Arts and Culture : Innovation + Job News

You've got your art. You've got your school. Put them together for a new kind of art happening called Experiential, Environmental, Educational. Opening this Thursday, April 14 at 6 p.m., a floor of classrooms plus the coatroom of a 19th century schoolhouse will offer a wide range of immersive environments, each discrete space representing a different artist's vision. Participants are curator Jerry Kaba, along with C. Pazia Mannella, Daniel Ostrov, Jacque Liu, Jessie Hemmons, Joanie Turbek, Katya Gorker, Mike Ellyson, Ryan W. Kelly, and Tim Eads.

Kaba, who holds an MFA from Tyler School of Art, admits the title is a mouthful, but he wanted to come up with a large enough umbrella for the concept that's been in his head for several months. The Old School Studios, an ornate Victorian red brick building constructed in 1891, has been purchased by David Gleeson, Richard Hricko and Nicholas Kripal, owners of the nearby Crane Arts Building. It's an extension of the artists' community at the former warehouse.

Kaba envisions a carnival-esque feeling at Experiential, Environmental, Educational, with what he calls active installations. Each room will provide an entirely new experience. In some rooms, there will be performance, and in others, video. Outside, yarnbomber Jessie Hemmons will be adorning the wrought iron front gates with hundreds of hot pink pom-poms.

"I like to bring people in with a playful theme, then give them something more serious to consider," says Kaba. "The people in this show are working like that. There's a degree of humor with more serious undertones." Ryan W. Kelly, whom Kaba terms a master of papier mache, is constructing a giant Teddy Roosevelt head and teddy bear. This levity is contrasted with Pazia Mannella's installation and performance "Indulgences," based on a harrowing experience in which she was locked in a Catholic school coatroom as child. And if you are looking for strange things to pick from trees, check out Joanie Turbek's 8-foot tall porcelain tree. For a small fee, you will be able to take home an object hanging from its cold white branches.

If you miss Thursday's opening, Kaba is happy to arrange viewings by appointment. He expects the show to run for about a month, depending on how soon permanent tenants start moving into the Old School Studios.

Source: Jerry Kaba, Experiential, Environmental, Educational
Writer: Sue Spolan

Dan Schimmel's head might be in augmented reality, but the picture is pretty clear to him.

"Right now there's a giant, 100 foot squid hovering over the falls at Boat House Row," says the director of Breadboard, the art and technology program at Science Center that oversees the Esther Klein Gallery. Breadboard is participating in the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA) with the free citywide VPAP@PIFA, the Virtual Public Art Project. Granted, explains Schimmel, you need a smartphone or other mobile device to see the Augmented Reality squid. "That's somewhat foreign to people, but this is where society's headed."

PIFA is about to overtake the city like a giant encornet (that's French for squid) with over 135 events, running from April 7 to May 1. If bright lights in the big city get you going, check out the 81 foot Eiffel Tower replica at the Kimmel Center, which serves as festival headquarters, with a light show daily at 7 and 10 p.m. The theme of PIFA is Paris 1911, tying in with the recent French-flavored Philadelphia International Flower Show. All over the city, you can catch performances, lectures, dance parties, installations, readings, a fashion show and eleven French chefs in residence at area restaurants.

The $10 million extravaganza showcases local and international talent. Visit a day-long free Parisian street fair April 30 on Broad Street where you can ride a giant Ferris Wheel and enjoy a multitude of acts including Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. PIFA is also sponsoring daily wine tastings, crepe samples, free concerts, and French lessons.

Philly-Paris Lockdown, on April 17 at 8 PM at the Kimmel, features Philly's own ?uestlove of The Roots along with singer-songwriter Keren Ann, followed by an underground afterparty. Fourth Wall Arts hosts a special Salon on April 23 at the newly opened National Museum of American Jewish History on Independence Mall, featuring Ursula Rucker, Mimi Stillman and muralist David Guinn.

JJ Tiziou's How Philly Moves, which just raised $26,000 in a Kickstarter Campaign, will be projecting massive images of Philadelphia's dancers on the side of the Kimmel throughout the festival. Hope: An Oratorio, is a work PIFA commissioned by composer Jonathan Leshnoff, to be performed April 24, performed by The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, along with four soloists, the Pennsylvania Girlchoir and the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia.

