Outdoor Public Art Festival

2

Art in the Open Philadelphia

June 9-12, 2011

nd Annual

ART IN THE OPEN RETURNS FOR ITS 2

PERFORMERS, AND FAMILY FRIENDLY EVENTS, JUNE 9 – 12.

ND YEAR WITH MORE ARTISTS,

Uniting more than 60 Artists and Organizations to

Celebrate Outdoor Art-making in Citywide Event

PHILADELPHIA, PA: From Thursday, June 9 through Sunday, June 12,

Schuylkill River in downtown Philadelphia, from the historic Fairmount Water Works alongside the Philadelphia Art Museum to Bartram’s Garden three miles down river to the south, will once again become an outdoor studio as 40 artists begin making art in full public view. Presented in partnership with the

"art stations" while enjoying the park, the Schuylkill River, and breathtaking city views. Special family day activities will be offered by a number of partnering organizations on Saturday, June 11, 10 am – 1pm. A wrap up exhibition of the work created during AIO will be at The Painted Bride, June 18 through July 5

the banks of thePhiladelphia’s Office of Arts and Culture and the Creative Economy, Fairmount Park, Schuylkill River Banks Association, and more than 20 other cultural, environmental and civic organizations, ART IN THE OPEN PHILADELPHIA (AIO) is the only citywide event of it’s kind. Visitors to AIO will discover and witness Philadelphia’s urban, environmental, and cultural richness as they engage with the artists, family friendly public art making programs, and their own creative spirits atth with a reception on first Friday July 1st.

A

for creating art, and their relationships with the urban environment. Through AIO the Schuylkill River's critical relationship to the quality and character of Philadelphia will undergo fresh consideration by visual artists working along its tidal banks. By observing the artists’ diverse perspectives, Philadelphians will be able to stop and reflect anew on the unique and historic river that has defined and enriched their city. Inspired by the tradition of

    Says

Nutter’s Office of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy, "This innovative, first-of-its-kind public art event is a wonderful way to show off one of the country’s liveliest art communities."

RT IN THE OPEN PHILADELPHIA (AIO) is a public art event that celebrates artists, their inspirationsplein air painting, the four-day art event presents artists working in a variety of media and styles from sculpture to installation art, dance to photography, mixed media to painting on site, outside, along the banks of the Schuylkill River. Complementing this unique display of art-making in action will be a host of public programs presented by partner institutions and showcasing the vibrant community of working artists, galleries and institutions that make Philadelphia a major urban art center.Gary Steuer, Chief Cultural Officer, City of Philadelphia, and head of Mayor Michael

40 ARTISTS, 40 VISIONS

Of the 40 artists selected to participate in AIO, 90 percent come from the East Coast with 60 percent

coming from the Philadelphia region and western Pennsylvania. Outside of Pennsylvania the state

with the greatest representation is New Jersey, with six artists. There is one artist each from Illinois,

Arizona, Ohio, North Carolina, Maryland, Connecticut, and Virginia, and

Brussels Collective

from Belgium. Among the most notable local artists are Leah Stein, Nancy Agati, Carole Loeffler,

and Joan Becker.

In terms of media, 20 artists work two-dimensionally using paint, photography, collage, and paper.

The other 20 work three-dimensionally as sculptors using found objects, fabric, installation, and

digital media, or create work that involves interaction with the public. One of the participants is a

dance company — Philadelphia’s own Leah Stein Dance Company who will create a new piece over

the four-day festival.

The following are just a few examples of the projects on which the artists will work during AIO:

Joan Becker,

Schuylkill River and present them with short descriptions: their Latin name, their origin, uses, range,

physical description, and any special historical or cultural information that may be interesting to the

viewer.

a painter, will create a series of small watercolors of wild plants that grow along the

Ellen K. Bonett

campaign; She will collect various trash items from the streets of 4-5 distinct Philadelphia

neighborhoods to create individual, unique neighborhood quilts.

is inspired by the Philadelphia Streets Department’s "UnLitter Us" public service

Zoe Cohen

water from the river using a simple bucket and rope, and pouring it into one or two large barrels.

