, meaning if Thielke and Slate don’t meet their goal by February 7, they will still receive the funds they did raise. In addition, they’re researching grant opportunities for the arts and small businesses, as well as possibly brainstorming brick-and-mortar fundraiser events to help push Gush from concept to tangible.

Still, they say, “if we don’t make our goal but raise enough to open, we’re going to do just that. We want to open Gush as soon as we can.”

–Annamarya Scaccia

Editor’s Note: West Philly Local is proud to present the eighth in a series of vignettes of local block captains drawn from Them That Do, a multimedia documentary project and community blog by West Philly-based award-winning photographer Lori Waselchuk. Go to Them That Do for more information, updates and additional photos.

Rebecca Metraux Canna holds her seven-month-old daughter Lorelei in their home. Canna is the block captain for the 4600s of Hazel Avenue in Philadelphia PA. Photo by Lori Waselchuk

They call themselves the Hazelnuts. And Rebecca Metraux Canna is their captain.

Canna, soft spoken with a friendly smile, took over as block captain four years ago. “I love to plan events. I love West Philly. I thought I could contribute.”

The Hazelnuts love to party. They apply for five summer block party permits at a time. For more than a quarter of a century they have been hosting an annual progressive dinner party, during which 30 or so Hazelnuts eat a three-course potluck dinner, each course hosted by a different household. There are house concerts with famous musicians and impromptu happy hours on the large front porches of the nearly identical Edwardian twin homes. On Halloween, the Hazelnuts decorate their homes and treat generously.

For all the events and the business of the block, Canna uses block’s listserv and Facebook page to communicate. Canna is a psychologist; she likes to create surveys to understand how folks feel about things. When the block was considering permit parking, Canna used online surveys to get a consensus. “It was very contentious and took three votes to get it approved,” recalls Richard Olaya, a Hazelnut, a former Hazelnut captain, and a father of two.

Canna continues to think of new ways to be social. One Sunday this month, she is hosting a Sunday coffee and dessert get-together. “It might get people out of their houses during the winter,” she says.

The children party, too, in their own way. There are skateboarders and four-square games. The Manhunt tag games spill over into other blocks. Olaya took an informal census recently (surveys may be another Hazelnut tradition) and counted 36 kids living on the block. Some of the annual block parties are less structured so the kids can play freely on the blocked-off street.

Canna hopes to keep a kid-friendly culture on Hazel Avenue for her seven-month-old daughter, Lorelei. Already, she has been enlisting Lorelie to help with her captain duties. “She’s a good ice-breaker. I take her when I go around collecting the [$10] block fees. I don’t know everyone on the block, so Lorelie makes my introductions easier.”

–Lori Waselchuk

A 21-year-old man was shot point-blank and gravely wounded early Wednesday morning after he answered a knock on his door, according to police. The shooting took place just before 1 a.m. on the 5300 block of Osage Avenue. The man was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and it is unknown at this time if he is going to survive.

“He was shot at least two times — once in the head and once in the neck,” Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small told NBC10.

Update (1:00 p.m.): Police said that it wasn’t a random shooting. There are no more details available at this point and there is no description of the suspect, who fled the scene after the shooting.

UPDATE, 1/8/14, 9:15 a.m. According to Shaban Kabab and Curry owner Mohammad Sajad. A, who reached out to West Philly Local after our story went live, the restaurant is “very close to opening” within two weeks, although he does not have a fixed date.

Already known for its variety of African and Middle Eastern flavors, Chestnut Street between 41st and 45th Streets will soon claim a South Asian eatery as part of its budding restaurant strip: Shaban Kabab & Curry is set to open its doors soon at 4145 Chestnut Street. The restaurant already has a website and Facebook page and is even featured on GrubHub (although, not taking deliveries yet). Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to get in touch with the owners to ask them about the opening date. We’ll let you know when we have more info.

Shaban Kabab & Curry’s extensive menu offers locals authentic South Asian cuisine based heavily in tandoori and curry-based flavors. Traditional meat and vegetarian dishes like Dal Makhni, Kadhi Pakora, Chicken Tikka, Goat Biryani, Gola Kabab and Kathi Rolls stand out among the crowd, while a weekend specials list offers a peak into the region’s delicacies (think lamb brain cooked with butter, onions, tomatoes and authentic spices). Four versions of naan are also sold as part of Shaban’s freshly baked breads, which include tandoori roti, aloo paratha, and onion kulcha. Price points for these items range from $1.50 to $19.99.

And, if you’re looking for something a little more off the beaten path of South Asian cuisine, Shaban will also prepare four different types of 10-inch pizzas from $4.80 to $7.40: plain, one topping (choose from onion, green pepper, hot pepper, black olives, spinach, mushroom, chicken tikka, seekh kabab, buffalo chicken, juicy pineapple, broccoli, cauliflower or garlic; additional toppings are a $1 each), a vegetarian special, and the Shaban special (chicken tikka, seekh kabab, black olives, mushrooms, onions and green peppers).

According to Shaban’s website, the new restaurant will be open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sundays through Wednesdays, and 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. Thursdays through Saturdays.

–Annamarya Scaccia

Click to enlarge.

Rich Wexler, the director of Project Arts (formerly known as Project Theater Project), invites teenagers to audition for a local production of “Avenue Q School Edition” to be staged at The Rotunda (40th & Walnut) this year. Wexler successfully produced RENT School Edition, also at The Rotunda, in 2011.

This will be an after school program in partnership with The Rotunda and teens aged 15-19 are welcome to audition for the project. Project Arts is an educational theater company that incorporates a curriculum into each project. The program also focuses on issues of social justice in each of its productions. This is a great chance for teens to get theater experiences at a time in which schools are forced to cut such needed programs.

Project Arts programs are free to all participants and production shows are priced very affordable for the audiences. Auditions will take place beginning this week (Saturday, Jan. 11) at The Rotunda. Here are the dates and times:

Saturday, Jan. 11, 11am-5pm
Sunday, Jan. 12, 11am-5pm
Monday, Jan. 13, 4pm-9pm
Saturday, Jan. 18, 12pm-4pm

The teens do not have to have any formal theater training to be considered for a part and can help with many other aspects of the production, such as puppetry, set, light, audio, video, crew, etc. More information about the requirements for the auditions can be found here. Also, feel free to email Rich at projecttheaterproject@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Police are searching for two suspects who robbed the Hualai Chinese restaurant near 51st and Walnut early Monday morning, according to reports. The incident took place at around 1 a.m. when the suspects entered the restaurant, forced the owners – a husband and wife –  to the back of the restaurant, and pistol-whipped both of them. The suspects took an undisclosed amount of cash and fled in a black car.

The restaurant owners were taken to the hospital and are listed in stable condition, CBS Philly reports. No more details and no surveillance video are available at this time. We’ll update when we have more information.