PhilaCulturati

Friday, February 27th, 5:30pm ~ The Philadelphia Art Alliance’s Last Friday Recital Series, 5:30pm, FREE. Rittenhouse Square.

The majestic front steps leading up to the early 20th-century mansion allude to the artistic and conceptual grandeur of the Philadelphia Art Alliance. But don’t let the austere facade deter you: the journey inside its doors leads you to innovative art exhibitions and fascinating programs. One of which occurs this Friday and is free-of-charge.

200 years ago the stars were aligned for the birth of intelligent men, because not only were Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln born then (on the same day!) but so was Felix Mendelssohn. This Friday, the Philadelphia-based quartet Liebesfreud will be presenting a special program celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Felix Mendelssohn, highlighting some of his finest pieces of chamber music, including the ‘Octet for Strings’ with guest performances. (Free registration). A great way to expand your musical repetoire, this recital will make a great start to a cultured night out.

Come for the music, stay for the jewelry. The current exhition at the PAA is “Challenging the Châtelaine” which displays a large collection of unique jewelry meant to be worn around a female’s waist. Intrigued? Click here for more information.

And just a few doors down is Devon Seafood Grill, so be sure to take advantage of the special offer…

(Click for details.)

Thursday, February 26th, 5:30-7:30, Gallery Openings at The Print Center and the Center for the Emerging Visual Artist, FREE. Rittenhouse Square.

Dinner: Devon Seafood Grill. See PhilaCulturati home page or click for special offer.

Yes, you can avoid the First Friday crowds and craziness, and still enjoy multiple, nearby art openings on the same night!

This Thursday, Feb 26th, the Rittenhouse Square area will be host to two quality art openings at non-profit galleries. The Print Center at 1614 Latimer between Spruce and Locust and The Center for the Emerging Visual Artist (CFEVA) at 237 South 18th Street in The Barclay, Suite 3A. Both receptions run from 5:30 to 7:30pm. The Print Center’s Curator John Caperton will be speaking at 5:30, so you may want to hit there first. Not two blocks away, CFEVA will have an artist reception at their opening and Devon Seafood Grill is just next door, making it a perfect place to finish for dinner and impress your companions with your impressions on the evening’s art.

The Print Center is debuting “Pulling from History: The Old Masters,” a group exhibition bringing together the work of contemporary artists whose work has been influenced by old master prints. Exhibiting artists include: Jennifer Bornstein, Ernesto Caivano, David Fertig, Sarah McEneaney, Norm Paris, Andrew Raftery, Kiki Smith and Anton Würth.

The Center for the Emerging Visual Artist gives out travel grants to its alumni and will be exhibiting the work produced during the grant recipients’ travels in “Alumni Travel Grant Exhibition by Michael Froio, Jill Greenberg, James Mundie, and Ann Northrup.” The four local artists travelled to different parts of the world and were inspired by extremely different experiences. This exhibition features prints, photographs, and installations of their work.

DINNER: Located in the prime real estate of Rittenhouse Square, Devon Seafood Grill offers an extensive menu of large-portioned entrees, a well-ranged wine list, eclectic cocktails, elegant seating (intimate booths or stylish bar seating), all without the noise and chaos of other Rittenhouse bars and restaurants.

First Hand: The only other restaurant where I’ve enjoyed such good tuna tartare is the original Bookbinders. The waitress appropriately recommended some wine choices in our price range. We were able choose our fish to-order. And the dessert portions were so generous, a) we could’ve shared and b) we had enough carrot cake to take home for dessert-seconds (you know what I’m talking about).

For a great review written by Elizabeth Halen, check out www.foodaphilia.com.

First Person Arts’ Story Slam @ L’Etage Cabaret, 6th and Bainbridge. Doors open at 7:30, slam starts at 8:30. $8 21+.

DINNER:  Little Fish, 6th and Catharine St. Reservations recommended, 215-413-3464.

Comical, entertaining and inspiring, First Person Arts’ StorySlams blend open mic comedy with performance art. What is a ‘Story Slam?’ Much like a poetry slam, a story slam is an open competition for people to tell their stories drawn from real life occurrences, performed sans-script, in front of a live audience. Each month has a different theme such as “bad ideas,” “I think we’re alone now,” or “baggage”.

Nestled on the border of Queen’s Village and Bella Vista neighborhoods, L’Etage Cabaret is an awesome venue for these performances. Directly above Beau Monde Creperie, on the northwest corner (think: to your right if you’re walking down 6th from South St) the entrance is marked with a tile mosaic, just after the Creperie’s outdoor seating. During the StorySlam, L’Etage will be offering $4 well drinks.