The Painted Bride, The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Slought Foundation, the African-American Museum in Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, WXPN, Philadelphia's Magic Garden, and the Independence Seaport Museum are just a few of the many PIFA sponsors and event hosts. Get detailed program information, tickets, and download a festival brochure at the PIFA website. PIFA, along with the GPTMC, is also offering hotel and ticket packages for the festival.

Source: Dan Schimmel, Breadboard; PIFA; GPTMC
Writer: Sue Spolan

South Jersey could become the area's next contemporary art hub, if Mary Salvante keeps up the good work at Glassboro's Rowan University Art Gallery. The Program Director and curator of the space opens a show tonight that melds a multitude of disciplines. Artist Beverly Semmes' exhibit, entitled The Feminist Responsibility Project, combines installation with live performance and video to explore what Salvante terms the third wave of feminism.

"The title is heavy handed in a way. It's a response to the weight of feminism and the role it has s played in culture and politics. It's meant to be ironic and paradoxical as well," says Salvante, who is in her second year as gallery director. The installation, which includes a massive white cloud made of fabric, altered pornographic images, a video of a woman kicking pink potatoes across a white frozen lake, and a performance piece involving two archetypes: The Bitch and the Super Puritan, who sit down to a puzzle made from an altered pornographic image. These elements are meant to juxtapose the last wave of feminism, now considered somewhat over the top, with the attitudes of young women today.

Salvante first saw Beverly Semmes at The Fabric Workshop in Philadelphia, and says she was drawn to the way Semmes uses fabric as a sculptural material,and how the multimedia aspect of the work adds to the tension of what she is trying to communicate. Semmes lives in New York City and has exhibited internationally, brings a new level of quality to Rowan's offerings, offering the South Jersey institution the opportunity to expand the size of its regional cultural community. The Feminist Responsibility Project opens tonight, Tuesday March 29, from 5 to 7:30 p.m., with a talk and live performance, and runs through May 14.

Source: Mary Salvante, Rowan University
Writer: Sue Spolan

Jessie Hemmons embraces the city, literally. You've probably walked past this new form of public art and wondered who's behind the colorful knit webs that wrap trees, bike racks, and recently, subway seats on the Market-Frankford Line.

Hemmons is a yarn bomber, a growing network that subverts the old fashioned craft of knitting to put a feminist stamp on underground street art. When she's not riding her bike, Hemmons goes by the handle "ishknits" and spends hours working big needles and skeins of acrylic yarn on public transit. Hemmons, who's also a therapist for families facing drug and alcohol addiction, is not the first person to engage in yarn bombing nationally. The practice originated in Austin, when a failing yarn shop's overstock became fodder for public art. Hemmons says she is the only yarn bomber in Philadelphia, with 30 installations to date, including one commissioned by Urban Outfitters for the company's Navy Yard headquarters. She's also selling knits on etsy.

Consider the masculine spray of graffiti, as opposed to the warm womanly embrace of knitwork. "I am feminizing street art," says Hemmons, who is now entering talks with the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. "My whole goal is to empower communities. The ideal yarn bomb would be to wrap an abandoned house." Public knitting is passive intervention, and a way for Hemmons to communicate that someone is paying attention to blighted neighborhoods.

Source: Jessie Hemmons, ishknits
Writer: Sue Spolan

Flying Bytes is nuggets of innovation from across Greater Philadelphia:

BROTHERLY LOVE GOES GLOBAL
Following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, there's been a swell of support from local companies and groups. Comcast is offering free calls to Japan for Xfinity Voice and Business Class Voice customers. Call Japan now until April 10, 2011 and get an automatic refund on your Comcast bill. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the Red Cross is accepting both online and text message contributions for Japan relief efforts and reports that it has received generous donations from Westchester's QVC and Philadelphia Insurance. The Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia has instituted a Disaster Relief Fund, and is also taking donations at the Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival.

THE GREEN GREEN GRASS OF HOME
Urban Blazers, a Philadelphia program that organizes outdoor activities for under-resourced youth, is co-sponsoring an East Fairmount Park Spring Clean-Up. The event, to be held Saturday, April 2 from 9 to 1, will start at Mander Playground, 33rd and Diamond, for a seasonal overhaul of nearby recreational spots, as well as the Woodford Mansion Orchard. It's part of the citywide Philly Spring Cleanup. Participating civic groups include the East Park Revitalization Alliance, Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis and Education, the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation and the Strawberry Mansion Athletic Association. RSVP on Facebook or email [email protected].

