There’s a great opportunity this weekend to learn more about artists living and working in the area. The 15th annual guided and self-guided Philadelphia Open Studio Tours (POST) west of Broad St, including West Philly, of course, are happening on Saturday and Sunday (Oct 11-12). So don’t be shy and stop by to say hello and maybe stay for some special events and presentations. There are a number of individual artists and group artist spaces involved in the Studio Tours here in West Philly neighborhoods. Here’s what a neighbor and artist, Marabelle Hincher, wrote us:

The Anatomy of Peace. Marabelle Hincher.

“I hope a lot of people will take the tour; there’s a lot of great talent in West Philly and many art studios worth visiting.”

Marabelle is opening her studio at 5023 Catharine St. this weekend to present a fantasy collage, “Strange Anatomy,” which is a 33 image mashup of antique anatomical art combined with botanical and zoological elements (science lovers should also appreciate it!).

Here’s a list of other participating studios and artists:

UPDATE: There will be an Open House at The Cedar Works at 4919 Pentridge St on Sat & Sun Noon-6 p.m.

The Rotunda
4014 Walnut Street
Presenting Sanctuary, a site-specific sound art and video installation and series of performances. Oct 11 & Oct 12, Noon-10 p.m.

Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania
118 South 36th Street

40th Street Artist-in-Residence Program
4007 Chestnut St., 1st floor and 4013 Chestnut St.

Johanna Inman
40th Street Artist-in-Residence Program
4007 Chestnut Street, 1st floor and 4012 Chestnut St.

Tremain Smith
Tremain Smith Studio
520 South 59th Street

Jacques-Jean Tiziou
4919 Pentridge Street The Cedar Works, Sat&Sun Noon-6 p.m.

Heather Ujiie
University City Artist League
4226 Spruce Street

University City Arts League
4226 Spruce Street

Lorna Williams
40th Street AIR Space
4007 Chestnut St.

More information is available on the POST website.

Journey2home public art project, dedicated to homeless youth, opens this Friday at 42nd and Lancaster. (Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program).

The Philadelphia Mural Arts program has dedicated their new public art project, journey2home, to homeless youth in the city. According to last year’s data by People’s Emergency Center, more than 5,000 kids in Philadelphia are homeless. The project includes two murals created by artists Ernel Martinez and Shira Walinsky at 42nd and Lancaster in the Mantua neighborhood. The opening celebration will take place on Friday, Oct. 10, 4 – 7 p.m.

Journey2home is a year-long, socially engaged project initiated by the Mural Arts program in collaboration with youth enrolled in the Mural Arts Art Education Program. At the apex of a green space at 42nd and Lancaster sits a transformed shipping container, a metaphor for home. It has a front porch, an information bulletin board, a resource area, storage, and a dining room with table, chairs and bookshelves.

The two-wall mural, titled Home Safe, is located across the street from the shipping container and represents the culmination of two years of work with homeless and housing-insecure youth in West Philadelphia.

Community members are invited this Friday to a pop-up outdoor gathering space at 42nd and Lancaster where the project opening celebration will be held. The celebration will include the dedication of the Home Safe murals, as well as other art and sound installations, film, music and food.

For more details on the project, images and videos, visit the journey2home blog.

Here’s a short film about the project:

Photo courtesy St. Mary’s Church.

This new event will help you relax during lunchtime by listening to music at a historic and remarkable sacred space. Starting today, St. Mary’s Church, Hamilton Village, located at 40th and Locust Walk on the Penn campus, invites residents to free lunchtime concerts every first Wednesday, from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m.

The first in a series of First Wednesday Free Concerts at St. Mary’s will feature organist Wesley Parrott playing pieces by Foote, Vierne, and Bartholdy on the parish’s historic Aeolian-Skinner Organ. There are continued efforts to restore the church organ, so free will offering will be appreciated.

The present, expanded version of St. Mary’s, Hamilton Village was completed in 1876, but the church dates back to 1824, when the cornerstone for the original church was laid.

For more information about the church and more events please visit www.stmarysatpenn.org.

West Philly is home to many residents of Ethiopian heritage, with many Ethiopian businesses in the area and the Ethiopian Community Association of Greater Philadelphia located at 44th and Chestnut Streets. This Saturday, Sept. 27, the Ethiopian Community Association celebrates its 30th anniversary. Established in 1984 as a non-profit organization, it is the oldest African community organization in Pennsylvania, according to its board member Addisu Habte. The city of Philadelphia has also recognized September 27th as Ethiopian Day.

