southphilly review article

According to the 26-year-old from Fourth and Reed streets, the whole point of the Biennial is to merge artists with the existing community. Art in public places that do not normally showcase it is important in her eyes because it reminds people transformation can happen anywhere....

to read the whole article click here

lorraine gennaro

city paper article

"You must be at the banquet in order to feast, and my art encourages people to step up to the dinner plate," ...
"I want to create a space to celebrate an individual's vision where people aren't intimidated to come around, say hello and ask a question, a space where it's OK to put it out there and OK to make a mistake."

to read the whole article click here

a.d. amorosi

and it was!

pink house preperations

biennial postponed to sunday

because every weather forecaster in the country has claimed that saturday may 31st will be a storm. we have decided to postpone the biennial to its rain date, sunday june 1st. everything will still go on as planned, just 24hrs later.

Club Lyfestile

In the summer of 2006, on a sweltering Philadelphia night, twenty something twentysomethings possessing unfathomable dance abilities were lured to a secret gathering with the promise of two dozen matching jumpsuits. The chosen were to don the suits and form the ultimate dance gang.

Club Lyfestile is their name. These kids are unstoppable, hosting monthly parties at the Barbary nightclub and going on cross country summer tours. Come see them sweat it out May 31st!!!!

Philly to New Orleans

PHILLY TO NEW ORLEANS coordinates benefits raising money to send teams of volunteers to New Orleans to do various post Katrina restoration projects. They book New Orleans musicians in local venues for "Big Easy" Events which celebrate the food, music and culture of NoLa, encourage tourism and attempt to educate about the issues threatening the future of the city. They plan and organize volunteer trips in New Orleans to include gigs for musicians, shows at legendary nite clubs, tours, and hotel accommodations.

Representatives of Philly to New Orleans will be at the Biennial, selling cds taking donations, and offering more information to investors and artists alike!

Emily DiGiovanni

Interacting with the forces of nature and dealing with the humor and pathos of life, Emily DiGiovanni uses poetry, photography and mixed media to make surreal, expressive and ritualistic works of art. She is deeply influenced by landscape - most recently by the rain, bricks and mold of West Philadelphia and the dust, heat and stone of Arizona, where she worked construction for a non-profit. For the South Philly Biennial, she is collaborating with humanitarian and visual artist Arielle Messuti, painter Aaron Wemer, photographer and model Monica Mulder and sculptor Edward Lynch Carey to create three sculptural masks inspired by Aztec religion, poetry and philosophy -- all the earth is a grave and nothing escapes it, nothing is so perfect that it does not descend to its tomb.

The Random Tea Room

The Random Tea Room presents the Tea Monkeys in a live-action Tea Mission! Tea will be prepared by the Tea Monkeys in an inviting floor-level setting which everyone is encouraged to join, displaying their home-grown interpretation of the Gong-Fu style of tea-making and more. Tea from China, Taiwan, Japan, India and a few of Grand Tea Monkey Jor Kane's very own herbal infusions will be available for sipping, slurping and gulping. A healthy addition to any gathering, the Tea Mission also provides an energizing element to keep the participants fueled and festive. Come join them at the Biennial!

April Glaser, Pirate Radioess

April Glaser left home at age 16 to work with left high school and worked with a group of activists in Nashville, Tennessee to build the area's only public access, independent radio station, Radio Free Nashville. It was connected to her home. She soon left for Philly to work with the Prometheus Radio Projects, to build low-power community radio stations and help with the fight against media consolidation. She has a precocious way of getting herself involved with some of the most interesting, community based, independently minded projects and people. She is currently a student of philosophy and spent last summer living in Michigan on a boat working with FOUND magazine. and plans on spending this summer in the Catskills working on projects with the Wave Farm.

She will be setting up a 'pirate' radio station at the Biennial to broadcast music and interviews. Listeners can tune in for a few blocks radius, while she will have radio hats so visitors and artists can listen live. She is very informative and wants everyone to know that she welcomes questions on broadcasting, media consolidation, and the wavy spectrum.

Above please check out a video Prometheus projects made of their Nashville, Tennessee project, of which April was involved.

