Tag Archive "art-in-city-hall"

News – Knight Arts Challenge 2012 finalists, Met hires Tate curator, Sharon Butler’s predictions, and more!

News Knight Arts Challenge Philadelphia names 55 finalists The Knight Foundation released the names of 55 finalists for its Knight Arts Challenge Philadelphia 2012. Finalists include artists, musicians, collectives, and community groups in the region. Winners are to be announced in the Spring.

News of the world – Nutter, Gould in New York, Muller in France, Hennessy at PAFA, and opportunities and more

Philly invades New York this weekend – Mayor Michael Nutter at the New Museum and ICA’s Claudia Gould at a NY Gallery Week panel Mayor Nutter participates in the Sustainable City Mayoral Panel, Friday, May 6, 7-8:30pm ($10), part of the Festival of Ideas for the New City, a symposium May 4-8 at the New Museum, sponsored by the NuMu, NYU, Columbia and other New York organizations.  Follow their blog.

Talking with the art czar

We had a chat with Gary Steuer last month in his 7th floor office in City Hall. The art czar’s desk is in a cubicle next to his assistant’s in a small North-facing office down a dark corridor. But Steuer has a sweet little conference room with a window overlooking the Masonic Temple on North Broad St. In fact, it’s the room that might have been his private office if he had wanted it. He decided he’d rather have a cubicle and a real (albeit mini) conference room instead. It was the kind of practical “let’s make something out of ... More » »

Weekly Update – Art in City Hall, bound by glass cases and mired in the past

This week’s Weekly has my review of the show “In Your Dreams” at Art in City Hall. Below’s the copy with some pictures. At a time of great energy and excitement in the city’s art community, “Art in City Hall”—an exhibition program launched in 1984—is stuck doing business the old-fashioned way.

Update from Art in City Hall

I got this email from Tu Huynh, who runs the Art in City Hall program in response to my question about the cases looking different. He answered that and more: I’ve been out sick…caught a virus from my kids, so I apologize for getting back to you sooo late. First off, thank you for the write up on the artblog. Did you see that Kathryn [Pannepacker] will be on the cover of American Craft magazine?

On the Fringe of Fiber at City Hall

On the Fringe of Fiber, the fiber show on now view at City Hall is a break-through show for the Art in City Hall program of bringing Philadelphia art into that dim public space. Two things have made the difference.   Martha Savery-Kahn, untitled, book, glass, paint

Summer in the city–urban landscapes at City Hall

Anne Minich, Cloud, wood, oil, found materials As far as art “of the people, by the people, for the people” in City Hall, the “for the people” element has taken a turn for the worse. To get into City Hall these days, you have to go through a checkpoint (being paid for by Homeland Security). The first time I went, the line was long and slow. So this week was my second attempt to see the current Art in City Hall exhibit. I imagine this new situation might be a barrier to anyone but friends and family of the artists ... More » »

Turducken

Leo Sewell’s Doc Duck is anassemblage of surgical instruments transformed into a representation of aduck. (I think this is the right description for this photo) Gobble, gobble. I thought this could pass as turducken. Have a good one. Oh, and the duck is now on exhibit as part of the Metals and More show of works by 18 Philadelphia sculptors in City Hall. The exhibit, curated by artist Charles Burwell, runs to Feb. 2007 on the second and fourth floors of City Hall. Also in the show, besides Leo Sewell, who I believe did this duck, are: I. George Bilyk, ... More » »

The Mystery of Case 13

I always have mixed feelings about the Art in City Hall shows. On the one hand, I’m completely sold on the idea of art in public spaces. On the other, City Hall’s tall, narrow glass vitrines, placed on two floors of the building, are a challenge for the art and a challenge for the viewer. Put on your hiking boots because to see the exhibit requires pacing hundreds of feet of hallways and ascending two flights of stairs. Apart from those logistics, what’s in the exhibits is almost always worth the trip. Right now you’ll find the cases full of ... More » »