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Diane Sahms-Guarnieri, Photo courtesy the Fox Chase Review

Hey there lovers of poetry, the Fox Chase Business Association has gathered up a fantastic group of local poets for an outdoor reading.

Participants include Louis Mckee, Diane Sahms-Guarnieri, Mike Cohen, Steve Delia and G Emil Reutter. To check out their bios, visit the Fox Chase Review’s official website.

Poetry fans should descend on Lion’s Park (7900 Oxford Avenue) at around 7pm. Readings will wrap up at around 8:30pm.

Lion’s Park
7900 Oxford Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19111

Poets in the Park [ www.foxchasereview.org ]

Philadelphia artist Anthony Campuzano has transformed The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) at the University of Pennsylvania into a free-form art school and working artists’ studio this month, both free and open to the public.

With just two events left this week, make sure to check out Campuzano’s makeshift studio where he has invited peers, mentors, professors, and other special guests to provide art instruction in various media, discuss past and current projects, screen favorite videos and films, and contribute work on view.

Check out the remaining events below and be sure to swing by the Summer Studio before it closes!

The Fall Fest
Thursday, July 29, 6PM

A night of music, videos and a documentary celebrating the iconic Manchester group The Fall—led by Mark E. Smith—who have been creating music for over thirty years.

Anthony Campuzano Curated Screening with musical guest Steve Gunn
Saturday, July 31, 12—5PM

As the final event of the Summer Studio program, Anthony Campuzano will show an array of music videos, movie trailers, films, and other random stuff he’s collected from the internet. Joined by New York-based musician Steve Gunn, the afternoon will be a mashup of music and digital imagery from Anthony’s extensive, often bizarre, web journeys.

Institute of Contemporary Art @ University of Pennsylvania
118 S. 36th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 898-7108
www.icaphila.org

Henry V, Photo courtesy the Philly Shakespeare Theatre

You’d expect a free theatrical performance to be a one-day-only sort of deal. Not with the Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre. This free production of Henry V runs for two weeks.

Tickets for this free show are on a first come, first serve basis, and will be dished out at the box office three hours before the curtain each day.

The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre only holds 122 seats at their intimate location off of 21st and Sansom, so get there early.

The free show runs from August 4th through August 15th. Enjoy!

Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre
2111 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103-4406
(215) 496-9722
www.phillyshakespeare.org

The Gross Clinic (photos by M. McClellan for GPTMC)

Thomas Eakins is one of Philadelphia’s most beloved and acclaimed natives. He spent the bulk of his life living, studying and working right here in the city. Several years ago, when Thomas Jefferson University attempted to sell his most renowned work, The Gross Clinic, to an out of state buyer, art lovers from across the region leapt into action.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts were able to secure the funds to match the distant offer and now own jointly own the piece. It has undergone extensive cleaning and restoration and will be on display at the Perelman Building of the Philadelphia Museum of Art through January 9, 2011, in an exhibition called Seeing ‘The Gross Clinic’ Anew.

The exhibition include other works by Eakins, as well as artifacts from the 1876 American Centennial Exposition, where the work was originally shown. Most notably is The Agnew Clinic, a painting commissioned by medical graduates from the University of Pennsylvania to honor their professor, Dr. D. Hayes Agnew.

This piece was done 14 years after The Gross Clinic and allowed Eakins the opportunity to work on the largest canvas of his career. It is the first time that these two paintings have hung together in Philadelphia in nearly 80 years.

Next year, The Gross Clinic will move to Pafa, where it will become part of an exhibition designed to explore the relationship between Philadelphia’s arts and medical communities. That show is entitled Anatomy/Academy.

Special tickets are not required for Seeing ‘The Gross Clinic’ Anew. Admission is included in the museum’s general admission fee. To see more images from this exhibition, visit our Flickr set from the press preview.

The MMS Gallery is a new project that aims to showcase creativity provided by everyday people, whether they consider themselves actual artists or not.

And they’re doing it initially with more than 1,000 photo submissions taken with cell phone cameras.

The Gallery’s Mission:

“Perceptions of art are evolving. We believe in making art attainable.

As mobile technology continues to evolve, so does the medium’s relevance in the art world. Some would consider it a travesty to consider the mobile phone as a means to create art. We celebrate it.