Each day 69 gallons of river water will be pulled by bucket into the barrel(s), to represent the

average American’s indoor water use of 69.3 gallons per day. Lines will be marked on the barrel(s)

to show the average amount of water we use daily for showering, laundry, etc., as well as to show

the relative daily water use of people in other countries.

will create a participatory action. Visitors and passers-by will be encouraged to draw

Elizabeth Mackie

invited to write about women they know or who are part of their lives. The stories will be recorded

on long ribbons of fabric using their handwriting. The length of the stories will determine the length

of the ribbon. The framework for the work will be an organza fabric skirt with many layers of clear

slips. It will be larger than life with the outside skirt symbolizing the cover of a book and the inside

slips the pages. Stories will be sewn by hand to the many slips as the storytellers finish them. The

ribbons will extend from the slips and many will begin to pile on the ground. The goal is to have at

least 100 stories and contributors as part of the project.

will record the original stories of people attending "Art in the Open." They will be

Christopher Pierro

underpasses along the route of AIO. This would allow him to create larger murals with aerosol and

demonstrate to the public how the medium is used. The works could then be removed at the end of

the Art in the Open event.

will create removable graffiti paintings on canvas installed at different

A CITYWIDE PARTNERSHIP

During, before, and after AIO, more than 20 Philadelphia cultural, environmental and civic

organizations will offer public programs highlighting the relationship among Philadelphia’s artists, its

residents, and the city’s natural environment. Family Day activities will include workshops and kid

friendly activities such as collage making with found objects with the

Arts Program

sticks construction out of recycled materials with the

Center,

leaf rubbings

offered by

City of Philadelphia Mural, a sculpture workshop with the Fairmount Park Art Association, rhythmic rainFairmount Park Waterworks Interpretivepainting workshop with Larry Francis through the Independence Seaport Museum, andwith the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education. Other activities will bePhiladelphia Museum of Fine Art, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts,

Museum Without Walls, Fairmount Park Art Association, Inliquid,

Park Alliance

please visit

and the Schuylkill River. For a complete list of ART IN THE OPEN PHILADELPHIA partners and their programswww.artintheopenphila.org/affiliates.

ABOUT THE FOUNDERS

The three creators of A

Parks Association Executive Director

Salvante

environment, the built environment, and the interplay between the two.

Under

RT IN THE OPEN PHILADELPHIA — artist and former architect Ed Bronstein; CityDeenah Loeb; and curator, arts administrator and artist Mary— have considerable experience using creative means to investigate the naturalDeenah Loeb’s leadership, the City Parks Association -- the lead organization for ART IN THE

O

natural resources, open space in the urban community and environmental stewardship.

LOEB

programs. Through symposia and inter-organization partnerships, CPA has become known for

fostering dialogue and collaboration among people committed to environmental stewardship. In

2005 Ms. Loeb secured funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to launch

PEN PHILADELPHIA -- has become an internationally recognized source of visionary thinking aboutDEENAHhas spent over 25 years developing and implementing innovative environmental and cultural

Philadelphia LANDvisions

transforming the city’s vacant lots into opportunities for urban sustainability.

Before joining CPA, Ms. Loeb was a consultant in the culture division of the Pew Charitable Trusts.

There she developed new initiatives including the Pew Fellowships in the Arts, the National Theater

Residence Program, and the Philadelphia Dance Initiative. Ms. Loeb has also served as associate

project director of the Fairmount Park Art Association, the nation's oldest private, nonprofit entity

dedicated to integrating public art and urban planning. Among the projects she oversaw for the

Association were

the public realm; the first inventory of and subsequent publication about Philadelphia’s public art

(the city has one of the largest collections in the country); and the installation and maintenance of

public art throughout the city. Deenah Loeb holds a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University and

a master’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Pennsylvania.

As founding director of the the first Environmental Art Program in Philadelphia at The Schuylkill

Center for Environmental Education, curator, arts administrator

many projects that have used art and design to examine the intersection of the built and natural

environments. One of the most notable was

design competition that drew more than 80 submissions, six small woodland shelters were built on

the Center’s grounds using sustainable design-build practices. Ms. Salvante also developed

environmentally-focused artist residencies that were integrated into the Center’s education

curriculum and a rotating exhibit of artwork focusing on environmental issues.

