Thanks to a little break in the weather, our umbrellas can all rest easy, but they’re shame is always on display at Better Off Soaked.

“Better Off Soaked” is Katie Sweeney’s homage to–or perhaps visual roast of–the discarded umbrella.  Each blown out umbrella reveals a little story of trauma–a moment when the protection of the device failed miserably and left it’s owner exposed to the elements.  It’s no wonder that those moments of trauma are visited on the failed accoutrements with such fury and abandonment.  No second look to see if it might be salvaged or mended, it’s just stuffed in the trash, cast into the gutter or otherwise disposed of.  Sweeney’s made a fetish of these little dramas, adorning them with haikus that capture some element of the context of the discarding and, occasionally, a flash of delight in the detritus. She’ll share her stories at the February 11th First Person Salon at The Laurie Beechman Cabaret at the Philadelphia Arts Bank.

Purchase advance tickets or pay at the door.  Either way, join us on February 11th for Sweeney and three other compelling works of memoir and documentary art from Daravann Yi, Marianne Bernstein, and Cecelia Smith.