First Person Arts

Here’s the trailer for a short documentary about urban fishing in Philadelphia that will screen for the first time at the First Person Salon at the Gershman Y on September 10th:

In addition, this final Salon before the 2008 Festival will feature poetry from Robert Wright, autobiographical comedy from Steve Gerben and Pat Barker, and a short memoir reading and documentary film from Angel Hogan about her life as an adoptee.

First Person Salon at the Gershman Y

401 S. Broad St (Broad and Pine)

September 10th, 7-9pm

Cost: $5-$10 sliding scale

Beer available by donation from our friends at Flying Dog!

It doesn’t get any better than this. We’ve got filmmaker ANDREW DAVID WATSON with two short films about bike culture… ERIC OKDEH discussing his newest work with the Mural Arts Program… MATTHEW BORGEN with a multi-media installation (those are his angel wings on the flyer)… and GrandSlam StorySlam winner JULIET WAYNE doing some killer storytelling.

All this plus great conversation, air conditioning, tasty Flying Dog beer and refreshments (available for donation). Get to the Gershman Y TONIGHT from 7-9pm. Admission is $5 -$10 (sliding scale). All ages are welcome. See you there!

Artist Matthew Borgen creates works of installation, video, and photography. His projects frequently explore two archetypes popular in literature, academia, and film: the as social rebel, and the mythic hero. Although he has lived all over the country, Borgen is currently based in Philadelphia, and teaches at Arcadia University.

Join us at the August 13th Salon, where Borgen will discuss The Wing Rack— a multi-media, autobiographical installation. Utilizing an antique clothing rack, hand crafted angel wings, hanging lightbulbs and projected video, The Wing Rack is a visual exploration of Borgen’s own experience as an artist, examining the struggle for success in an art world preoccupied with its own mythologized history.

FIRST PERSON SALON: Wednesday August 13th, 7-9pm, at the Gershman Y
An evening of innovative art and conversation. Featuring…

• Filmmaker ANDREW DAVID WATSON
• Muralist ERIC OKDEH
• Storyteller JULIET WAYNE
• Multi-media artist MATTHEW BORGEN

$5-10 sliding scale admission. Beer (made possible by Flying Dog) and refreshments available for donation. All ages welcome. 401 South Broad Street.

Be sure to join us at the Gershman Y next Wednesday, where storyteller and First Person Arts GrandSlam Story Slam winner Juliet Wayne will make her Salon debut! Guided by the personal belief that storytelling is the most concise, colorful and fulfilling form of expression between people, Wayne will present a fast paced autobiographical tale with many twists and turns, exploring early adulthood, friendship, life’s hopes and expectations, and more.

In addition to First Person Story Slams, Wayne has appeared in The Moth Storytelling Finals, The Liar Show at Comix NY, and in Upright Down, an experimental storytelling collaboration with Ari Lieberman. She lives in West Philadelphia and is the curator and host of a storytelling night at Fiume called “The Trainwreck”. She is currently working on a book of her short stories and a dvd of live performances. Read her blog here.

FIRST PERSON SALON: Wednesday August 13th, 7-9pm, at the Gershman Y
An evening of innovative art and conversation. Featuring…

• Filmmaker ANDREW DAVID WATSON
• Muralist ERIC OKDEH
• Storyteller JULIET WAYNE
• Multi-media artist MATTHEW BORGEN

$5-10 sliding scale admission. Beer (made possible by Flying Dog)and refreshments available for donation. All ages welcome. 401 South Broad Street.

Chances are you’ve already seen the work of artist Eric Okdeh dozens of times, although you may not have realized it. Okdeh, a South Philadelphia native, is the creative force behind many of the city’s most beautiful murals.

On August 13th, Okdeh will join us to discuss his current project with the Mural Arts Program: a work dedicated to overcoming the stigma of mental illness through recovery. The mural, located at 4040 Market Street, represents a collaboration with over 150 community members, who contributed poetry, paintings, and glass and mosaic work. Okdeh will offer a behind the scenes look at this unique creative process. Don’t miss it!

You can see more of Okdeh’s work here.

FIRST PERSON SALON: Wednesday August 13th, 7-9pm, at the Gershman Y
An evening of innovative art and conversation. Featuring…

•Filmmaker ANDREW DAVID WATSON
•Muralist ERIC OKDEH
•Storyteller JULIET WAYNE
•Multi-media artist MATTHEW BORGEN

$5-10 sliding scale admission. Beer (made possible by Flying Dog) and refreshments available for donation. All ages welcome. 401 South Broad Street.

Andrew David Watson is a Philadelphia filmmaker with an extensive resume. He draws inspiration for his works from traveling and meeting new people. He’s currently on tour with the Obama campaign, covering the election for the Independent Film Channel. But he’ll be back in Philly on Wednesday, August 13th to present at the First Person Salon!