Alexandra Gorczynski & Jonathan Santoro

Alex and Jonny are philly based artists from the Rhode Island art scene. This is an image of one of Jonny's sculptures and one of Alex's videos. They will contribute with a multi media installation at the biennial. Here is a link to Alex's youtube page .

Goallana Roomtone

Welcome the biz's new reconstructive standard guru, Goallana Roomtone*! Enter his Home Depot makeup kit and a Lowes hair management do it yourself workshop station to transform yourself into yourself transformed. Goallana Roomtone is certified and verified and is the "new insecticide to the doldrums of passe at home home and body reconstructive procedure". He will be at the Biennial with his trademark trade-show booth and smile offering free trials in "extensions & redemptions" biz lingo for great hair. Just ask Jess.

new truth. new hair.

*goallana roomtone is in fact an artistic manifestation of ryan trecartin's imagination and is therefore free of responsibilty to corporate or personal liability. check out his youtube page for a real blast.

Roberta Fallon and Libby Rosof

Roberta Fallon and Libby Rosof started artblog, an art culture and criticism website, in 2003. Artblog leads a passionate focus on Philadelphia's booming contemporary art scene. Libby and Roberta are both founding members of Philadelphia Sculptors. Roberta writes art reviews for several publications, including the Philadelphia Weekly, Artnet.com and Art on Paper magazine. Libby is the former editor of the University of Pennsylvania's faculty/staff newspaper, the Penn Current.

These are links to their flickr paAnd their Flickr pages where you can find an abundance of Philadelphia Art World documentation:
Roberta's Flickr
Libby's Flickr

Libby and Roberta will be our Honorable Guests at The South Philly Biennial. We would like to celebrate their almost 20 years of collaboration and lifetime of passion and dedication to the local art scene.
Libby and Roberta will speak at the Biennial!!

The above photograph is courtesy of Martin Bromiski, visit his blog, anaba, here.

Roz Hunter & Charles Hobbs

Charles Hobbs exhibits regularly in Philadelphia and elsewhere, working mostly in installation, sculpture, and drawing. His most recent exhibit of wall paintings and kinetic art was on view at Esther Klein Gallery in Philadelphia, that's where the above photographs are from. Charles also regularly shows at Vox Populi where he has been a member for the past five years. He will be collaborating with Roz Hunter, former PIFAS faculty member and founder of a yet-to-be-named Philadelphia-based feminist organization that fosters discussion through workshops and promotes women in the arts. Below you can find a photo of her print work.
Together they will create kinetic sculpture for the South Philly Biennial.

Brian McKelligot

Brian is a Philly based artist. He has played in many bands including: Sagitarious, The Shitdiggers, The Forest, Horses Kill Horses, Brain Tongue, Live Rubble, Mamma Rolla and the Experimental People Band. He is the founder of the tape/cdr label XPPL. He's also a painter and a sculptor and will contribute with sculpture. These photographs are from a show he was in at Bobo's on 9th.

P.I.F.A.S

The Philadelphia Institute for Advanced Studies is an associate of the Biennial, as various members of their illustrious faculty and residency alumni are directly involved with the motivation, creation, and syncopation of the May 31st events. The institute is managed by enlightened despots, Brandon Joyce, and Richard Davis as seen here in their faculty portraits. Joyce is the former self proclaimed mayor of South Philadelphia's Athenaeum, a center for art and music; which supported a great deal of the "southphilly" art scene. All inquiries on these gentlemen and advanced studies will be handled by the Institute's Human Resource Department: inquiries@pifas.net.

Magnet City Kids

Magnet City Kids are a philly based noisy dance rock and roll band. They are comprised of Jake Anodide , Ashiq Khondker Jen Rice, Eliot Klein, Chris Hayden, Scott Curry, Mike Hayden and Karin Weinreich. They have been playing music together since 2000. These photos are from the first ever "this town needs a parade" in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Renata Mann

Jewelry designer, Renata Mann, is joining the biennial with a fine art flair. She is excited to participate with a large scale installation, as well as accessories and costume for members of the team. Above is a piece from her Spring 2008 line, and below, Mandy Moore wears one of her designs for a Teen Vogue photoshoot.

Tayesha Busay

"girlgroup all over the southphilly!"

