Thanks to everyone who came out to Saturday night’s StorySlam at the Kimmel Center’s Summer Solstice! The winner was Doug Didyoung. He joins the illustrious Golden Ticket Society and advances to the Grand Slam on Saturday, November 7th at the 2009 First Person Festival of Memoir and Documentary Art held at the Painted Bride Art Center in Old City!
And don’t forget that tomorrow night, June 23rd, the StorySlams return to their home at L’Etage Cabaret! Details right here on Facebook!
Audience favorite winner announcement coming as soon as we can tally up all your votes… In the meantime, enjoy some photos from Saturday night:
Filed under:Special Events — posted by admin on June 16, 2009 @ 6:00 pm
Join us for a Special Event StorySlam at the Kimmel Center’s Summer Solstice on June 20th from 8:30 to 10:00pm. Philadelphia Magazine’s Victor Fiorillo will host. and the theme is “The Great Outdoors.” And look for a guest story from former winner Raeann Drew! This StorySlam is included in your admission to the Summer Solstice. It’s just $10 which, if my math is right, works out to about a penny a moment! Buy your tickets right now, right here.
Filed under:Edible World — posted by admin on June 15, 2009 @ 7:56 pm
The sky looked pretty ominous when we gathered in the Piazza for Saturday’s Edible World: Joe Sixpack’s Northern Liberties tour, but, as it turned out, there were a few drops here and there, and the worst of the rain held off. The two dozen attendees met Joe Sixpack at the brand new Swift Half where he described his personal history in the neighborhood and introduced us to a couple of locally brewed beers. We munched on delicious charcuterie plates as well and discovered that the original Joe Ortlieb (owner of Ortlieb’s Brewery) was right in our midst!
From the Swift Half, we traveled south on 2nd St. to old favorite the Standard Tap for more delicious beer and a brief chat with the owner.
Here’s Dan serving up some delicious fried smelt with a caper aioli dip that I’d be pretty happy to smear on anything this side of a Snickers bar. Just a couple of steps away, we slipped into the Foodery:
There we were treated to some of Yards Brewing’s latest concoctions thanks to Operations Manager Steve Mashington, and we had a chance to peruse the Foodery’s incredible selection of more than 700 different beers!
Afterward, we adjourned further south down 2nd St. to The 700 Club for some hand-pumped brews. It’s just as delightful during the day as it is at night, when its mostly packed!
From there we took a quick stroll through the neighborhood past the remaining hulk of the old Ortlieb’s Brewery and the site where the oldest lager in America was brewed.
Due to an electrical problem, we weren’t able to include Ortlieb’s Jazzhaus on our stop, but our friends at North Bowl quickly stepped in and shared a stick-to-your-ribs banquet of mac and cheese, wings and other treats, plus a steady stream of beer and even a little bowling!
Thanks to everyone who helped us make this great little tour happen! If you’re in Northern Liberties, you can see all the spots on this Google Map or click through the links above. If you’d like to learn more about beer and particularly beer in Philadelphia, you should certainly start by subscribing to Joe Sixpack’s e-mail list. (Plug your e-mail address into the front page there.)
If you missed this tour, (How could you!?) you’ll have to wait until September 10th when Fork Restaurant’s Ellen Yin leads a unique culinary excursion centered around Washington Avenue in South Philadelphia. She’ll share the broad range of influences that yielded her recent cookbook Forklore and continue to inspire the menu at her iconic restaurant every day. Tickets are, of course, available now, and required in advance.
Filed under:Story Slams — posted by admin on @ 12:57 pm
The last time First Person Arts hosted a StorySlam at the Kimmel Center was back in January with “Broke.” Ira A. won that one with this delightful “nouveau poor” anecdote from New York City’s pre-boom days. There’s a mention of a band called Tuxedomoon and a recipe for a casserole that might explain why the cheese disappears so quickly at First Friday!
Modestly priced arts activities from your friends at First Person Arts:
Filed under:Story Slams — posted by admin on June 12, 2009 @ 11:12 am
Thanks to our friends at Uwishunu and Vince Bilotta who shot and edited this and all of the 2008 StorySlams. Here’s a Summery one from StorySlam veteran Michael McCarry. “Y’all thought this was a library library”
First Person Arts is getting around a little this month too:
Filed under:First Person Salons — posted by admin on June 10, 2009 @ 7:05 pm
7:03pm The doors are open, and folks are starting to gather. Stephanie Yuhas has some really stellar secret objects she’s auctioning off. http://www.shinygrape.com/americangoulash/
She’s raising money to cover the cost of her camera that was stolen during a ProjectTwenty1 event. Help her out!
7:38 We’re now underway at the Salon. Vicki’s reminding everyone that we’re still seeking artists for the salons this year. You can download an application at http://salons.firstpersonarts.org
And you better believe we’re talking about Edible World: Joe Sixpack’s Northern Liberties. It’s happening this weekend! http://edibleworld.firstpersonarts.org
7:45 Sarah McEneaney is first, talking about her extraordinary opus. She’s spent quite a bit of time in that western arts mecca Marfa, Texas. Fascinating use of self-portraits. Her paintings appear in her other paintings, creating a uniquely compiled memoir.
Her work is funny and poignant. Chronicling her time as a clinic defense volunteer in Center City. Especially given the recent killing of Dr. Tiller in Kansas. A victim of rape in her own home, a series of the paintings works out a variety of revenge fantasies, cultivating a sense of safety.