Moments that were once overlooked or bypassed because a person didn’t have a camera, can now be captured and shared because of emergence of phone technology. It’s these moments that nurture relevance regardless of whether the person who captured it considers themselves to be an artist.”

MMS Gallery is hosting an opening party tonight, sponsored by Sly Fox and Di Bruno Bros.

You can preview some of the submissions on their Flickr page.

The MMS Gallery Opening Gallery Show
Friday, July 23, 6-9pm
1000 N. Hancock Street
Philadelphia, PA 19123
Sponsors: O3 World, DiBruno Bros, Sly Fox, Tiger Printing

This past Wednesday I was awe-struck by three amazing performances during the opening night of Ballet X’s Summer Series at The Wilma Theater. The ballet opened with Matthew Prescott’s vivid Journey of the Day piece. The music was both lively and symbolic as the characters presented a journey through life’s most charismatic, upbeat moments.

“The essence of the piece came from the music,” said Prescott, on the album Appalachian Journey by Edgar Meyer.

Risk of Flight by Adam Hougland electrified the stage with powerfully explosive movements and harsh lighting. As you become entranced by the music, take a moment to notice the muscle tone and intensity within the frame of each dancer.

The performance concluded with the world premiere of The Last Glass by Matthew Neenan, danced to using the playful melodies of Beirut.

This performance reflected emotions of joy, angst, and romance, and was a delight to watch with colorful costumes, multiple storylines and intertwined relationships.

It truly was a night of celebration and dancing, highlighting the heart and soul of every dancer. There’s still time to catch this performance. Ballet X’s Summer Series runs through Sunday, July 25th.

Tickets are $30 for general admission, $25 for seniors, and $20 for students. For more information on this awesome dance company, visit Ballet X’s official website.

The Wilma Theatre
265 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 546-7824
www.wilmatheater.org

Inside the New Vincent Michael Gallery

In it’s first exhibition since opening this month, the Vincent Michael Gallery is hosting PaperMonster Ate That Little Boy, a masterful exploration into the emotions and stories of women.

Using stencil graffiti, the artist puts faces on the internal struggles of everyday women. The process involves using comic book collage background and layers of spray paints and stencils. What emerges is a work of art that displays the raw beauty, strength and mystery of the female psyche. It is honest and challenging, causing a stir of emotions to viewers both male and female.

You Never Know by PaperMonster

The contrast of black and bright pinks, blues and greens add vitality to the work, amping the impact of the subtle facial expressions, sometimes matched with faces of wolves, cheetahs, T-Rex’s and other forceful creatures to present woman’s power within.

Pieces in the Exhibit

This is an exhibit not to be missed. Vincent Michael Gallery plays home to the exhibit from now until July 31. Stop by July 24th, for the Artist Talk and Presentation, from 2-4 pm.

The contemporary gallery, which opened its doors with the July 2nd opening of PaperMonster, is the perfect place for such an influential exhibit. With natural light pouring in from large windows, the gallery is clean, spacious and modern. The avant-garde space uses progressive technology, which gives it a leg up from other institutions, though it is inviting to all artists and non-artists alike. The brand-new gallery, located in the Piazza, is a place that will challenge artists, engage the community and educate people on art and art galleries.

For more information on the Vincent Michael Gallery and the exhibit, visit www.vincentmichael.com.

Vincent Michael Gallery
1050 North Hancock St, Philadelphia, PA 19123
www.vincentmichael.com

Ballet X's Open Rehearsal, Photo by Bill Hebert

Now celebrating their 5th year, Ballet X will unite three unique performances to create the 2010 Summer Series. Last Thursday evening BalletX hosted an open rehearsal at The Wilma Theater with dances from “Journey of the Day”, “Risk of Flight”, and “The Last Glass”. I was able to get an inside look and witness the dancers up close.

The choreography represents an array of emotions through elegance and refined technique. The combination of soft cello music and up-beat folk tunes radically reveals the intentions of each choreographer. Comprised of ten charismatic dancers, Ballet X features each performer within his/her own spotlight, while the duets harmonize to interpret the inspiration behind a story.

