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No Libs 8th Annual Street Festival Keeping Philly Cool
Story, photos by Jae Rich The 8th Annual No Libs Street Festival was filled with everything you can imagine a festival could have on Sunday, August 7, 2016. Bass booming musicians, street performances, games, food and curb to curb people aligned 6 blocks of the northern liberty section of Philadelphia. The annual block party celebrated the community and amazing culture in Northern Liberties. The all day free festival included over 150 vendors from restaurants, beer gardens, authors, art galleries, and a variety of local business owners and entrepreneurs. With an eclectic and explosive musical lineup from local favorites the 2nd street festival was truly a party filled with libations, locals,…
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Over 3,800 Collages Decorate ‘City of Murals’ Thanks to Mural Arts Program
Photos, story by Jill Beckel It was a beautiful city morning when Explore Philly got the chance to go on a Mural Arts tour. Mural Arts tours are perfect for year-round social gatherings, business outings or fundraising events. We took a walking tour, but there are train and trolley tours offered as well. Our lovely tour guide of the day, Elise, gave us some background about the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. It began in 1984 when the mayor of Philadelphia opened an anti-graffiti network for kids and young adults. He hoped that this would dissuade kids from vandalizing Philly buildings with spray paint graffiti, which was becoming a huge problem…
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As the Only East Coast Venue, International Pop Blasts Into Philly
Photos, story by Lou Perri The Philadelphia Museum of Art presents International Pop, a groundbreaking survey of this important movement that explores Pop Art as a global phenomenon that was shaped by artists working in many different countries throughout the world. The exhibition features paintings, sculpture, assemblage, installation, printmaking, and film by 80 artists, drawn from public and private collections around the world, and offers an intriguing new look at a subject that is familiar. Viewing Pop Art through a much wider lens that amplifies a history commonly associated with major American figures like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, it is sure to delight audiences and broaden their understanding of one…
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Preview of The Barnes Foundation’s Picasso’s Great War Exhibit Opening February 21
By Lou Perri Explore Philly enjoys the many art museums Philadelphia has to offer and last Tuesday, February 16th, a member of the staff visited The Barnes Foundation for a new Picasso exhibit—Picasso: The Great War, Experimentation and Change. The exhibit will open to the public on February 21st and continue until May 9th. Picasso: The Great War, Experimentation and Change, organized in partnership with the Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio, and premiering at the Barnes Foundation (February 21 through May 9, 2016) examines the dramatic fluctuations in Picasso’s style during the period surrounding…
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A Night of Art: The Bazemore Gallery Holiday Celebration
Photos, story by Tori Radday The Bazemore Gallery kicked off the holiday season with an intimate celebration. They invited guests to view the work of the featured artists, mingle with other creative-minded people, appreciate the modern atmosphere of the gallery and enjoy light snacks and refreshments. The party took place at The Bazemore Gallery itself, located in Manayunk at 4339 Main Street, Philadelphia. The second that we stepped into the Bazemore Gallery, we were impressed by the refreshingly modern interior. Light-colored, hip wooden floors, a partial brick wall and a massive detailed wooden door all contributed to the Zen atmosphere. Gallery owner Lenny Bazemore, injects an element of life into his…
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Kun-Yang Lin Dancers Explore What Philly Really Means in “HOME/S. 9th St.”
Story, photos by Jill Beckel (unless otherwise noted) What does “home” mean to you? Is it your childhood home, your current home or maybe a place you visited once that felt like the home you never had? Maybe it’s a mix of a lot of feelings and images. Home is not the same for everyone. The world premiere of Home/S. 9th St. took place at FringeArts right near Penn’s Landing with shows on Nov. 19th, 20th and 21st. The notions of “home” and “American-ness” were discovered in part through stories of residents living on Philly’s diverse South 9th Street where the Kun-Yang Lin Dancers rehearse at CHI Movement Arts Center. Kun-Yang Lin teaches CHI Awareness Technique…
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Strolling Through Old City for Philly’s Famous First Friday Artsy Fartsy Fun
Story, photos by Jill Beckel If you haven’t heard about First Friday yet, you’re missing a fun (mostly free) night out. The event takes place the first Friday night of every month from 5 – 9 p.m. throughout Old City whether rain or shine. Visitors stroll through Old City checking out local art galleries, street vendors and more. Most of the participating art galleries are between Front and 3rd streets and Market and Vine streets. At this particular First Friday in November, we checked out a fundraiser for The Eric Zempol Memorial Fund at Soiree Gallery located on 3rd Street. With a $20 entrance fee, there were drinks, snacks, music and mingling as…
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Get a Sneak Peak of The Wrath of the Gods: Masterpieces by Rubens, Michelangelo and Titian at Philadelphia Museum of Art
Photos, story by Lou Perri What can one say about Timothy Rub, the George D. Widener Director and CEO of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and his gifted staff, but they did it again with another wonderful exhibit. The Philadelphia Museum of Art offers visitors The Wrath of the Gods: Masterpieces by Rubens, Michelangelo, and Titian. The exhibition focuses on one of the finest works by the great Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), Prometheus Bound. This ambitious, large-scale painting, described by the artist himself as “the flower of my stock,” is presented alongside works by the Renaissance and Baroque masters who inspired Rubens’s dramatic treatment of the eternal torment…
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Rain or Shine – Cocktails in the Courtyard Benefitting The Philadelphia History Museum
by Dana J. Prophet Dressed in clothing that never goes out of style, ticket holders attended this year’s fundraiser themed Cocktails in the Courtyard: A Vintage Party at the Philadelphia History Museum. This museum in particular focuses on everything residents of the City of Brotherly Love truly cherish and makes us different for other metropolises. With a DJ Jamie Dillon rocking tunes from every era and culture (much like the inhabitants of this city), everyone got in the groove and took a few turns on the dance floor. Bluecoat American Dry Gin, Dock Street Brewing Company, and WhistlePig Distilled Dry Whiskey generously donated elixirs to keep the party going responsibly. Besides the…
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Discovering the Impressionists: Paul Durand-Ruel and the New Painting at the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Story, photos by Lou Perri The Philadelphia Museum of Art continues to offer unique exhibits. Starting June 24th, and continuing to September 13th, , the Philadelphia Museum of Art presents a ground-breaking exhibition examining the early struggles and ultimate triumph of the artists who created the style known as Impressionism and the role that the great Parisian art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel played in their success. Discovering the Impressionists: Paul Durand-Ruel and the New Painting includes numerous masterpieces by leading figures of this movement such as Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, and Mary Cassatt. It will reunite for the first time key paintings that were shown…