COME ON BABY LIGHT MY FIRE
Speaking of blazing, on April 16, grab a flashlight and head over to the eternal flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Washington Square Park for a warm spring evening of fun. Get Out Philly is hosting a game of Flashlight Tag beginning at 8. Put on your post-tax return attitude and casual clothes. Food and drink to follow at a nearby casual spot. Suggested donation is $1. You can RSVP on Facebook.

Source: Comcast, Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia, Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the Red Cross, Urban Blazers, Get Out Philly
Writer: Sue Spolan

In the spirit of Philly's other well-known celebrations like Beer Week and Restaurant Week, one of the main goals for Philly Tech Week, happening April 25 to 30 in locations across the city, is to have fun. Organized by Technically Philly, the week is meant to connect the many different segments of the Philly technology community, from hackers to Comcast and everyone in between, according to TP co-founder Chris Wink.

At this point, there are about 35 events on the schedule, with more to come. WHYY will serve as headquarters. Wink says the media outlet will host a daily lunchtime speaker series throughout the week, as well as the final big event Friday night. Tech Week coincides with two other major citywide happenings: The Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA) and The Philadelphia Science Festival. As a result, says Wink, some gatherings will carry all three labels, such as Augmented Reality Check: Seeing The Future Now, looking at the intersection of art, technology and science, to be held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 26.

Another exciting Tech Week gathering is The Future of Music featuring musician and producer RJD2, coordinated by Tayyib Smith, owner of Little Giant Media, which publishes two.one.five magazine. Smith hopes to draw like minded people actively engaged in creating, promoting and distributing music to envision the role technology will play in the future of music. "I am an analog person who is fronting like I am digital," says Smith, who hopes to get as much out of the discussion as any of the other attendees.

Local firm Azavea, which builds geographic analysis software, happens to be rolling out several projects that same week, and plans to show off the brand new goods. "One is Philly Tree Map," says President and CEO Robert Cheetham, whose goal is to create a crowdsourced urban tree inventory. Two other Azavea projects, Open Data Philly and PhillyHistory.org, will be showcased during Tech Week.

For those who have ever fantasized about going ballistic on your devices, be sure to attend the Office Space Printer Smash, co-sponsored by Nonprofit Technology Resources and The Hacktory. As the title indicates, participants will be encouraged to turn unrecyclable printers into a pile of mangled plastic and metal.

Source: Christopher Wink, Technically Philly, Tayyib Smith, Little Giant Media, Robert Cheetham, Azavea
Writer: Sue Spolan

A three dimensional rendering of a human heart is beating atop a card you hold in your hand. It's not reality, it's Augmented Reality, the latest method of bringing two dimensional images into a 3D world. Augmented Reality images exist only on the screen of a computer or mobile device, but with the addition of a live camera feed, viewing the virtual sculptures feels astoundingly real.

Perfect Prototype describes itself as an interactives company, "telling stories with innovative technology to create engaging, educational experiences for people," says Matthew Browning, company president. Located in the Crane Arts building, Perfect Prototype flies under local radar but is creating a national splash with projects for educational and corporate clients, such as a museum exhibit that lets you hold a virtual brain in your hands, a locomotive simulator that provides the virtual experience of operating a train, and a presentation to a corporate audience that integrates 3D animations. And if you are in the mood for some new fashioned hand to hand combat, Browning says Perfect Prototype has come up with a device that allows people across the country to arm-wrestle.

Browning, who is working overtime along with ten independent professionals to meet customer need, says clients range from museums such as Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry, to corporations including Norfolk Southern and Hyundai, along with the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins.

Perfect Prototype is at the forefront of a rapidly growing technology that has implications across many sectors. Browning says of the technology that is still in its infancy, "There is so much untapped potential in Augmented Reality. It's a joy to push the limits and create new and innovative uses." And, he adds, with increased computing power on mobile and stationary devices, Perfect Protoype continues to give people a new experience, and a new way of looking at the world around them.