The avant provocoteur TAYISHA BUSAY is a girl group that kicks it up
a notch and throws it in yo' face! Electro-synth-pop with a weird
twist of lemon and lime, fly-girl dance moves, and an attitude like
whitney houston and bart simpson!
TAYISHA BUSAY is a fresh serving of Brooklyn's own Tessa Greenberg
with Hope Bowers and Ariel Sims on the side.

Here's a video for their song about sneakers.

Bobo's on 9th

Bobo's on 9th located at 1134 s. 9th street is an affiliate of the Biennial. For the last year, this start up gallery has hosted solo shows by Jesse Greenberg, Colt Hausman, Matt Berrian, Lindsay Beebe and Barkev; as well as a joint show by Lizzie Fitch and Brian McKelligot. They have also hosted a plethora of performances in their space, often opening as Bobo the band. Composed of Nick Payne, Phil Cote and Drew Gillespie, they refer to themselves as an "art company" and are interested in the perversion of corporate concepts, idea networks and cultural mimes. Presently the boys are looking forward to a group show they are orchestrating at Foxy Productions this coming July in Manhattan.

Sweatheart

Dress up band, Sweatheart is a local legend. Creative children of Space 1026 they are comprised mainly of Thom Lessner, Rose Luardo and Amanda Blank . Their Flickr account is out of control. They will be there May 31st, playing their songs in the sun.

Here's a video from their Sweatheart Sweats workout video series.

Annie Pearlman

Annie is a New Yorker. She works mainly in Video and Painting. She is half of Private Time, a multimedia band and entertainment experience. She will be contributing with the paint brush for the Biennial. This is one of her videos, and a link to her youtube page.

Paint Co.

Paint Co. is an art manufacturing company, the vision of Philly Based artist Phil Cote. Phil is one third of Bobo's, both the band and the Italian Market Gallery. Phil will contribute with sculpture and music, playing guitar with the Live Karaoke Band.

Megabinx

Megabinx is the fantastic plastic world of Jesse Greenberg. Foreign future outer realm relics, his sculptures make me want to rhyme. He is one of those rare artists who believe in touch, his smaller hand sized objects are even called "touchables". His work has been called "a plastic interaction of sight, sound, touch, and mind". Highly interactive and lots of fun. Megabinx will be there May 31st. These photos are from his first solo show, which passed last September at Bobo's on 9th.

K-Fai Steele

New Philly transplant, K-Fai Steele, just finished a month long artistic residency at The Philadelphia Institute for Advanced Studies. Her artwork revolves around a complex cat-human world that manifests through sculpture, painting and performance. She will contribute to the Biennial with sculpture. The photographs seen here are courtesy of Ramsey Aarnoat and the
Philadelphia Institute for Advanced Studies..
Click here for a link to her blog.

Max Eisenberg

Max runs "The Bank" a Baltimore warehouse venue that hosts shows nearly every weekend from a wide range of international performers. He is half of duo "Rubbed Raw", he has published a book of illustrations with Rain Ridge Press and toured the country with French Performance Artist Costes. For this event he will collaborate with Erin Womack and Natalie Jennison, artists from his home town, to create a toxic bog out of latex, gelatin, and mixed materials. The bottom photograph is from his most recent installation "Western Snake Piss" as featured at the Brooklyn Fireproof Gallery as part of the "Mixed Emotions" group show.
click here for a link to his website Oceans of Missouri.

Rob Francisco

Rob is a Philadelphia based artist of the profane and unexposed. He plays noise music as Max Noi Mach, is half of duo "Rubbed Raw" and moonlights as sensitive poet and failed comedian, Billy Newman. The day of the event you can expect to find him as a dj named Rob, playing the best 70's soul and 50's feel good you've ever heard. Click here for a link to his blog, American Rager. .

Mikkilandia Productions

Mikkilandia Productions is currently comprised of Mikki Olson and Raul DeNieves. They are New York based installation and performance artists. An entity of their own they live their art, and can be found in costume and character most any day of the week.
The above photograph is an installation view from their most recent show at the Giti Nourbakhsch gallery in Berlin, Germany. Below is a video of an art protest I participated with at the Armory Show in Manhattan. The painting is entitled "Suzy Eggroll" and was part of the Giti Nourbakhsch booth at the Armory Show.

