CITYWIDE BBQ

During the month of November 2013 a group of like-minded, independent art groups currently active in Philadelphia will come together for CITYWIDE: A Collective Exhibition. Participating artist-run galleries will host and exchange with other spaces to represent over 100 local artist in a month-long exhibition in more than 20 artist spaces throughout the city.

CITYWIDE: A Collective Exhibition is partially made possible by a $13,000Philadelphia Knight Arts Challenge Grant from the Knight Foundation. But it also will depend on support from donors. CITYWIDE will only receive the Knight grant if the project is able to attract matching funding from other donors.

They are throwing a barbecue at Crane Arts as part of their fundraising on July 20th, 2013.You can purchase tickets HERE

More information about CITYWIDE: A Collective Exhibition can be found on its website: http://citywidephilly.com.

10x10: Final push for PSG

 Oh hi. Did you hear? PSG is opening this month.

... ... ...

OH MY GOD! PSG IS OPENING THIS MONTH!!!!!!

(Let's just take a moment and talk about how long I've been waiting to say that...Since April 2011. Yep. This would be why I'm so excited. Ok, ok...back to business.)

All the wonderful and exciting details are coming soon, and this is sure to be an exciting week here on the blog, so stay tuned. For now, I'm going for one last push to raise the last bit of money we need to finish up the space and I'm doing it the best way I know how...by making art. That's what this place is all about...and I feel so lucky every day that I am in the Sculpture Gym able to make my work (you know, with all that time between building stuff, hanging shows and setting up the shops....) This place is the ultimate bond of art and community...art and community have built it. WE made this happen! Whether you joined as a Charter Member because you are an artist or a maker, or supported us through our Kickstarter or Lucky Ant campaigns because you support the arts, or donated time or materials or equipment, or just told your friends about us...YOU helped build this place through your support. When the Knight Arts Challenge took a chance on this little idea back in 2011, I could never have dreamed how it would grow, how you all would help it grow...and we aren't even open yet! So just imagine what is to come... Thank you all...for everything. And now for your regularly scheduled blog post:

10x10: One

 
HOW IT WORKS:  
10x10 is a series of 10 different small sculptures that I'll be making as a fundraiser to benefit the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym. This piece is first up in the series! Each sculpture will be an edition of 10 (meaning each sculpture will only be cast 10 times.) After the 10th edition of this piece is sold, the 2nd sculpture in the series will be offered. Once the 10th edition of the 2nd sculpture is sold, the 3rd sculpture in the series will be offered, and so on. Each sculpture will be offered at the discounted price of $100 each. All proceeds will go to the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym.

OTHER THINGS TO NOTE: 
All pieces will be cast in Hydrocal and finished with a black graphite patina (See last photo for example of finish. The first 4 photos show the piece in clay.)
Each piece will be signed and numbered. Each piece will be shipped within 2 weeks of ordering. If you live in Philadelphia and prefer to pick it up, please let me know and shipping will be refunded to you.




To purchase or to see the listing, check out my Etsy page here.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions at philadelphiasculpturegym@gmail.com
 
ABOUT THE PIECE:
Title: Whether you like it or not...
Medium: Hydrocal, thread
Size: 2.5"h x 3"d x 4"d
Year: 2013
Edition of 10.

Whether you like it or not..., Clay model

Week(end) Recap

Wow. A huge thanks to Ellen Scolnic, Roman Blazic and Chip Schwartz for the amazing articles about the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym last week. If you missed them, here they are:

 Philadelphia Inquirer

The Artblog

Knight Arts Blog

Also a huge thanks to everyone who has donated to our Lucky Ant campaign so far!

We've had:

1929 Project Views
$1,635 In Donations
15 Pledgers: Marcelo Actis, Stephen Millner, Sherry Welsh, Sean & Suzanne O'Regan, Deborah Barkun, Debra Jackson, Elaine Chiang, Janet Welsh, Pat Austin, Adam Kaufman, Christopher Merz, Mary Ann Krutsick, Marie Kane-Millner, Laura Graham and Joshua Coombs

We have 9 days left to hit our $5,000 mark (and hopefully go beyond!!!) Just know that your support means the world to us and we most assuredly could not do it without your help!