Watson will be showing two short video projects exploring bicycle culture— newly ascendant thanks to the rise in fuel prices. One film examines biking in the small Italian community of Treviso; the other follows longtime Philadelphia bike commuter Fred Edny. You can learn more about Watson’s work here.

By the way, Watson is also the cinematographer for Swallow Your Pride, a documentary about the Wing Bowl that will have its Philadelphia premiere at the First Person Festival (November 11th-16th at the Painted Bride). Stay tuned for more details. In the meantime, don’t miss Watson at the Salon!

FIRST PERSON SALON: Wednesday August 13th, 7-9pm, at the Gershman Y
An evening of innovative art and conversation. Featuring…

• Filmmaker ANDREW DAVID WATSON
• Muralist ERIC OKDEH
• Storyteller JULIET WAYNE
• Multi-media artist MATTHEW BORGEN

$5-10 sliding scale admission. Beer (from Flying Dog) and refreshments available for donation. All ages welcome. 401 South Broad Street.

Looking for some fun on a sultry July weeknight? Look no further than the First Person Salon at the Gershman Y this Wednesday, July 9th from 7-9pm! Enjoy an ice cold beer and a fantastic lineup of red hot artists! Here’s what’s in store:

• Improv ensemble Tongue & Groove creating a spontaneous piece of documentary theatre, based on the lives of audience members!
• Multimedia artist Rachel Fujita exploring the best and worst of city life with her acclaimed web project lovehateNYC!
• Philadelphia author Elisabeth Erickson bringing family skeletons out of the closet with a reading from recent memoir writing.

It’s all based on a true story, and it’s all happening at the Gershman Y, Wednesday July 9th at 7pm. 401 S. Broad Street. $5 minimum admission. All ages welcome.

Still not convinced? We’ll make it easy for you with this how-to video:

RACHEL FUJITA

Ever felt a love/hate relationship with your city? If so, be sure to catch next month’s salon, where new media artist Rachel Fujita will present her interactive web project, lovehateNYC.

The project uses panoramic time lapses to chronicle the artist’s relationship with the city, documenting twenty different love, hate, and love-hate memories of New York. A native of Hawaii, Fujita has lived in New York for the last seven years. Her work seeks to integrate motion, web and print media while exploring the relationship between sound and image. You can see more of Fujita’s work on her website.

Mark your calendars for the July 9^th Salon at the Gershman Y (7-9pm)

Featuring:

• Documentary improv from Tongue & Groove
• Artist Rachel Fujita and her multimedia work, lovehateNYC
• Philadelphia writer Elisabeth Erickson

Please join us at the Gershman Y- 401 South Broad St. from 7-9pm

$5 minimum admission. All ages welcome!

Christopher H. Paquette is a kitchen & bath designer and builder who lives in Abington, Pa. He has been an amateur photographer for over 30 years, working in digital format as well as a variety of vintage analog and Polaroid cameras. His favorite camera is a 1965 Polaroid Automatic 100. Lately, Chris has been working on a series about roadside memorials, which he will present at the First Person Salon at the Gershman Y on May 14. Check out more of Chris’s photography at his blog, C.H. Paquette Photography, and JPG Magazine’s website.

Mark your calendars for the May 14th Salon at the Gershman Y (7-9pm)

Featuring:

• Photographer Christopher Paquette
• Poet Tamesha Hawkins
• Performer Martha Kemper
• Musician Matt Davis and his band Aerial Photograph

Please join us at the Gershman Y–401 S. Broad St. from 7-9pm.
$5 minimum admission!

Guitarist and composer Matt Davis has been playing and composing music since childhood. A 2001 graduate of Temple University, Matt composes for and performs with many groups—including his 12 piece original project, Aerial Photograph, which fuses the style of a traditional string quartet with the sounds of saxophones, clarinets, trombones, flugelhorns, and even a homemade instrument called the Centralia.

As a soloist Matt has performed with musicians such as Odean Pope, Bobby Zankel (of the Cecil Taylor big band), Calvin Weston (member of Ornette Coleman’s Prime Time), Terell Stafford, and Dave Liebman. Matt helped to establish the artist-based “Collective Voice Jazz Festival,” which he coordinated from 1999 to 2003. Matt has received grants from organizations like the American Composers Forum and the American Society of Composers, Artists, and Publishers (ASCAP). He has also presented guitar/composition master classes at the University of the Arts (UArts) and has taken his skills as an instructor on the road to elementary and high schools throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. Currently, Matt is a guitar instructor at UArts.

Matt will perform with Aerial Photograph at the May installment of the First Person Salons at the Gershman Y. For more on Matt and his work, visit his website.

Mark your calendars for the May 14th Salon at the Gershman Y (7-9pm)

Featuring:

• Photographer Christopher Paquette
• Poet Tamesha Hawkins
• Performer Martha Kemper
• Musician Matt Davis and his band Aerial Photograph

Please join us at the Gershman Y–401 S. Broad St. from 7-9pm.
5$ minimum admission!