Lindsay Kovnat

Lindsay Kovnat is a philly based multimediia artist. She works in video animation, as well as 2d and 3d sculpture. She was recently awarded first place at the Philadelphia Film Festival in experimental animation for her plastic little video shown here.

Lindsay Beebe

Lindsay Beebe is a sculptor, painter, musician and performer. Her solo project, "Rapid Ice" is a stingingly heartfelt one woman tantrum. She will be contributing with sculpture to the May 31st event. These photographs are from "Big Room Now", a group show with Ryan Trecartin, and the Black Bird is from her solo show "Dem Birds Gone Die" at
Bobo's on 9th

Bonnie Showcase

Bonnie Showcase, of The World Cafe Live's Lefty Lucy Cabaret, will host the May 31st festivities. Bonnie Showcase is one of Liz Rywelski's many "Identity Performances". Liz Rywelski is a Philadelphia based Conceptual and Performance artist. click here for a link to her space 1026 portfolio.

this is Bonnie's reaction video to the viral video "two girls, one cup"

The Barat Foundation

The Southphilly Biennial is happening under the umbrella of my family's art foundation, The Barat Foundation who's mission is to "transform lives through an interactive educational experience based on cultural exchange, artistic expression, humanistic values, and a commitment to each individual's creative potential." They run their operations out of Newarc, an arts and resource center in Newark, New Jersey; and host a summer educational artist residency program in the South of France, Provence, where contemporary French Artists live in community with American Highschool students from all socio-economic backgrounds for a summer of workshops and excursions.


These photographs are from the grand opening of the Newarc Center, where two of our former French Artists-in-Residents Pierre Laurent Cassiere and Maroussia Rebecq, creative director of Andrea Crews "fashion, art, activism" were invited to Newark, New Jersey to orchestrate workshops with Newark Highschool Students in their respective fields. Pierre Lo ran an interactive sound workshop while Maroussia orchestrated a fashion reconstruction workshop and catwalk. In keeping with the spirit of the clothing and the students the catwalk took place in the form of musical to the live music of WFMU's OCDJ.

Press Release

“To promote art in the public sphere through community collaboration.”

For immediate release: The South-Philly Biennial
Saturday May 31st, noon – 6pm (rain date June 1st)
Outdoors, Italian market (9th and Christian)
Contact: Athena@baratfoundation.org
Athena.b.biz@gmail.com


Southphilly summer beings May 31st , in the bustling Italian Market on a parking lot next to The Dibruno Brother’s sandwich shop. The local population will witness as a network of emerging artists from Philadelphia, New York and Baltimore transform this normally unnoticed lot into a blooming multi media forest including sculpture, painting, drawing, video, and performance.

Anyone who passes through the space can become a rockstar with “The Live Karaoke Band Experience”, while everyone can expect face painting, fortune telling, and magic. Organizer Athena Barat says “the goal of this project is to have artists interact with a brand new audience, one that doesn’t expect art in the middle of the street.” She continues, “I think its important to keep the public on their toes to the fact that transformation can happen anywhere, while its important to keep artists on top of their game and able to communicate their vision with those of us unexposed to the art world. This is an experiment in communication, and I hope everyone involved walks away from the event better able to do so.”

The day will dazzle with performances by Sweatheart, a brass ensemble of students led by David Fishkin, Jimmy Cousins and his live band, the Magnet City Kids, girl group Tayaesha Busay, local legend Darren Finizio, dj sets by Robert Fransisco and the untamed antics of the World Café’s Showcase Family, Bonnie Showcase, as she hosts this summer’s extravaganza.

The South Philly Biennial is a project of the Barat Foundation and vision of local artist and organizer, Athena Barat. The Barat Foundation is a registered 501c3 not for-profit art and education foundation whose mission is to “transform lives through an interactive educational experience based on cultural exchange, artistic expression, humanistic values, and a commitment to each individual's creative potential”. A myriad of artists will be represented and present with their diverse world in this free and open public event.
The South Philly Biennial is working in partnership with local organizations and members of the community, artists and supporters alike, to kick off a truly extraordinary summer.
For further information on the event and a list of participating sponsers and artists please visit http://southphillybiennial.blogspot.com/ or email Athena@baratfoundation.org or athena.b.biz@gmail.com.