Ballet X's Open Rehearsal, Photo by Bill Hebert

Opening the Summer Series 2010 will be the World premiere of “Journey of the Day” choreographed by Matthew Prescott, who will also be dancing in two other works. “Journey of the Day” is inspired by the Appalachian Journey album, with its hauntingly beautiful songs.

“Risk of Flight” by Adam Hougland will be returning to the stage since November 2007, described by critics as “staggeringly beautiful”.

Inspired by the wild street-parade rhythms of the indie-rock band Beirut, Matthew Neenan’s powerfully graceful performance titled “The Last Glass” uses free-flowing movements to celebrate relationships and raises a toast to falling in love. This performance will uplift your spirits and keep you intrigued with unique twists and energetic ensemble dancing.

I was truly captivated by this glimpse of Summer Series 2010 and was left wanting more. Can’t wait for tomorrow!

The Wilma Theatre
265 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 546-7824
www.wilmatheater.org

Yvette Ganier, Kate Czajkowski, and Genevieve Perrier in Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters.

Spoiler alert: The sisters never make it to Moscow.

From the very beginning of Three Sisters, it’s practically all the three titular characters talk about. The aristocratic siblings are stuck with each other in a small, unrefined town where knowing three languages is “an unnecessary appendage,” with only a few stationed soldiers to distract them from the doldrums of their everyday lives since their fall from high society.

But for Temple Repertory Theater’s production of Anton Chekhov’s classic, that stagnation’s a good thing. The characters may never go anywhere, but the actors portraying them make full use of Chekhov’s witty banter (adapted to more modern language) and multiple stories to create a dynamic social circle that’s fun to watch change and grow. Despite the show’s relatively long run time, the action moves quickly with subtle set changes and leaps forward in time that reveal a significant portion of these characters’ lives.

And there are a lot of characters –Three Sisters has a large cast with a lot of Russian names, which makes for confusing plot summaries and characters you remember but can’t name. But even with this web of romances and connected stories, the show itself is easy to follow, in large part because each character is well developed and faces a unique set of challenges, despite many coming from the same family and almost all belonging to the same declining class.

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Rawr! A Yarn & Felt Lion, On Display @ the Art Star Gallery & Boutique

There’s a new exhibit launching at the Art Star Gallery & Boutique in Northern Liberties. Entitled Out of the Wild, this three person exhibition features the fabric and thread works of Kate Durkin, Maggie Rozycki Hiltner, & Abby Glassenberg.

Each artist uses animal imagery to tell stories through their embroidery and hand-stitched work. You can learn more about each artist on Art Star’s official website.

The exhibition runs July 24th through August 29th, with a special opening reception this Saturday from 5pm to 9pm. Stop by, meet the talented artists behind the work, and nibble on some light refreshments.

Out of the Wild @ Art Star
July 24th – August 29th, 2010
Opening Reception: Saturday, July 24th, 5-9pm

Art Star Gallery & Boutique
623 N. 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123
(215) 238-1557
www.artstarphilly.com

Screenshot from Jake Armstrong’s The Terrible Thing of Alpha-9

Tomorrow, July 16th, University City’s International House is bringing some of the best films from 2009’s Ottawa International Animation Festival to Philadelphia. The evening will consist of 15 shorts created by the most imaginative and original artists working in animated film today.

From Melissa Graziano’s Love on the Line – which explores how frustrated lovers communicated via telegraph in a pre-internet age – to Eric Dyer’s The Bellow’s March – a 5 minute short inspired by the Sisyphean cycle of creation and destruction – these films promise to deliver humor, profundity, and everything in between.

Best of the Ottawa International Animation Festival
July 16th, 7PM
$8 General Admission / $6 Students / $5 Members

International House
3701 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 387-5125
www.ihousephilly.org

Wonderkammer: Cabinets of Wonder @ the Philadelphia International Airport

The Claymobile, a mobile component of Philadelphia’s Clay Studio, partnered up with four local schools to create Wonderkammer: Cabinets of Wonder, an exhibit that shows off the work of several 7th-grade clay artists.

If you’re catching a flight this Summer, you can check out the exhibit at the Philadelphia International Airport, on view between Terminals A-East and B. There are four cabinets, each representing the work of a different school.

The cabinets will be on display through September 2010.

Wonderkammer: Cabinets of Wonder [ www.phl.org ]