First Person Salon Recap: June 11th, 2008
The First Person Salon series continued last night at the Gershman Y, where three local artists presented provocative works of documentary and memoir. The night’s presentations centered around Philadelphia’s social and physical landscape, and offered stories of individuals from three very different groups finding their place within it.
Filmmaker Ron Kanter screened an excerpt from his recent documentary, New Cops, which follows a class of recruits in the Philadelphia Police Academy through their training process and returns five years later to chronicle their experiences on the job. An impassioned discussion followed the film, which questioned whether young recruits have the skills needed to navigate the socially complex and demanding work of being Philadelphia Police Officers. More information about New Cops, which aired recently on WHYY, can be found here.
Mural artist Donald Gensler discussed the process of creating “Independence Starts Here”, a new mural at Broad and Race Streets. For Gensler, a mural is primarily a way to connect with people, and “Independence Starts Here” is the result of a two-year series of community workshops. The result is a kind of collaborative documentary, representing the stories of individuals who worked with the artist throughout the process. With Gensler was Antonio Cancel, a graphic designer who is depicted in the mural. Together, the two are creating a website to accompany the mural and provide a forum for discussion about issues relating to disability. See more of Gensler’s work here.
The evening concluded with bestselling author Lorene Cary, who read a moving essay about her work with children from North Philadelphia’s Church of the Advocate Youth Group. Cary’s personal struggle to reconcile the lack of resources available to these children with her own education at the elite Saint Paul’s School led her to the founding of Art Sanctuary, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing African American cultural and educational events to the North Philadelphia community. Cary’s essay is slated to appear in the September issue of O Magazine. Her website is here.