For over 20 years

curator and arts administrator. As an advisor at Randolph & Tate Associates, a New York-based art

consultancy, from 1989 to 2000, Ms. Salvante provided curatorial services, art-acquisitions planning,

and public and site-specific commissions-management for corporations, government agencies and

nonprofit organizations. Her clients included: the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the

American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York,

Hiro Real Estate, MetLife, Newscorp, and the National Urban League.

From 2003 to 2006 Ms. Salvante collaborated with Philadelphia artist Ed Bronstein to transition

Philadelphia Open Studio Tours (POST) from a volunteer-run program into one managed by The

Center for Emerging Visual Artists. As an independent curator Mary (

provided curatorial services to the University of Pennsylvania, the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts

Program, the Main Line Art Center, Art Ability at Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital, the Philadelphia Theatre

Alliance, the Independence Seaport Museum, British Airways, and Stockton Real Estate Advisors.

Among the nationally known artists with whom Ms. Salvante has worked are Alice Aycock, Brower

Hatcher, Mac Adams, Don Gummer, Jackie Brookner, Juan Munoz, Margarita Cabrerra, Billy Dufalla,

Tim Prentice, Julie Heffernan, Brian Tolle, Beverly Semmes, and Robert Lobe. She is currently

Gallery and Exhibitions Program Director for Rowan University Art Gallery

(

Ms. Salvante is chairperson of Art in City Hall, a board member of InLiquid, a nonprofit dedicated to

providing exposure and resources for Philadelphia designers and visual artists, and an advisorycommittee

member of The Center for Emerging Visual Artists. Mary Salvante received an MS in arts

administration from Drexel University and a BFA from the School of Visual Arts.

Artist

over 40 years. He began working as a professional artist in 2003 after studying for more than a

decade at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Fleisher Art Memorial, both in

Philadelphia. To pursue his passion full time he ended a 30-year career as an award-winning

architect who had practiced on his own, as a founding partner of Bartley Bronstein Long Mirenda

Architects, and, early in his career, at the firms of legendary Philadelphia architects Louis Kahn and

Robert Venturi. Mr. Bronstein’s paintings have been exhibited throughout Philadelphia; at galleries in

Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Vermont; at several museums in the Delaware Valley region;

and in Ireland. His most recent shows have been at The Station Gallery in Greenville, DE (2010),

Philadelphia’s Twenty-Two Gallery (2009) and the Urban Retreat Gallery in Dublin (2008).

Through both his work as an artist who often depicts urban and natural landscapes and his former

30-year career as an award-winning architect,

issues surrounding the intersection of the built and natural environments. Dedicated to ensuring that

Philadelphia remains a well designed, livable city, he helped found Philadelphia's

Group

offers an independent and informed public voice on issues of urban design in Philadelphia.

An active participant in Philadelphia’s artistic and civic life, Mr. Bronstein served on the City of

Philadelphia Art Commission, to which he was appointed by Mayor Ed Rendell in 1996. From 2003 to

2006 he worked with Philadelphia curator and arts manager Mary Salvante to transition Philadelphia

Open Studio Tours (POST) from a volunteer-run program into one managed by The Center for

Emerging Visual Artists. Ed Bronstein holds architecture degrees from Princeton University and the

University of Pennsylvania.

, an initiative to cultivate ideas that might inform a long-term vision forLight Up Philadelphia, a study of original artists’ designs for lighting solutions forMary Salvante has worked onGimme Shelter, for which, following an internationalMARY SALVANTE has been active in the visual arts field as an independentwww.salvantefineart.com) hashttp://www.rowan.edu/fpa/artgallery).ED BRONSTEIN has lived, worked and helped raise a family in Center City, Philadelphia, forEd Bronstein has become acutely aware of theDesign Advocacy(DAG), a highly respected voluntary coalition of architects, urban planners and others that

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