Still not sure what a story slam is? Check out some of last year’s performances on YouTube:

Make a night of it! Two blocks south from L’Etage at 6th and Catharine, is one of the best, most affordable seafood restaurants you will ever find. Period. AND it’s BYOB! The aptly named Little Fish is a small restaurant run by chef/owner Mike Stollernwerk and his wife, Marilyn. The almost one-room restaurant is open to the kitchen where you can see your fresh fish being prepared to order. Stollernwerk does incredible things with mahi mahi, diver scallops, skate, even surf and turf. And don’t get caught up in just the entrees, the calamari and mussels are superb starters, side dishes are paired with their entrees to perfection (butternut squash, braised collards, sweet potatoe puree), and I’ll be drooling on my keyboard as I list the desserts…star anise creme brulee, chocolate truffle torte… [sigh].

Please do make reservations, as the small restaurant fills quickly. Open 5:30 – 10. Call 215-413-3464 for reservations.  Make sure you stop by the Wine & Spirits store at 724 South Street for libations.

Stay tuned for other places in the vicinity to visit.

Through Feb 1, 401 S Broad St at Pine, 215 446-3021, M-F/9-5 or while building is open, gershmany.org,

Two galleries, two exhibitions and two sets of artists combine to create one poignant experience at The Gershman Y Galleries, on Broad and Pine streets.

The exhibitions — “Beautiful Dreamers: Leo Lionni and Emanuele Luzzati,” in the Borowsky Gallery, and “RomaAmor,” in the Open Lens Gallery. These family-friendly exhibitions feature award-winning artists who inspire creativity in viewers of all ages and backgrounds.

The title “RomaAmor” is a palindrome, or a word that can be read forwards and backwards, and it mirrors the interplay of opposites presented throughout the photographic collages and digital assemblages of Joel Katz.  After winning the Rome prize from American Academy in Rome in 2002, Mr. Katz has returned to Italy on an annual basis. The draw? Mr. Katz is inspired by the alluring dichotomies witnessed in Rome: the sacred and profane, the ancient and modern and the real and fake. 

“Rome is chaos; visual chaos, architectural chaos … even the traffic is chaos,” Mr. Katz said. “Contradictions live very comfortably in Rome.”

Contradictions depicted in “RomaAmor” are exhibited as visual elements, and literary ones as well. Collaborating with Mr. Katz is Randall Couch, a distinguished poet and respected voice on contemporary poetry.

“This exhibition is unique because you have to read the work, not just look at it,” says Maurizio Longo, a cultural officer at the Italian consulate in Philadelphia.

Mr. Couch’s poetry translates the artistic themes of Mr. Katz’ work both in the poetic forms and visual layout of each stanza. By pairing different forms of poetry — word palindromes, parody in iambic dimeter, belle espionne — Mr. Couch points out a lighter, more humorous side of the contrasting facets Rome found in Mr. Katz’s photography.

Also on view is “Beautiful Dreamers,”  a fascinating collection of artwork by lifelong friends and artistic rivals Leo Lionni (1910-1999) and Emanuele Luzzati (1921-2007).

“This is probably the first time Leo Lionni and Emanuele Luzzati have been shown together in the States, even though they were lifelong friends and art colleagues,” says Miriam Seidel, curator of the Gershman Y Galleries.

Mr. Lionni, a Caldecott Honor-winning children’s author and illustrator, and Mr. Luzzati, best known for his theatrical set designs and Academy Award-nominated animated films, are both Jewish artists who fled Europe to survive the Holocaust. “Beautiful Dreamers” showcases Mr. Lionni’s original illustrations along with prints and posters of Mr. Luzzati’s work. For the exhibit, both artists take inspiration from the colors and imaginative themes of children’s literature. The playful, monochromatic forms that result contain a beauty and pleasure that sharply contrast the hardship’s of the artists’ own lives.

What to do next? The Gershman Y building is right in the center of everything, so finding something else to do should not be difficult. For starters, you’re in the University of the Arts’ campus so walk fifty steps north to the Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery (333 S Broad) open Wednesday’s til 8pm. The Kimmel Center is also close by at Broad and Spruce.

19 South 22nd Street, Mütter Museum, 215 563-3737‎

When it comes to being “disturbingly informative” there’s weird and then, there’s Mütter weird. Quirky, slightly eccentric and 100% unique, the Mütter Museum is basically the Marilyn Manson of the museum world. Boasting some of the world’s strangest medical pathologies, the museum was once a surgery professor’s personal collection (aka Dr. Mütter). Building on his collection, the museum now has some 20,000 + objects including anatomical specimens preserved in fluid (think: baby in a jar), archaic medical tools (before laser surgery it was approximate-and-cut surgery) and plain old weirdness.

Want to see the world’s largest colon? A lady who decomposed into soap? Conjoined twins attached at the chest? Yeh, they’ve got that.

Well before I oversell it with tantalizing facts about the body’s abnormalities and medical wonderment, let me pass one more tidbit by you: the museum is open late every Friday evening. With normal hours of operation M-F 10 to 5, the Mutter has decided to accommodate all of the Friday weird-date-night business by staying open until 9pm.

So make a date of it! The Mütter Museum is on 22nd St between Market and Chestnut (easy access from the trolley stop at 22nd and Market). Ideas: walk a half block south to Sansom St and check out the Helium Comedy Club (2031 Sansom St.) and hit up the Rum Bar or Monkey Bar both easy-going bars with a hip vibe on Walnut St just before 20th.

315 Chestnut St., 215-925-2222, chemheritage.org

The words “chemical” and “heritage” don’t usually get us excited — and let’s face it, the combination is worse. But the Chemical Heritage Foundation, which opened the doors to its 17,000-square-foot museum and conference center in Old City earlier this month, is definitely worth a visit. Ten years in the making, this $20 million project uses contemporary art, history, current events, artifacts and technology to examine science in our everyday, beaker-phobic lives.

“A museum is a visual place, and we really wanted this one to be captivating,” says curator Erin McLeary. “Even if you don’t know what something scientific is, you’ll find it interesting here.” From birth control to computers, explosions to pasteurization, the permanent exhibit conveys the roles science has played — and continues to play — in shaping modernity. The first of the changing exhibits, “Molecules That Matter,” takes a look at 10 organic molecules that have influenced the world, including familiar faces such as nylon, DNA and aspirin. “We’re not as interested in teaching science as much as we are exploring how it occurs in our world,” says McLeary.

If the science doesn’t draw you in, the striking renovation of the First National Bank (built in 1865) is worth a look. The large arching windows let in plenty of natural light — a rarity in the museum world — and the eco-friendly construction included wall tiles and floors made from recycled materials. Then, of course, there are our favorite two words: free admission.

When Visiting: so the museum will be closed from Jan 19 – 23rd for construction. Normal hours are Monday to Friday 10-4. Not exactly conducive for a “night out” but listen up: It won’t take you more than an hour to go through the exhibits, so aim to be there around three o’clock and then march over to Second St, do some shopping and hit up the bars for happy hour! Old City is chock full of great places to go for food and libations. Some PhilaCulturati favorites include the church-turned-bar National Mechanics, a local brewery with a contemporary vibe, Triumph Brew Pub,  and the Khyber the city’s best hipster hangout.

Through Feb. 6, free, Art Institute of Philadelphia, 1622 Chestnut St., 215-405-6408

Within the mountainous archives of the City of Philadelphia’s records department and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP) lies evidence that our much-clichéd “city of neighborhoods” has major roots. The Art Institute’s “Philadelphia Stories: Yours, Mine, Ours” showcases more than 60 photographs from those archives that depict ordinary Philadelphians — immigrants, workers, neighbors, churchgoers, schoolchildren — through 150 years of history.

The exhibit reaches back to the 1860s when photography was first developing as a widespread medium.”Philadelphia Stories” is a nostalgic selection that sheds light on our foods, our cultural backgrounds, our religions and our businesses.

“It’s a good example of a wonderful collaboration among partners you wouldn’t normally think of,” says city Records Commissioner Joan Decker of her department’s alliance with HSP to dig up, digitize and upload these accounts. Already some 90,000 of the city archives’ two million photos have been posted on phillyhistory.org; HSP is in the process of compiling an interactive Web site, philaplace.org, set to launch in May. The site, of which this exhibit is a precursor, will showcase the evolution of Philly’s immigrant neighborhoods through photographs, maps, timelines, audio and visual clips, podcast tours and text.

Convenient for all those art students, the Art Institute is right near lots of fun bars and shopping. The gallery is open Monday to Thursday 9am-7pm, so we recommend hitting it up then. Nodding Head Brewery is a good place for low-key dining, great local beer in a pub atmosphere. For more upscale dining in a swank bar, try Alfa over on Walnut.