Your agenda for the day? Listen to Rita tell you why animals are far superior to humans, and then pick out a cuddly critter of your own to bring home. Sounds like a good day to me. And who could say no to faces like these? The dog and cat shown above are currently available for adoption at PAWS.

Check out Sunday’s New York Times op-ed piece by Kenneth Hartman:  The Recession Behind Bars.  It’s an interesting take on how the recession has affected prison life, from food to clothing.  Kenneth will be presenting Life Without Parole, a taped reading from his memoir Mother California, and a live call-in q & a from his prison cell on Sunday, November 8th from 2 to 3 p.m. at The Painted Bride.  This is a free event, so mark your calendars!

Festival SNEAK PEAKS coming soon…

Advance tix required, so grab em HERE

Date: Thursday, September 10th
Time: 6:00-9:00pm
Location: Bella Vista Beer Distributor, 738 S. 11th St.
South Philadelphia
Cost: $75 general,
$65 members, $140 for 2 (bring a friend!)

Featured Artists:

Steve Powers is an artist from Philadelphia who has shown his work a the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, Deitch Projects, New York, the 2001 Venice Biennale, Alleged Annex, Los Angeles, the 2002 Liverpool Biennial, and The City Arts Centre in Dublin.  His body of work reflects a fascination with graffiti, sign painting, urban marketing and con games of all shapes and sizes. In 2004, Powers and Creative Time organized The Dreamland Artist Club, a project that revitalized a New York landmark by painting signs and rides in Coney Island. In 2007, he was awarded the Fulbright grant, which he used to create murals in Dublin and Belfast with the assistance of local teenagers. Powers, who is currently partnering with the City of Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program on “Love Letter“, 50 rooftop and street-level murals along the elevated train route in West Philadelphia, will be discussing his experience painting murals in Coney Island and in Dublin, Ireland.

Powers will discuss “Love Letter” on September 23rd at the Slought Foundation.
RSVP required. Buy advance tickets HERE

Naomi Brownstein is a writer and First Person Arts StorySlam winner. She has presented her work at Liberty Scribblers slams, and at the Erotic Literary Salon. The First Person Salon will be her first curated presentation. She’ll be reading her short story I Remember Crystal Place. Naomi is a member of the First Person Arts Golden Ticket Society, an avid dancer (ballroom, hustle, and salsa), and a big fan of Philadelphia theater. She is currently seeking publication for her book, A Poor Person’s Guide to Entertainment and Culture in the Big City.

Sissy Carpey is a memoir writer whose stories have appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Washington Post, Inside Magazine, and the Jewish Exponent, among others. Her story “Escaping the Invisible Years”, about the triumphs and difficulties of growing up with a brother suffering from mental retardation, was published in Inquirer Today magazine, and won many national awards. She has written a book called A Piece of her Heart, a memoir about growing up in an immigrant Jewish family, and what it was like to be an American child during the Depression and World War II. For the Salon, Carpey will be telling her family’s story: what it was like to be separated forever by the Russian Revolution, both in the Soviet Union and in America, and the reunion that followed.

Architects Daryn Edwards and Brian Phillips will showcase the upcoming Welcome House project, which will be featured in the First Person Festival of Memoir and Documentary Art this Fall. Welcome House will be an urban structure that artists of all kinds will live in for short periods of time and will have the ability to document their experience. It will be a welcoming environment for both artists and the communities. The Welcome House is expected be up and running in October. Edwards and Phillips are Principal architects at Interface Studio Architects. Phillips, a founding principal at the firm, is a Lecturer at PennDesign where he teaches graduate level design studios and has taught undergraduate studios at the Temple University School of Architecture. His work with ISA has recently appeared in DWELL, Metropolis, I.D. Magazine, The Philadelphia Inquirer, GreenSource and on NPR Radio. In 2008, the office was the recipient of the Philadelphia Emerging Architecture Prize and three AIA design awards. Edwards has taught at Philadelphia University and is active in local chapters of the Community Design Collaborative, the American Institute of Architects and is the immediate Past-President of the Board of Directors for Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia. He is a licensed architect, LEED accredited professional and was awarded the Young Architect Award in 2008 from AIA Philadelphia.

And don’t forget to come to our next StorySlam in September!

First Person StorySlam
Theme: Foreign Territory
When: September 22, doors at 7:30PM, Slam starts at 8:30PM
Where: L’Etage, 6th and Bainbridge
How much: $8, Buy a Six Pack of tickets here! (Or become an FPA member and get free tix!)

Theme:  High Point

Where:  L’Etage, 6th & Bainbridge

When:  Tuesday, August 25th.  Doors at 7:30, Slam at 8:30 (come early, we tend to SELL OUT)

Cost:  $8, $4 well drinks all night

Here’s a video of one of our stellar Slam Storytellers:

Music and Motion Dance is Citypaper’s Arts Pick for this week!

Check them out at our Salon this Wednesday:

Where:  Laurie Beechman Cabaret at the University of the Arts, 601 S. Broad St.

When:  Wednesday, August 12th 7:30-9:30

Why:  Art is good for you…

Cost:  $8 – Buy tickets now to guarantee a seat!