Earlier this year, Karen Chernick wrote about the missing Royal Theater mural, a history mural on South Street commemorating the legacy of the Royal Theater, a once-thriving black theater where Billie Holiday, among many others, gave concerts. The mural, painted by Eric Okdeh depicted jazz greats who played at the Royal, and neighborhood greats, like Ron Washington, of Ron’s Ribs, a restaurant landmark at 1627 South St., across from the theater. In this podcast, Roberta and Imani Roach (Artblog Managing Editor) speak with Brandon Washington, son of Ron. Brandon talks about the neighborhood, his father’s important role as a community leader and of his own and his brother’s hope to revive Ron’s Ribs in the future in a Ron’s Ribs food truck.
Read MoreIn this podcast interview, Matt Kalasky talks with Amanda Buck and Alexa Smith, two of the editors of Apiary Magazine, a beautiful Philadelphia literary publication in print and online, started in 2009 and publishing a wide variety of community voices, in a variety of genres including poetry, fiction and non-fiction. Apiary also includes visual art.
Read MoreIn this From the Vault post from 2011, Libby and Roberta talk with Amze Emmons about his work creating pastel-hued dystopias that are magnetic and enigmatic. Emmons’s works are featured at the Gershman Y right now in a pairing with (also wonderful) work by Lynne Clibanoff. The show is up to August 27, 2017. Be sure to get over and see it.
Read MoreIn this From the Vault post, listen to our 2016 audio podcast with Pap Souleye Fall, a 2017 UArts graduate, whose work is featured at the Galleries at Moore in the 5 into 1 exhibit, up til June 24, 2017. Pap’s performance- and sewing-based works are spiritual and community focused and great.
Read MoreRon Klein is an artist, a sculptor who thinks big, travels the world to research and find materials, and whose works evoke the cosmos and thoughts about the place of humans in a bigger context. Ron’s got an installation at Abington Art Center now through June 23. Don’t miss it.
Read MoreIn the gig economy many artists work multiple jobs. Grimaldi Baez works about seven, most of them in the community art realm, where he teaches and leads projects. For the Yabucoa, Puerto Rico-born, US-raised artist committed to idea of social justice, it makes for an exhausting but fulfilling life. Among other things in this wide-ranging interview, Grimaldi tell us how he relaxes.
Read MoreEnjoy this podcast with Douglas Witmer, in which he talks about his community project, “Neighbor Who,” and about his love of art and music, and his family’s roots in the Mennonite community in Lancaster County, where he grew up, although not, he says, driving around in a horse-drawn carriage.
Read MoreBetty Leacraft has been making art with fibers since she was young and learned how to sew from her maternal grandmother. Respectful of those early teachings and thirsty for learning about her ancestors, Betty has studied the fibers practices of her African ancestors and traveled to Ghana. She and her work have traveled to South Africa, as part of the Women of Color Quilters Network, to participate in an international exhibition there. Outside of the art school traditions and acting as what she calls a “cultural custodian,” the artist teaches workshops in fiber art in her West Philadelphia neighborhood and many other places in Philadelphia and has been recognized five times by the Leeway Foundation. Betty participated in the Mural Arts Program’s 2015 Neighborhood Time Exchange program and is part of the PMA’s Philadelphia Assembled project that will debut this Spring.
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