First Person Arts

Enjoy this brand new compilation of the Philadelphia Complaint Choir’s series of performances culminating in the final performance at the 2008 First Person Festival of Memoir and Documentary Art:

You can find out more about the Philadelphia Complaint Choir at the complaint choir blog or at Shelley Spector’s site.

We’ve confirmed Robert Drake, yes THE Robert Drake, to host the first 2009 StorySlam with the timely theme “Broke.”  As a special treat, this one-hour slam on January 24th is totally FREE and kicks off at 6:30pm in the Commonwealth Plaza area of the Kimmel Center, ending at 7:30pm right before Ira Glass goes on stage.  And while we can’t say for sure that Mr. Glass will be in the audience, it’s pretty clear he likes true stories just as much as the next guy, and, well, arguably quite a bit more.

So, if you’ve got any money left at all, you can leave it at home or give it to Ira Glass.  All we want is your true-stories about being broke; this StorySlam is FREE.  Comedian Louis CK’s got some profane thoughts on the matter that might help spur your creativity:

Details:

1st StorySlam of 2009
Theme: Broke
Host: Robert Drake
Location: Commonwealth Plaza at the Kimmel Center, 260 S. Broad St.
Date: 1/24/2009
Time: 6:30pm-7:30pm
Cost: FREE

The regularly scheduled slams return to L’etage on January 27th with one of our favorite hosts, Victor Fiorillo, and the theme “Bad Idea.”  The cost is $8, but you can pick up a six-pack of slam tickets for $40 right here.

On December 17th, First Person Arts will host a members’ reception for 2007 Artist-in-Residence Julia Blaukopf.  Please, become a member and join us for this intimate gathering in the CFEVA offices to celebrate the launch of her new show.   Here are some of Julia’s reflections on her journey since coming to First Person Arts, the struggles of being an artist, and working in Ghana:

October 2006

The smell of smoke spreads across the thick, musty air.  Just outside of the airport lies Times Square, Ghana style.  Bright billboards, loud bars, and restaurants featuring food from Chinese to Lebanese fare spread across several blocks.  Mandy offers me a plastic bag filled with filtered water.  I bite the corner off and suck the warm water out from the end.

Almost two and a half years have passed since I sat in the First Person Arts offices, making frantic attempts to raise money for the trip to Cape Coast, Ghana.  Just out of college, I had received the opportunity to do what I had envisioned when I opted for art school, an unforeseeable route at the time.  Women in Progress, an organization that empowers women through a sustainable business of clothing and accessory production called Global Mamas, invited me to live in Ghana and work with them as photographer.

I was elated.  My goal was and has always been to create artistic work that promotes social and political efforts.  I wanted to make images that would embody the mission of Women in Progress and help raise awareness for the women artisans crafting businesses through batiking, sewing, and bead making.  There was just one problem — I needed money.

Housing and opportunity were two pivotal necessities, but I also needed nourishment, transportation, and film.  The budget was low, but at 23 with no experience in development, proposal writing, or, well, anything outside of the arts, the meager amount seemed impossible.

With the in-kind and moral support of First Person, I made it to Ghana where I worked for four months with Global Mamas.  In the short amount of time I gained experience designing a wholesale catalog; created a body of photographic work that has since exhibited throughout the US; and scribed my experiences into a series of journals that I am now translating into a book of text and imagery.  From the time that I was in Ghana, I have also received acceptance from programs, including the Center for Emerging Artist fellowship here in Philadelphia.  This two-year program has been instrumental in teaching me the business of art, challenging my artistic abilities, providing me with opportunities, and inspiring me to continue producing new works of art.

The images of workers, mothers, children, artisans, and city scenes first exhibited at the 2007 First Person Arts Festival in a show entitled The Ghana Tales.  Now, a year later, toward the end of my CFEVA fellowship, tales of the beginning presents images from Ghana printed on fabric scrims.  New works of installation and collage show in conjunction with the photographic pieces that Baltimore based artist Elizabeth Crisman produces, depicting the human skeletal structure.

Please contact me with any questions.  I look forward to seeing you there!

julia@juliablaukopf.com
www.juliablaukopf.com

For you fans of now-classic reality television moments, this story from the 2008 Grand Slam by Ingrid Wiese fills in some of the details behind the production of “Joe Schmo.”  Ingrid really was the reality-show contestant you imagined yourself to be.  The one who sees all the angles and spots the scam:

A group of 2008 Grand Slam storytellers backstage in the green room at the Painted Bride during the 2008 First Person Festival:

From left to right: Katonya, Sandy, Kendra, Juliet, and Kevin

The 2009 StorySlam season will open just a hair early with a special slam just before the Ira Glass show on Saturday January 24th at the Kimmel Center for FREE.  The theme is “Broke.”  The regularly scheduled slams resume on the following Tuesday the 27th back at L’Etage (that theme will be “Bad Idea”).

Even though a part of me wanted to stay home in front of the fire on the evening of November 15, I had already bought tickets for the Grand Slam, so my friend and I braved the rain and traffic to attend. It was late for us moms, but we were game!

We didn’t know the stories are rated, immediately, by “volunteer” judges. That must be why they call it a slam! Thankfully, we were not among the chosen. What a crowd. Diverse, enthusiastic and ready for whatever the contestants would throw their way. And yes, we were amazed at what was thrown our way. It takes a lot to tell your mistakes and foibles and naivete to a 350 people, yet it happened and no one seems the worse for it. You can see the stories on video here on the blog, but the full experience is the best. A story slam creates its own kind of intense give and take between the tellers and the audience. No offense, YouTube, but you had to be there. And you’ll be at the next one, right?

The following day was Sunday, and I took a different friend, one who has lived in the neighborhood of Painted Bride for years. “I can’t believe it was my suburban friend who got me out to this,” she marveled as we walked a couple blocks to the Bride. This time, we were on our way to Relative History, Daniel Mendelsohn and Lise Funderburg’s joint reading and discussion.

Their work is so different, his about family members who perished in the Holocaust, and hers about her father’s life in the Jim Crow South, and yet together the readings created a deep resonance. The audience, again, was totally engaged, and asked questions that showed they had not only been listening, but were actively taking the subject farther. How do memory and history intersect in memoir? What should be remain unsaid, and what is fair game, in writing about family?

As my friend and I ate our dinner in a small Vietnamese restaurant on Market St., we agreed, we must do this again.

Gentleman, scholar, storyteller, Kevin Lee is a favorite among many of the participants in the StorySlams.  Here’s his Grand Slam performance: 

And yeah, that’s a double-hung shower curtain she’s wearing:

Sorry for the terrible compression on that.  I’m working on it.  And a better photo of that dress coming soon. See below!

The 2009 StorySlam season will open just a hair early with a special slam just before the Ira Glass show on Saturday January 24th at the Kimmel Center for FREE.  The theme is “Broke.”  The regularly scheduled slams resume on the following Tuesday the 27th back at L’Etage (that theme will be “Bad Idea”).

She’s Katonya, and so are you.  But good luck, you, pulling off that dress as well as Katonya.