THIS SATURDAY! Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby, Trenton Avenue Arts Fest and PSG BBQ!!!

 

It's here! The Trenton Avenue Arts Fest and Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby!

Come out this Saturday for this amazing duo of events. Here's what's happening:

- We'll have a booth over on Trenton Avenue from 12-5pm with some demos and info about PSG. 

We'll also have stuff for sale and info on our upcoming classes!

- We are a sponsor of the Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby so keep an eye out for our PSG judge representative, Andrew Wilkinson!

- The Philadelphia Sculpture Gym Gallery is having a reception for our 2nd Annual Charter Member Exhibition from 12-5pm! We'll also be giving tours of the space!

- From 12-1pm the PSG side yard will be a spectator spot for the parade of derby vehicles and we'll be doing a potluck BBQ! Bring a snack to share with your fellow lovers of sculpture!

Looking forward to seeing everyone!!!!!

Even more photos from Saturday!!!

Thanks to Jenny Welsh for taking these photos!

 

  

 

This one is Charter Member Michael Konrad's piece!

 

 

 

More Photos from Saturday...

Thanks to Jenifer Stern for taking these photos!

THANK YOU!

Wow. Just wow. This Saturday was an amazing day...a huge thanks to everyone who came out to see our spaces (both the booth at Trenton Ave and the Charter Member Show at the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym.) I continue to be amazed and overwhelmed at all the support...from the amazing people who volunteer with us to the Charter Members who have signed up with us to the random passerby who say "That's a great idea! Good luck" and everyone in between. Thanks again, so much, for everything. 

Here are a few shots I took of our Trenton Ave Arts Festival booth (more and more photos to come):

 

And at the end of the day, while Gus and I were waiting for Justin to pick us up with the car, this guy showed up and balanced a bike on his face...it was the perfect end to a perfect day!

 

 

This Saturday! Charter Member Exhibition Opening Reception!

 Gallery during the Spodee Launch Party. 

Work by Gustavo Actis, Terri Aluise, Darla Jackson and Jennifer Welsh.

This Saturday is the opening reception for our Charter Member Exhibition! The opening will take place from 12-6pm, during the Trenton Avenue Arts Festival and the Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby!
Come see our space and the first show of work by our amazing Charter Members: Gustavo Actis, Terri Aluise, Joshua Parker Coombs, Justin Grant, Darla Jackson, Michael Konrad, Stephen Millner, Jedediah Morfit and Jennifer Welsh!

You'll also get a chance to take a tour of the space and ask any questions you might have! Looking forward to seeing everyone!

Fancy fancy!

If you happen to be taking the El and see one of these signs, stop and take a look! The Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby and Trenton Avenue Arts Festival are coming soon (Saturday, May 19th!) and we are so excited! We'll have a booth at the Trenton Ave Arts Festival (come say hi!), we are an official sponsor of the Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby (Holla, fellow Knight Arts Challenge winner 2011 edition!) AND we'll have the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym open to the public for the opening reception of our Charter Member Exhibition! Whew! Stay tuned for more details...!

Philadelphia Sculpture Gym Summer Exhibition Schedule!

Here's the starting line up for the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym gallery space! May will showcase our Charter Members (if you are interested in becoming one, sign up soon to get in on this!)
June will be the Sculpture Derby Show, a juried exhibition of kinetic sculptures from the Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby (past and present!). July will be a juried exhibition focused on the process of casting in sculpture (all materials are welcome!). And August will be the first 'First Timer' solo show. Each summer we will showcase someone who has not previously had a solo show, and first up is Terri Aluise!

Check back tomorrow for the Calls for Artists for the Sculpture Derby Show, Process Show: Casting, and a September solo show that comes with a 1 month residency at Philadelphia Sculpture Gym!

Apply Now: Spring Craft Bazaar(s)

Wow. May is going to be a very busy month in Philly in terms of craft fairs and events! I just got this email about a Greensgrow Farms Spring Craft Bazaar on May 5th. Also remember to check out the Art Star Craft Bazaar on May 12/13th and the Trenton Avenue Arts Fest/Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby on May 19th. All of these events are still accepting vendors so if interested apply now!

Proud Sponsor of the 2012 Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby

Ahhhhh the Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby...We REALLY wanted to participate in this event this year (for the past few years really...) but we'll be right in the middle of building out our space and figured that it wouldn't be the best idea to undertake another project at the moment. But we love the event and definitely wanted to support it, so the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym is now a sponsor of the Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby!

Wait...you don't know what the KKSD is?! Read on...

From Kinetickensington.com:

 

The Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby (KKSD), a design competition and parade of human powered vehicle floats, was started in 2007 as an Economic Development Initiative of the New Kensington Community Development Corporation (NKCDC) to compliment the East Kensington Neighbors Association's Trenton Avenue Arts Festival.  For more information about business, events, and the arts along Frankford Avenue and in the rest of the 19125 zip code visit frankfordavearts.org.  NKCDC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to revitalizing the East Kensington, Fishtown, and Port Richmond neighborhoods in Philadelphia. Our mission is to strengthen the physical, social, and economic fabric of the community by being a catalyst for sustainable development and community building.

 

A Kinetic Sculpture is a human-powered vehicle that also has an artistic theme. Think of parade floats on bicycles, or mummers on hand crank driven pirate ships, or an alien space ship on 2 welded togther bikes, it's zombie amish folks, it's a bar and bar stools on a bike, it's anything you can dream up. A Kinetic Sculpture Competition is all about fun and ingenuity, making the wackiest, most interesting contraption is the goal- finishing the course or winning is not.  Kinetic Sculpture Competitions have been taking place all over the world since 1969 when a California artist named Hobart Brown made some artistic improvements to his son's tricycle.

 

The KKSD is not a race, but rather a design competition and parade celebrating human powered transit and art in Kensington. Award Categories include- Best Art, Best Costume, Best Engineering, People's Choice, Best Breakdown and a special secret judge award. People get to vote for their favorite entry at the event, so come to the fest and VOTE!

 

 

Sounds amazing, right? If you are feeling inspired to sign up, registration is open! The event takes place on Saturday, May 19th, 2012. To register, check out 'How to Register' on the KKSD website. Then go attend the Meet and Greet at the Philadelphia Brewing Co. on Saturday, March 3rd...then start building!!!! If you decide to participate, please send us process photos and we'll post them here on the blog!