PSG in the Daily News!

Check us out in today's Daily News!!

Come cast aluminum at the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym!

Interested in learning how to cast aluminum or weld steel? Check out our upcoming workshops, starting this weekend!!! We still have some space in the January 12th welding and aluminum casting workshops and in the January 13th welding workshops.

Happy New Year!

Mummers by Laura Graham

 Happy New Year to the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym friends, family and supporters! I hope everyone had a great time celebrating the beginning of 2013. I'm very much looking forward to all that this year has to bring (13 is my lucky number!) and cannot wait for all the exciting things coming up. Again, thank you all for your support and for taking the time to read about our progress here on the blog (Thanks to Jenny for writing yesterdays weekend recap!) I have met some incredible people through starting the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym and continue to be amazed by how this little business has brought together such a kick ass group. I am truly thankful to the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation for bringing the Arts Challenge Grant to Philadelphia and changing my life. I am truly thankful for everyone who has put time in to make the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym such an amazing place. And I am truly thankful for being given the chance to do what I love...Here's to an amazing 2013!

Olivia's 2013 has been pretty good so far!

Process Show: Wood on Knightarts.org!!!

Big thanks to Chip Schwartz of the Knight Arts blog for coming to review the current show in our gallery, Process Show: Wood. Check out the article here: Wooden Art and POST at Philadelphia Sculpture Gym

Today! Knight Arts Challenge Web Chat 1-2pm!

 

Live Web Chat
Tue, Oct. 9, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
at KnightArts.org

Participate in a live web chat where Knight Foundation staff will be on hand to take questions. All you have to do is go to the website, type in your question when prompted, and you’ll get real-time responses.

Find out more and submit your great ideas at KnightArts.org.

Knight Arts is a project of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Knight Arts Challenge Philadelphia Town Hall Meeting TODAY! October 3rd!

Have questions about the Knight Arts Challenge Philadelphia? Check out the info below on their town hall meeting that takes place today, October 3rd at 6pm:

Join us for a Town Hall Meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 3 at 6pm at the Philadelphia Center for Architecture, 1218 Arch St, Philadelphia to have your Knight Arts Challenge questions answered by representatives of the Knight Foundation.

We’re ready to hear your best ideas to engage and enrich the city’s vibrant arts scene. Applications are now being accepted through Oct. 15. We believe the arts can engage and enrich communities and that your ideas can make an impact. That’s why the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is investing $9 million in innovative arts ideas. To date, 71 ideas have been awarded $5.4 million.

What can these ideas look like? The possibilities are endless, and no idea is too large or too small. There are only three rules for the challenge:

Your idea must be about the arts.
Your project must take place in or benefit Philadelphia.
You must find funding to match Knight’s commitment, within a year.

For more information and an application, visit www.knightarts.org

KNIGHT ARTS CHALLENGE NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS!

It's that time again! The Knight Arts Challenge Philadelphia is now accepting applications! This grant is a life changer, so if you have an idea that involves the arts in Philadelphia, I highly suggest giving it a shot. For more info, check out Knightarts.org...and good luck!!!!

PSG on Knightarts.org!

 

 Stephanie Koenig, Live Past Your Memory’s Fears

Thanks so much to Chip Schwartz for the great article on the Knight Arts blog!  He highlighted work by Stephanie Koenig, Nathaniel Mell and Gustavo Actis from Process Show: Casting, the exhibition that is up in our gallery right now! Congrats guys!

Here is a link to the article: www.knightarts.org

 Nathaniel Mell, Manifestation

 Gustavo Actis, Relic of the Ancient Future #2

Tonight! Animated Architecture Launch Party!

Tonight Sean Stoops is officially launching his Knight Arts Project with a party/fund-raiser at the Public House from 6-8pm!