To mark the anniversary the Ethiopian Community Association is organizing an Ethiopian Day Festival (Facebook page) on Chestnut Street near 44th on Saturday. The festival will take place from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. and 44th Street from Chestnut to Sansom will be closed during these hours for the event.

The Ethiopian Day celebration will include a cultural show, with live music by Ethiopian musicians (see flier), food and children’s games. Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell and the great Ethiopian filmmaker, Professor Haile Gerima, will speak at the event. Close to 700 people are expected to attend the festival.

Here’s the festival program:

11:00 a.m. – Opening speech
1:00 p.m. – Keynote speaker councilwoman Blackwell
1:30 p.m. – Keynote speaker Professor Haile Gerima
2:00 p.m. – Cultural show

The Art Church of West Philadelphia is opening at 5219 Webster St. (Facebook photo).

Great news for local artists and art lovers. The Art Church of West Philadelphia, a new work space for artists and art gallery is opening at 5219 Webster Street. The grand opening of the space, which is actually not in a church but in a two-story rowhome on a quiet West Philly block, is tonight at 8 p.m.

According to information on their website, the Art Church of West Philadelphia space can be used for performances, events, rehearsals, meetings, worship services or classes. Cara Blouin, a theater director and playwright, is the Art Church residing community member and “art pastor.” If you’re interested in using the space, contact Cara at: wpartchurch@gmail.com

To celebrate the opening of the new art space, West Philly photographer Kyle Cassidy will host a retrospective show of his amazing theater photos, many from West Philly’s Curio Theatre, but also from the Philadelphia Artists Collective, Hedgerow, and others, including the recent Commonwealth Classic production of The Glass Menagerie. Kyle’s work was featured in the New York Times, Vanity Fair (DE), the Sunday Times of London, Marie Claire, Photographers Forum, Asleep by Dawn, Gothic Beauty and many other publications.

The opening reception will also include music by Emcee Elroy and Dominique London and refreshments. Click here for more details.

Photo by Kyle Cassidy. His work will be presented at The Art Church of West Philadelphia opening event on Friday, Sept. 19, at 8 p.m.

2nd Fall Pétanque Doubles Tournament will take place at Clark Park this Saturday.

There are tons of great events, many of them free, happening in West Philly this weekend, including free workshops, a children’s sale, charitable runs/walks, and a fall festival. Check out the list below and enjoy the beautiful early fall weather. For more upcoming events or if you want to submit an event, visit our Events Calendar.

Thursday, Sept 18

Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll – Baltimore Avenue between 43rd and 51st Streets, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Enjoy $1 items from over 30 neighborhood businesses.

Friday, Sept 19

Wine and Cheese Pre-Sale (West Philly Grows Again Kids Consignment Sale) – St. Mary’s Nursery School (3916 Locust Walk), 9-10 p.m.

Saturday, Sept 20

Cobbs Creek 5K Run/Walk – Cobbs Creek Park (63rd and Locust), 9 a.m. (registration begins at 8 a.m.). All funds raised from this event will go to support outdoor recreational activities within Cobbs Creek Park for children and youth. $20 (adults), $10 (youth), free for children (12 and under).

West Philly Grows Again Kids Consignment Sale – St. Mary’s Nursery School (3916 Locust Walk), 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Shop for high-quality clothing items and toys for many different ages and stages at affordable prices.

Free Digital Photography Workshop (Free) – University of the Sciences (42nd and Woodland), 10 a.m. USciences photography professor James Hayden offers a free two-hour photography workshop on “Creative Compositions.” Bring your own camera.

Pétanque Tournament – Clark Park “A” (43rd and Baltimore), 10 a.m. 2nd Annual Fall Doubles tournament. (Here‘s our last year’s story about Pétanque in West Philly).

The Woodlands Wobble 5K – The Woodland Cemetery (40th and Woodland), 10 a.m. All proceeds from this run will support trail maintenance for the running paths inside the site. $25.

Poetry Writing Workshop (Free) – University of the Sciences (42nd and Woodland), 10 a.m. USciences poetry professor Warren Hope offers a two-hour introductory poetry workshop. Bring pen and paper.

Clark Park Music & Arts Equinox Festival – Clark Park “B” (43rd and Chester), Noon-Sundown. The festival includes children’s events and activities, arts and crafts, vending, and a great diversity of performances, including all kinds of music, dance and theater.