The “Broken Chains” mural at 52nd and Larchwood will be removed due to a new construction project.

Murals are an important part of Philadelphia history and cultural legacy, so it’s a big deal for many residents to hear that a mural in their neighborhood has to be removed. We learned that the “Broken Chains” mural at 52nd and Larchwood can’t be saved due to a new construction project. Understanding the mural’s importance to the community, the project developer, West Philly-based real estate and development firm Spak Group, has offered to fund a new mural at the same location after the construction project is completed.

The Philadelphia Mural Arts Program and artists KC White and Gabe Tiberino have been engaged to work on the new mural, and community members are invited this Thursday (April 13) to join the conversation and help inform the design of the mural that will celebrate Black History and empowerment. The meeting will take place at Philadelphia Student Union (501 S. 52nd St.), beginning at 6:30 p.m., and light refreshments will be served.  Continue Reading

Dancer and choreographer Anssumane Sillá was born and raised in Guinea Bissau and moved to Philadelphia in 2008.

A distinguished African-born dancer, drummer and choreographer, Anssumane Sillá, will offer a West African dance workshop this Saturday (March 25) at The Children’s Community School (1212 S. 47th St).

Sillá, a Guinea Bissau native, began performing at the age of 11 and danced professionally with the National Ballet of Guinea Bissau for almost 20 years. He moved to Philadelphia in 2008 and since then has toured the U.S. with the Voices of Africa Drum Ensemble, choreographed for the Kùlú Mèlé African Dance Ensemble, and taught numerous workshops and classes on both traditional West African and contemporary dance styles.  Continue Reading

Lola38, a creative placemaking project in West Philadelphia, is seeking artists to design and create art installations at the former United Bank building and the fence around the site of the demolished University City High School in an effort to beautify neighborhoods surrounding Lower Lancaster Avenue.

On March 30, these artists will pitch their ideas to neighbors, some of which are fellow artists and curators themselves. The five-minute-presentations, which will begin at 6 p.m. at the former bank (3750 Lancaster Ave) will be done in the style of PechaKucha, a Japanese method in which 20 slides are displayed for 20 seconds each. In addition to arguing why their work should be chosen, artists are also encouraged to respond to one of the following three questions: “How does progress feel?“, “Which walls are invisible?“, and “Is there a good rate of change?”  Continue Reading

The University City Arts League will host a special event on Sunday, March 5 to raise money for the Nationalities Service Center, a local immigrant and refugee service organization. Neighbors of all ages are invited to participate in an art project to make welcome cards and signs for refugees. Participants will choose a card to learn a new word in Arabic that they can decorate and take home.

Al Bustan Seeds of Culture, the West Philly based Arab arts and culture organization, will facilitate an Arabic poetry activity – Nasij: Weaving our Cultures into a Collective Poem. Participants will make a sentence about their relationship with the city using Arabic words they have learnt. The words will be put into a collective poem that will be presented in English and in Arabic.  Continue Reading

Some of you may be wondering what happened to the businesses that used to occupy the ground floor of Garden Court Plaza at 47th and Pine. The ground-floor retail space is currently closed for renovation, and after its completion, some of the old businesses are not coming back, including Take the Lead Dance Studio and Dreaming Tree Music. The building’s new owners, The Post Brothers, said last year that they were looking into bringing some new businesses into the building, including ReAnimator Coffee (stay tuned for more information about these plans).

Inner Rhythms Music and Therapy Center’s space at 42nd and Chestnut (Facebook photo).

Here’s some good news though about Dreaming Tree Music. As of mid-January the studio has new space in West Philly – at 4145 Chestnut Street (2nd Floor) – and has reopened under a new name – Inner Rhythms Music and Therapy Center.

“In December we closed Dreaming Tree Music, hoping to find a new home. We are now excited to announce the opening of Inner Rhythms Music and Therapy Center – a new name, but our mission remains the same,” reads a message recently posted on Inner Rhythms’ Facebook page.  Continue Reading

Cast members Brian McCann and Paul Kuhn (Photo by Rebecca Gudelunas).

The Curio Theatre Company’s production of the Samuel Beckett classic Waiting for Godot premieres Friday night.

The play features two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, waiting along a country road for someone named Godot, who never arrives. The two engage in a number of comically absurd discussions and encounter others along the road. The British Royal National Theater named the play the most significant English play of the 20th century.

The Curio performance features Brian McCann, Paul Kuhn, Robert DaPonte and Harry Slack. The director is Dan Hodge, who guided the 2016 Curio staging of Death of a Salesman.

A second preview performance is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 9, and the play opens on Feb. 10 and runs through March. All performances begin at 8 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Tickets are available here.