More info from the FB event page:

This is the official launch party and fund-raising kick off event for my Knight Arts Challenge winning project! Help me celebrate the award and spread the word about my campaign to raise matching funds!
Free admission (project donations accepted)! There will be half price drinks and appetizer specials for my guests during the happy hour times (includes most alcohol, except drinks with 'top shelf' whisky, bourbon, etc.). I will have brochures/donation forms for my Animated Architecture video art project, so please bring your check books or you can make a pledge to donate later or pass the word on to other arts donors.

Public House At Logan Square

Two Logan Square (18th Street between Arch + Cherry)

Philadelphia, PA 19103-2824

ONE YEAR!

 Trenton Ave Arts Fest 2011

So tomorrow marks one year of being officially out in the world, telling people about the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym! Our first event was the Trenton Avenue Arts Festival last year (which I had signed up for after finding out I won a Knight Arts Challenge Grant but before they announced the winners so it was hysterically top secret..."Zak and Krista, I want to sign up for a booth for TAAF but I can't tell you what for...".) In the past year we've: searched for and found a building, became an official business, ran a successful Kickstarter campaign, met our Knight Arts Challenge funding match, been featured on TheAtlanticCities.com, FlyingKiteMedia.com, Temple News Online, WHYY, The City Paper, Philadelphia Business Journal, and most recently, Grid Magazine, had a great Moldmaking workshop at NextFab, joined forces with fellow maker groups in the city, worked on our space relentlessly, hosted a launch party for Spodee Wine and tomorrow are opening the gallery with our first show of work by our fabulous and amazing Charter members...Whew! It has certainly been a whirlwind and we COULD NOT have done it without the help of everyone along the way...Thank you so much for your advice, your time, your suggestions, your donations, your help and your support. Every time I think about how much everyone has helped us along the way, I start to tear up (Like I am right now! Happy tears!) and am overwhelmed by the support. This has really been the most amazing journey so far and it's only just started. We are so excited to create the space, but we are even more excited for the community that has grown out of it. Here's to the next year and to everyone who has helped us get through the first one! Thanks for everything!

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...!

Philly Painting has begun!

I was happy to get to meet Dre of Haas & Hahn on Monday night at the Knight Arts Challenge Winners event and talk to him a bit about the Philly Painting project that he's working on with the Mural Arts Program. They've started work on the project and I cannot wait to see the outcome. I plan to go check out the progress and will post more info here when I do. It's so great to see things like this taking place in the neighborhood...Be sure to check out their favela painting project, if you haven't seen it already.

Philly Painting is a giant neighborhood beautification project set in North Philadelphia, around the Germantown and Lehigh Avenues. The goal is to mobilize the community to completely transform the commercial corridor and bring a new look to their neighborhood: A social and artistic experiment of urban acupuncture, beautification, and economic stimulus of unprecedented scale.

Knight Arts Challenge 2012 Winners!

I am so excited about the winners of this years Knight Arts Challenge! We went to the event last night at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and were overwhelmed by the amazing ideas that are now going to be made possible in Philadelphia! Congrats to our friends Georgia Guthrie from The Hacktory, Sean Stoops, Fleisher Art Memorial, CFEVA, Asian Arts Initiative, Little Berlin, Moore College and the many, many more fabulous recipients! As Emma from Tiny Dynamite (a fellow 2011 winner) said, It's truly a life changing experience, which I can absolutely attest to. The Philadelphia Sculpture Gym was made possible by a Knight Arts Challenge Grant and I am forever grateful to have been given this opportunity. A huge congrats to this years winners...you are all about to have your lives changed!

For a full list of winners visit www.KnightArts.org!

TODAY! Knight Arts Challenge Live Web Chat

Have a question about the Knight Arts Challenge Philadelphia? Participate in a live web chat, from 1-2pm, where Knight Foundation staff will be on hand to take questions. All you have to do is go to the website, type in your question when prompted, and you’ll get real-time responses.

Applications are now being accepted for year two of the Knight Arts Challenge Philadelphia, a three-year, $9 million arts initiative seeking the best ideas to engage and enrich Philadelphia's communities. Anyone can apply! For more, visit www.KnightArts.org.