Source: Matthew Browning, Perfect Prototype
Writer: Sue Spolan

What does an urban planner do while looking for a job? If you're Dan Casey, you create a dense daily digest of news with a focus on what people are not reading. The Front Section, says Casey, "is a byproduct of being direly underemployed and spending too much time online. I got tired of reading about America and American debates, and realized that I was following a lot of international news that my friends weren't." The Front Section is a densely packed and far more graphically pleasing alternative to web pages like The Drudge Report. Casey drew his inspiration from "a venerable site called Arts & Letters Daily that has a pleasantly tweedy high-culture tone and is all about Big Serious Ideas. When you load up the page, you start smelling pipe smoke and leather patches grow on your elbows.

"A faint taste of port creeps into your mouth; it's uncanny," says Casey, who felt he could fill a niche for a younger audience that is "decidedly to the left" of the Arts & Letters readership, but is still interested in good writing about the rest of the world. Casey says he took off from the overall A&L concept, but shifted its center of gravity. And added rap videos.

The site, based in Philadelphia and updated daily, attracts about a hundred visitors on an average day, but can draw thousands when it's linked from another site. Casey says the site is hosted by a generous friend, and is more of a community service than a money making proposition. Casey says his state of being underemployed may be about to change: "If I get one of these 'jobs' that I've heard so much about, maybe I'll have the chance to slow down and focus my reading, and rebuild my attention span, so the blog will probably change too. Stay tuned."

Source: Dan Casey, The Front Section
Writer: Sue Spolan

Flying Bytes is a roundup of innovation nuggets from across the region:

OPEN UP TO ART
The second annual Art in The Open exhibit has been announced for June 9-12, 2011. The citywide exhibit features a juried selection of artists who will create site specific work along the Schuylkill Banks, from Bartram's Garden in Southwest Philly, and as far north as the Fairmount Park Waterworks. The result is a giant outdoor studio, with art stations for the public to get into the creative process. AIO co-founder Mary Salvante reports that all 2011 artist applications have been received, and the 40 winners will be announced shortly.

A CANAL PROPOSAL
The Manayunk Canal Towpath is about to get an art facelift. The Mural Arts Program, in association with the Manayunk Special Services District (MSSD) and the Manayunk Development Corporation, is calling for proposals to transform the disused canal into a temporary public art location with a focus on sustainability, incorporating water. The canal is the last surviving segment of a waterway that once ran as far as Schuylkill County, bringing coal from the mines into Philadelphia. The installation will coincide with this September's Manayunk Eco-Arts Festival. For more information, send email here.

MALVERN GETS 'SOFT
This week Microsoft opened a new 17,500 square foot Technology Center in Malvern. In attendance at the opening ceremony were Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. The Philadelphia area tech center is the tenth in the United States, and joins 21 similar technology centers globally. According to Microsoft, "the center is designed to help companies throughout the mid-Atlantic region improve their use of technology to grow their businesses, add jobs, and strengthen their local communities."

PHILLY'S GONE DIGITAL
Digital Philadelphia and Code for America reports that our local team of fellows is working hard to get government data to citizens. Jeff Friedman says the Philly CfA team conducted over a hundred interviews in February, polling government and city workers, civic leaders including heads of non-profits, block captains, civic developers, and citizens. CfA Philly also held three Friday "hack" events to encourage local developers to engage with government data, an Open Data Forum with help from Young Involved Philadelphia, Technically Philly, and the City, and an open data camp where developers built out four functional mini-apps based on city data.

Source: Mary Salvante, AIO; Microsoft Technology Center, Jeff Friedman, CfA Philly
Writer: Sue Spolan

Flying Bytes is a regularly occurring wrap-up of innovation nuggets from across Greater Philadelphia:

A WEEK OF TECH CELEBRATION
It's a week long celebration of technology innovation, according to Technically Philly's Christopher Wink, one of the organizers of Philly Tech Week, April 25 to 30. "Wharton, University City Science Center, First Round Capital, the Franklin Institute, and Indy Hall are either sponsoring, hosting events or getting involved," says Wink. Check the PTW calendar for panels on Augmented Reality, Switch Philly, and a municipal government data unveiling. The final Friday night signature event will take place at WHYY, which will serve as headquarters for the week. Stay tuned for more.

