A Free Community Arts Festival for the Whole Family

10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m., Saturday, 26 June 2010

The Fleisher Art Memorial presents the fourth annual ARTspiration! — a FREE community arts festival. This outdoor festival will take place in front of Fleisher's buildings along the 700 block of Catharine Street and in adjacent Palumbo Park. Family-oriented activities will include free bicycle-art stations, free art-making activities, bake sale, book sale, art and craft sale, free performances, and a prize raffle. Neighborhood food vendors will also be on hand selling refreshments and treats for the whole family.

Booths will include new and familiar faces. Eggplants, cantaloupes, peppers, bananas and tomatoes will make their return at the popular “Play with Your Food” booth, where young people can transform them into zany creatures and colorful characters. Other returning booths will include face painting, potato printmaking, button-making, sidewalk chalking, portrait painting, and more.

Bicycle-art workshops for all ages will be led by Neighborhood Bike Works. Festival-goers are invited to bring along their bikes for an artistic makeover. “We looked across Southeast Philadelphia and saw the bicycle as an object that cut across every neighborhood and was perfect for artistic personalization,” explained festival coordinator and Fleisher's Special Projects Manager, Joseph Gonzales. “This idea was inspired by so many — Fleisher students, neighborhood children, area teenagers, commuters, cyclists, couriers, food deliverers — all using bicycles whether out of necessity, to be green, to be economical, for recreation, for wellness, to be seen, for work, you name it. We wanted to capture the energy of art-bike expressions like the scraper bikes of Oakland, California, courier bikes, college competitions, and high-art bikes. It's an idea that seems right for the times!”

This year's festival will also feature several guest performers throughout the day: DJ Jesus Soto returns as MC, spinning music for the whole family; accordionist Benjamin Laden provides musical interludes; Aurelio Fernandez sings Mexican folk songs; Cambodian dancers led by Chamroeun Yin present their ancient dance form; while Beats 2 Ya Feet and the Houston Street B-Boys present a more contemporary expression.

This event is free and open to the public.

ARTspiration! comprises one part of a larger plan to make Fleisher's classes, events, and exhibitions more visible and accessible to Philadelphia residents, especially those living in Fleisher's immediate community of Southeast Philadelphia. In Fall 2007, Fleisher received a Wallace Foundation Excellence Award to conduct an investigation of how community members perceive Fleisher and to implement programmatic changes and to respond to their needs. ARTspiration! is one of several ways in which Fleisher is opening its doors to new audiences.

“Accessibility is at the core of our mission,” said Executive Director Matthew Braun. “ARTspiration! is a way to open our doors even wider by inviting people to stop by and learn how easy it is to become a part of our community.”