CEO...Woah!

So today I became a CEO...or am about to be. So weird! I went into our accountant's office to file the paperwork to make the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym a real live business and came out so insanely excited. Having found our building, met our matching goal for the Knight Arts Challenge Grant, and now filing this is making what started as a 150 word dream turn into a reality. Last night I got to talk for a moment at the Town Hall Meeting for the upcoming Knight Arts Challenge and, despite forgetting most of what I said, I remember saying how this has changed my life...but what I realized at that moment was that I hadn't really thought about how true that statement was because nothing felt real until this week. Now it feels official. Woah...
And let me use this time to say that by all means, anyone and everyone who has an idea that would benefit the arts in Philadelphia, apply to the Knight Arts Challenge! You have until October 31st to submit one or one thousand 150 word ideas. Anyone can apply, as long as the idea is about the arts, takes place in or benefits Philadelphia and you match the amount of money you ask for. You never know what might happen so it is most certainly worth a shot. And if you have any questions or are freaked out about it, check out the Knight Arts website...there's a newsletter to sign up for, they have a Twitter where you can post questions about applying and they will have a web chat coming up as well. They are really supportive and very real people...so as they said at the meeting last night, forget everything you know about grant writing and apply!

Image from here

Philadelphia Sculpture Gym on Geekadelphia.com!

Thanks to Rob Perdue at Geekadelphia for featuring us as the Weekly Kickstarter! Click here to check out the article!

 

Kickstarter Update!

So far we have raised $2,410 on our Kickstarter page towards our goal of $8,000! We would like to give a huge thanks to the following people who have made pledges this week:

Mike Kania, Jedediah Morfit, Doris Chorney, Marie Elcin, Alyson Giantisco, Katie VanVilet, Charlene Nolten, Adam White, Jane Theis, Jay Thomson, Cheryl Harper, Mariana Kohls, Joon Bae, Molly Eichel, Jamie Giambrone, Benjamin Dryden, Michael O, Janet, Ruby, and  Lauren Duguid


We are super appreciative of your support! And if you've been wanting to donate but haven't yet, we have 9 days left! Tell everyone you know!!!! http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/philasculpturegym/philadelphia-sculpture-gym

Kickstarter Rally!

Alright guys. We have less than two weeks to fully fund this Kickstarter and have $6,100 left to go. We need to get the word out and WE NEED YOUR HELP. We are asking you all to please spread the word via twitter, facebook, blogs, aerial writing, etc etc. Know someone who you think will be interested? Send them a link and tell them why you think they should support us! We are really excited to get the doors of the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym open and to do this we need to raise the last of the money needed to match the Knight Art Challenge grant! We are so close with the remaining funds to be raised which is amazing so please, if you haven't already donated, we ask that you consider what the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym will do for the artists of Philadelphia...and not just sculptors, but also craftspeople, Etsians, DIYers, hobbyists, makers, builders, wood workers, welders, moldmakers and first time creators! We are looking to create a community where artists can work together, learn from each other and be able to create things that may not have been possible otherwise! And what's so great about our Kickstarter is that donors can be among the very first members to use the space by choosing day, week or month long memberships as their rewards! And if you aren't interested in being a member but want to support us, we have tons of rewards that are perfect for you, including sculpture starting at the $50 level (a baby bunny in a crow mask by Darla Jackson...check out Darla Jackson Sculpture for images!)

$6,100 could be met if 61 people donate $100, or 122 people donate $50, or 244 donate $25...or any other combo. Donations start at $1 and any amount is appreciated! Please please please tell everyone you know and tell them to tell everyone they know and so on and so on. We have to raise this money either way and if we don't meet our Kickstarter goal we are back up to needing to raise $8,000 again (Kickstarter is an all or nothing deal). So please, if you can spare even $1 toward our project we'd be insanely grateful. We love that the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym is being created for artists and that we are being helped by artists and arts supporters. We could not make it for you without you.