7:50 Hilarious! McEneaney has painted an aspirational art collection. She’s also a muralist–see her work at Franklin and Diamond St. ”…the abandoned Reading Viaduct which as become another…thing of mine.” She’s working to turn it into a park like the High Line (just opened in Manhattan).
Star Party–a live outdoor planetarium in Marfa, Texas. This is an extraordinary archive of painted memoir. I hope, if you’re not here that you can see it collected somewhere all at once. I’ve never seen anything quite like this!
8:15 pm Stephanie Yuhas is next with American Goulash. Starting with a story of Epic Failure. The First Person Arts audience is cool with that!
Yuhas wanted to be a marine biologist but became an animator instead. Clearly that wasn’t the failure! Animation!
Hard to believe, but it was rejected by the Ottawa Animation Festival! It’s a YouTube success story. A triumph over self-hate and fear of judgment.
Stephanie is calling for folks to visit their elderly family members. Seek the stories that transcend generations. Yes!
8:26 pm Family visit to Hometown Buffet. Gift time! Actual gifts she’s received from Nagymama: Yarn wrapped in tinfoil. T-shirt dress. Maxipads. Some serious granny pants.
Sometimes it takes hard questions to get good stories from your elders. Thanks Stephanie! Intermission time.
8:55 pm
Michael Koehler dedicates his talk to his wife who’s pregnant.
He’s collected a photographic record of the things that ground him. The meaningful objects he carries with him.
His essay is about the Mummers Parade. A great collection of, among other things, photos of mummers peeing on the streets. PARADE.
“if you go the whole way, you see things differently”
From Mummers to Philly day parade. Audible gasps at the crowd shots of Phillies fans.
Koehler has a wonderful connection with the subjects of his photographs. His archive goes back to his 10th grade year.
“Things start happening when you honor what you’re looking at…something just happens.”
Beautiful photo of a tribute mural from 55th and Woodland–”Shitty”
One of my favoriteof Koehler’s photos: Pulling Horse
Shrimper Ricky Robbins from New Orleans–A video portrait… “The word love is the creation of everything.”
“Parading is about sharing the way we all learn and trying to find some fusion in it.” Check out Koehler’s website: http://www.michaelmkoehler.com/
9:30 pm Looks like we’ll go a little long, but Nathan Manske and imfromdriftwood.com are next. Audience clearly has the energy after this great lineup tonight!
Nathan Manske came up with the idea for the website last December and was later inspired by a scene in the film Milk.
Wednesday he saw Milk, Thursday he had the idea, Friday he got laid off! In just two months he’s collected more than 100 stories from all around the world.
Filed under:Uncategorized — posted by admin on @ 4:29 pm
Marketing Coordinator
First Person Arts, producers of the First Person Festival, monthly
StorySlams and artist salons, and other innovative memoir and
documentary art, is seeking an experienced marketing/communications
coordinator with skills in both traditional and new media. The
position requires excellent copywriting skills and a working knowledge
of social media, print and web communications.
Duties: Create year-long plan for promoting all First Person Arts
programs; design and implement social media campaign; maintain web
site and track web activity; oversee production, placement and
distribution of communications materials; and oversee work of outside
contractors, including designers and media representative.
Qualifications: Bachelor’s Degree or higher in marketing,
communications, or a related discipline, be familiar with the arts and
with Philadelphia. Should have great people skills and an interest in
building community; needs strong creative and organizational skills;
must be flexible, diligent about meeting deadlines and able to work
well under pressure. Must be proficient in Microsoft Office
applications. Must demonstrate relevant experience (2-3 years
minimum) and basic audio, video and web production skills.
Please send cover letter and resume to Dan Gasiewski, Managing
Director
Dan Gasiewski
Managing Director
First Person Arts
One South Broad, 17th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19107
267.402.2056
dang@firstpersonarts.org
Filed under:First Person Salons — posted by admin on June 9, 2009 @ 12:55 pm
Tonight, First Person Arts welcomes four great artists to the Salon!
Sarah McEneaney shares a series of thoughtfully rendered personal narrative paintings covering the flux of human experience ranging from the mundane to the acutely traumatic. (Salon Preview)
Stephanie Yuhas reads from “American Goulash,” a collection of stories about growing up a first-born American daughter to an all-Transylvanian family. (Salon Preview)American Goulash website.
INTERMISSION
Michael M. Koehler shares PARADE, a photo essay exploring his relationship to Philadelphia, mediated through images of this city’s iconic Mummers. (Salon Preview)Michaelmkoehler.com
Nathan Manske will present selections of “true stories by gay people from all over” collected on his website Imfromdriftwood.com (Salon Preview)
The Salon takes place at the Laurie Beechman Cabaret (601 S. Broad St.) and runs from 7:3opm to 9:30pm
Admission is $8, seating is limited, and we typically sell out! Please buy your tickets in advance.
So far, our friends over at Shmitten Kitten haven’t covered the sketchy foreign dudes you meet when you’re a woman traveling alone, but Arianna’s got ‘em in spades. She shared this story at the Baggage StorySlam last month:
You don’t have to go anywhere to find nice and friendly dudes and dudettes right here in Philly:
More First Person Arts stuff to set your summer on fire:
