Back to School Ball at Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens

Free Admission for Educators

-Friday, September 10, 6:00pm-9:00pm-
(Philadelphia, PA) – August 30, 2010 – On September 10, 6:00pm-9:00pm, Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens (PMG) hosts its first annual Back to School Ball exclusively for teachers and educators. This free event will invite local and regional educators to learn more about PMG and the mosaic environments of Isaiah Zagar.  Participants will also create projects directly applicable to the classroom in a variety of subject areas including art, history, and social studies.

Guests will enjoy a guided tour through the glittering mosaics from a seasoned PMG tour guide, watch a screening of the Monumental Mosaics instructional video, view and make beautiful crafts, and kick up their heels on the tiled dance floor!  Free raffle tickets will be given for over $800 of prizes including a mosaic by Isaiah Zagar, an autographed In A Dream DVD, a free intensive weekend Mosaic Method Workshop voucher, tile-inspired jewelry, Monumental Mosaics: The Isaiah Zagar Method DVD, and more!

PMG’s FREE Back to School Ball Celebration will include the following activities:

• Refreshments and light fare from local restaurants
• Free tours of PMG led by trained Garden Guide interpreters
• Mosaic and PMG themed hands-on activity tables
• DJ Captain Ridiculous spinning music all night long
• Over $800 of raffle prizes
• Mosaic Mural Teacher’s Scholarship information
• Take-away PMG lesson plans featuring State Curriculum Standards
• Screening of Monumental Mosaics: The Isaiah Zagar Method
• Gifts from Dick Blick art store

Space is limited. To reserve your spot RSVP to khealy@phillymagicgardens.org with your name and organization’s address and phone number.

Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens is located at 1020 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147.  For more information, please call 215-733-0390 or view our website at www.phillymagicgardens.org.

PMG’s Back to School Ball is generously supported by Dick Blick, Lovash Indian Restaurant, Philadelphia Brewing Company and other local restaurants.

Katie Baldwin, Julia Blaukopf, Andrea Cote, Oscar Muňoz,

Matthew Neff, Marisha Simons & Ben Volta

Curated by Amie Potsic

Sweet Spot

January 28 – February 18, 2010

The Center for Emerging Visual Artists

1521 Locust Street, Lower Level

Philadelphia, PA  19102

http://www.cfeva.org

In conjunction with Philagrafika 2010 and Fiber Philadelphia 2010, The Center for Emerging Visual Artists is pleased to present Sweet Spot, an exhibition of works by Katie Baldwin, Julia Blaukopf, Andrea Cote, Oscar Muňoz, Matthew Neff, Marisha Simons, and Ben Volta, curated by Amie Potsic.

Selected especially for the Philagrafika 2010 and Fiber Philadelphia 2010 festivals, Sweet Spot features Colombian artist Oscar Muňoz and six CFEVA artists whose prints, sculpture, and installations incorporate printmaking and fiber in unusual and unexpected ways.

Philadelphia Live Arts Festival

Second Thursdays Series

Artists from the Live Arts Festival artist residency program or a guest artist from the region talk about their work process and share their musings, imaginings and ideas that are the inspiration for what will eventually evolve into a new work.

They’ll be casual, intimate gatherings, so anything goes. The artists may perform segments of new work, tell stories about their un-traditional research, or just discuss what they’re currently imagining for their upcoming piece. Your feedback and questions throughout are warmly welcomed and encouraged!

Why you should come:

• Free admission
• Free beer
• You’ll hang with the artists, meet new people, see cool stuff, and be part of amazing conversations (or just listen in if you’d rather!).

When you should come:

• The second Thursday of each month, October – June 7pm

Upcoming featured artists:

• January 14, 2010

• Whit MacLaughlin / New Paradise Laboratories (FATEBOOK, 2009)Dare to take a peek inside the brain of Whit MacLaughlin, the Artistic Director of New Paradise Laboratories and mastermind behind 2009’s FATEBOOK.  Whit will give insight into his latest projects: FREEDOM CLUB (in collaboration with The Riot Group); MORT (the third part ofNPL’s American Party trilogy preceded by BATCH and PROM); and his newest idea, F@#CK COMPUTERS. For more advance details on the new works, visit http://www.princeton.edu/arts/news/archive/freedom-club/.Miro Dance Theatre
• Amanda Miller and Tobin Rothlein of Miro Dance Theatre will be showing a slideshow of their recent trip to India where they performed their newest work, How am I Not Myself?In the work, two classically trained dancers, one in Ballet and the other Bharatnatyam, examine the questions that come with dance, identity, and moving beyond the classical form. At the age of four Amanda Miller and Viji Rao began their classical training on opposite sides of the world. Now, thirty years later, following professional classical careers, they are both engaged in their own unique forms of contemporary dance. In How am I Not Myself? they join with video artist Tobin Rothlein to look at their transition from classical to contemporary with an exciting dialogue of movement and multimedia and a celebration of the contemporary and the unclassifiable.
• Makoto Hirano & Ben Camp
• Ben Camp and Makoto Hirano will be showing a few scenes that may or may not make it into their upcoming work, PunchKapow. PunchKapow is an original devised piece in development by Ben, Alex Torra, Makoto, Charlotte Ford, Mikaal Sulaimon, and Brett Cassidy.  The piece is inspired by representations of violence and how much fun they can be – comic books, action movies, video games, and anime.  People love violence, and we want to dive into the joy of fighting as much as the darkness. This piece is the first for an organization called Team Sunshine Performance Corporation, and will priemere in November.JANUARY PRE-SERIES BONUS EVENT:For this month’s Second Thursdays Series, you’ll enter the Festival studio through AREA 919’s gallery space. Between 6pm and 7pm, visit AREA 919 for a glass of wine and their Antique Collection of 18th and 19th Century works in stone, marble, iron, and wood from Europe, India, China, and America.  For more information: www.area919.com.

• Where it all happens: The Festival Studio , 919 N 5th St Philadelphia, PA 19123, Free onsite parking + abundant neighborhood street parking

A Survey of Contemporary Studio Furniture & Historic Glass

Wexler Gallery presents a survey of contemporary studio furniture including works by Timothy S. Philbrick, Silas Kopf, Tom Huang, Wendy Stayman, John Dunnigan, and more.  Historic pieces by master glass artists such as Mark Peiser and Joel Philip Myers will also be on view.  The show will run from January 4 – February 27, 2010. *An opening reception will take place First Friday, February 5, 2010 from 5 – 8pm.

Timothy S. Philbrick, Window Seat, 1999, Curly maple, upholstered, 25 X 36 X 17”

Wexler Gallery is located at 201 North Third Street in the historical district of Old City Philadelphia.

Finish up your holiday shopping with our Holiday Auction Sale!

There are many great pieces of art and gift certificates available for the Minimum Bid Price.

No more bidding - first come, first serve.

Browse online or stop by the gallery to see the work in person.