TIRED OF WINE & CHEESE
LA's biggest underground art show is coming to town. Pancakes & Booze features over 50 of Philly's underground artists, and will take place Friday March 11 at Bookspace, 1113 Frankford Avenue, starting at 8 p.m. and scheduled into the wee hours. Admission is just $5 and covers all the pancakes you can eat plus live body painting. Pancakes & Booze is on national tour, with stops in San Francisco, Nashville, Denver and more. It's worth going just to see Bookspace, a massive former elevator factory converted into a surreal bookstore stacked to the rafters with more than 50,000 titles.

ENTREPRENEUR EXPO 2011
Philly Startup Leaders wants you to show off your stuff at the Entrepreneur Expo 2011. The area's brightest business minds are set to convene at University of the Arts on March 31. Last year's event drew 400 people. PSL is now accepting exhibitor applications from members, and will accept bids from the general public starting March 13. Register to attend this free event at Ticketleap.

LAUNCHROCK @ SXSW
The winner of this year's Startup Weekend Philadelphia plans on giving away $5,000 at SXSW Interactive in Austin, Texas March 11-16. LaunchRock is a service that creates a viral "coming soon" page for budding businesses. The entrepreneur who gets the most signups using LaunchRock during SXSW will receive a dollar per sign-up up to $5,000. Results of the competition will be tracked on a 22-foot leaderboard on Sixth Street in Austin.

Source: Technically Philly, Bookspace, Philly Startup Leaders, Launchrock
Writer: Sue Spolan

A suburban boy is moving to town. Milkboy, one of the area's most beloved coffeehouses, is expanding from the Main Line to the Midtown Village section of Philadelphia, hiring a projected 20 new employees. Milkboy began in 1994 as a four-track cassette recorder and one microphone, growing into a recording, communications and promotional powerhouse, with two cafe/live music venues in Ardmore and Bryn Mawr.

Now Milkboy takes the party downtown, opening a multilevel bar and restaurant at 11th and Chestnut in Center City this spring. The venue will have two floors, with a fully stocked bar downstairs, and a stage upstairs. Milkboy co-founder Jamie Lokoff estimates capacity at 150 to 200 people, and of the food, he says, "Just because you're going to see a show in rock club, you won't have to sacrifice what you're eating." Milkboy is in talks with some of the city's best known chefs. "It's a lot more than what we can do in Ardmore," says Lokoff, "and it will be more geared toward a rock club environment."

Construction has been beset by the unexpected. "The owner of the building terms the area 'the hole in the donut,' " says Lokoff, who explains that the leased property, which couldn't possibly be more central, was lacking both a gas line and a telecommunications cable. Passersby to the Ardmore coffeehouse may have seen union picketers lately. Lokoff explains that the building owner, not Milkboy, hired the contractor. While several unions are represented, the contractor chose not to employ workers from the Carpenters' Union. Because of that hiring choice, says Lokoff, representatives are picketing Ardmore with signs reading, "Shame on Milkboy Coffee." Milkboy maintains a sense of humor about the controversy, selling Shame on Milkboy Coffee T-shirts. Lokoff says the Philadelphia location should be open late spring 2011.

Source: Jamie Lokoff, Milkboy
Writer: Sue Spolan

The switch is flipped at Crane Arts. This week, the Kensington warehouse building, which houses artist studios and commercial space, powered up Philadelphia's largest rooftop photovoltaic solar array. Over four hundred panels will supply 81 kilowatts per year. The array is owned not by Crane, but by a new company called Solar States, which hopes to expand partnerships with property owners to create 15 commercial solar rooftops in the city for a total of 1 megawatt of solar capacity outputting thousands of megawatt hours.

In a departure from traditional solar panel installation, the for-profit Solar States offers photovoltaic installation at zero cost to building owners, selling back electricity at a discount. According to Micah Gold-Markel, founder of Solar States, the plan is for Crane to remain on the grid, so tenants will be using a mix of solar and traditional electric company power. Another way Solar States could profit is by selling back surplus power to the grid. It's a complicated auction system in which a company like Solar States sells a certificate to electric companies as a way of diversifying their energy portfolio, in compliance with the state Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard. While Gold-Markel hopes Crane will use the maximum output offered by the solar array, there will be many hours of sunlight when the building is quiet, and excess power generated by the array will generate certificates, as well as a discount to Crane. Gold-Markel says that for Solar States, profitability is sustainability. Solar States, not the building owner, also receives all Pennsylvania and federal solar rebates, tax incentives and credits.

The Crane array was designed by Helio Systems and GRASS (Green Roofs and Solar Systems), and Solar States estimates that it will provide a 20 percent cost savings over standard PECO rates.

Source: Micah Gold-Markel, Solar States
Writer: Sue Spolan

Press the start button on Play Eternal, Philadelphia's newest game development company. Play Eternal hopes to create titles that are easy to pick up, play and, perhaps most important, put away. Lou Tranchitella, CEO of Play Eternal and father of three, says that while his company's larger target demographic is men aged 15 to 45, Play Eternal wants to think outside the XBox to create action for aging gamers in their 30s and 40s who have jobs, families and activities that take life beyond the screen. Tranchitella explains that Play Eternal AAA action adventure titles are slated to provide 10 to 12 hours of in-game time, whereas traditional titles in the genre may take up to 60 hours of play to resolve. The far lower price point of Play Eternal games is commensurate with shorter play. Forget lengthy tutorials and introductions, says Tranchitella, whose own gaming life now centers around casual games like Bejeweled, as increasing real life responsibilities prohibit full immersion.

Launched this week, Play Eternal hopes to be at the forefront of a growing trend for the city. "Two of the best game schools are Drexel and Penn," says Tranchitella, who notes that Drexel RePlay is ranked third in the nation for game development by the Princeton Review, and Penn has the only graduate program for game developers, but degreed gamers end up leaving the city for companies elsewhere.

Play Eternal's four principals are Tranchitella, COO Michael Worth, Chief Creative Officer Brandon Van Slyke, and Albert Vazquez, who is the company's Chief Technology Officer. While Play Eternal is not at liberty to discuss specific games under development, Tranchitella says the appeal to publishers is in both time and money: a shorter production interval between concept and finished product, and direct delivery to the consumer by download to console or PC, bypassing expensive packaging.

Play Eternal is a virtual company for now, but in the next month or so will announce a move into office space in University City. "Both Mike and I have family roots in Philadelphia," says Tranchitella, who grew up here and plans to position Play Eternal at the forefront of the city's growing gamer business community.

Source: Lou Tranchitella, Play Eternal
Writer: Sue Spolan

Flying Bytes is innovation nuggets from throughout Greater Philadelphia:

VANITY FUR
Forget LOLcats. Now you can get LOLdogs, in the form of CoverPuppy, a new iPhone app that puts your mutt's mug on the cover of your favorite glossy rag. Spots Illustrated and Bone Appetit are just a few of the possibilities. For $1.99, you can download this latest offering from Philly's own ChatterBlast Labs and see your puppy's picture on the cover of Rolling Over. Share with friends via email, Facebook and Twitter. A portion of CoverPuppy proceeds goes to the ASPCA.

BELL IS BROKEN. PLEASE KNOCK.
This week the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation announced the top-10 list of submissions for its With Love, Philadelphia XOXO Billboard Contest. It wasn't easy choosing from 2,711 entries sent in from all over the country (106 submissions with Rocky but only 19 mentions of Adrian). The top ten can be seen in a video roundup. Mary K.'s winning entry "Dear Philadelphia, You had me at Yo!" will adorn a billboard above I-95 by the Girard Avenue exit.

SEPTA SEEKS FLOWER CHILDREN
Get to Springtime in Paris via rail or bus. Going to the Philadelphia International Flower Show at the Pennsylvania Convention Center next week? SEPTA is encouraging visitors to leave cars at home and tiptoe through the tulips with a One Day or Family Independence Pass. SEPTA is also offering discounted tickets to the event, which runs March 6-13.

OPEN FOR GREAT MUSIC
No need to knock at JJ Tiziou's door. The Philadelphia photographer and supporter of the arts has announced the start of his 2011 house concert series at 4531 Osage Avenue. The April 2 lineup includes "pleasantly aggressive folk duo" Nervous But Excited from Ypsilanti, Michigan, and Washington DC's Tinsmith. As always, donations of money, food and drink are always welcome. Proceeds pay performers and also benefit the larger Philadelphia arts community.

Source: ChatterBlast, GPTMC, SEPTA, JJ Tiziou
Writer: Sue Spolan