Category Archives: Old City Jewish Art Center

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Save the City of Philadelphia Office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy

iradiophilly started this petition to Mayor of Philadelphia Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenny and 2 others

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney released a revised budget for fiscal year 2021 in response to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic on May 1, 2020. Businesses have been closed and workers have been off the job for weeks, reducing the city’s tax revenue significantly. The Office of the Department of Finance projects that without any changes the city would have a $649 million deficit next year. The city cannot legally operate with a deficit. We understand that hard decisions needed to be made and that cut backs and program budget reductions were inevitable. However, to completely eliminate an office that supports a vital industry in the city of Philadelphia, especially one that has been hit very hard during this crisis, is short sighted and should be reversed.

In the new budget, the Office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy was budgeted $0 dollars, down from approximately $4.4 million, effectively closing the office. Most of that budgeted money goes directly to the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, which gives grants to hundreds of non-profits in the city.

The presentation of the budget by the Mayor is only the first step. It still must be approved and voted on by City Council before July 1.

SEE: Mayor’s Operating Budget – re: page 80
SEE: Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney Delivers New Budget by Video; Jobs/Services Cuts, Tax Hikes

According to the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, the arts and cultural sector generates $4.1 billion in economic impact annually and supports 55,000 jobs. That creates $1.3 billion in household income and $224.3 million in state and local taxes.* The creative economy includes but is not limited to artists, musicians, painters, sculptors, dancers, actors, filmmakers, graphic designers, venues, theaters, museums, galleries, bartenders, waiters, chefs, box office workers, bouncers, sound engineers, tech crews, art/dance/recording studios, and all employed by those entities, as well as support industries such as accountants, lawyers, hotels, ride shares, parking, public relations, marketing, and media. On the other side there are the fans, patrons, concert goers, theater attendees, and more who support the arts and make the purchases.

Most of this industry has been shut down during this crisis and needs support now more than ever to rebound during the economic recovery.

The Office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy’s mission is to close the gap in access to quality cultural experiences and creative expression through the support and promotion of arts, culture and the creative industries; connecting Philadelphians to enriching, arts-infused experiences; linking local artists and cultural organizations to resources and opportunities; and preserving the City’s public art assets. http://creativephl.org

The OACCE is also responsible for the Music Industry Task Force, the Mayor’s Cultural Advisory Council, Art in City Hall, all of Philadelphia’s public art, and funding the Philadelphia Cultural Fund which gives grants to numerous Philadelphia arts and culture non-profits.

Philadelphia is a vibrant city teeming with culture that has been driving our identity for hundreds of years. The art created in Philadelphia reaches well beyond its borders and has touched the world and helps drive our other industries through attention and attraction to our area. As we look to rebound and recover from this crisis, there are certainly sectors that are essential to our health and safety and must be prioritized. However, unless we take care to ensure our cultural health is also revived, we risk losing our spirit.

Philadelphia’s creative economy deserves proper representation in City Hall. Understandably, it is likely not possible for the OACCE to be budgeted at the same level as the original budget, however, the industry’s economic impact alone justifies that the office’s budget be more than zero. We are simply asking that the City of Philadelphia Office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy not be eliminated.

*https://www.philaculture.org/why-arts-culture/prosperity Start a petition of your ownThis petition starter stood up and took action. Will you do the same?Start a petition

Updates

Over 6,200 Support the Creative Economy in Philadelphia!Thank you for all your support! Let’s keep the momentum going. Artists, musicians, actors, dancers, writers, back stage, front of house, all venue/gallery workers, recording studios, producers, photographers, video…iradiophilly5 days agoMore updates

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What Follows

The Art of Grief and What Follows
Paintings and Writings by Tremain Smith

May 1 thru June 1, 2019

Old City Jewish Arts Center
119 North 3^rd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-627-2792
Gallery Hours: Mon-Fri 10-5, Sat & Sun 12-5
www.ocjac .org
www.tremainsmith.com

May 3, 5-9 pm: First Friday Opening
Sun, May 19, 2-4 pm: Art & writing workshop led by the artist
Wed, May 29, 6-8 pm: Closing Reception/Poetry Reading

All events are free and open to the public.

Rare Orchid

Let it blossom in its time
Let it unfold of its own accord
Slowly gently imperceptibly
Like that rare orchid you spoke of, Mom
It’s multiplied
In my window in the light of my window
protected by the pine and nestled in peace
Brand new bold stems have come
It’s you.
I made it, Mom. I made it through the grief.
I’m happy now. I’m living again.
Changed and sustained by your life and death I love you.
You fell into my soil
like the leaves from the trees
Bountifully nourishing my essence
I grow,
strong, deep, solid
I can touch the sky
I touch the sky indeed.
You smile.
Ever my encourager, now you are my guide, my holy being.
Remember how we said as you were leaving this earth:
“I place myself in the hands of holy beings.”
I do that now, while still on earth.
Thank you.
Always.
That line that stretches back
Before time
And forever
That’s where I meet you

Thank you to Tremain Smith for the content of this post.

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Moment

Zelda Edelson: Color in the Moment

A solo exhibition by painter Zelda Edelson

November 2 – 30, 2018

Curated by Amie Potsic

OPENING RECEPTION: First Friday, November 2, 5:00 – 9:00 PM Artist in attendance at 5:00 PM

LOCATION: Old City Jewish Art Center (OCJAC), 119 N. 3^rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106

Contact: Rabbi Zalman Wircberg, 215-627-2792 ocjac.org

HOURS: Thursdays and Fridays 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Sundays 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM and by appointment (Closed on Thanksgiving).

Admission is free.

Click the pics for large images.

Philadelphia, PA – Old City Jewish Art Center, located at 119 N. 3^rd Street, Philadelphia, and Amie Potsic Art Advisory, LLC present Color in the Moment, a solo exhibition by painter and Philadelphia native, Zelda Edelson. At eighty-nine years old, Edelson presents her first solo show in the city, which highlights her new paintings. Curated by Amie Potsic, CEO and Principal Curator of Amie Potsic Art Advisory, LLC, the show begins on November 2 and runs through November 30. The opening reception will be on First Friday, November 2 from 5:00 – 9:00 PM with the artist in attendance at 5:00 PM to discuss her work with guests and patrons. Gallery hours are Thursdays and Fridays from 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Sundays from 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM, and by appointment. Admission is free and all are welcome.

Color in the Moment features Zelda Edelson, a prolific abstract painter who has created her own technique to enable her to paint from a walker used for balance. Creating something positive from challenging circumstances, her paintings are colorful and evocative. Edelson begins each painting with a gesture of the arm to create the first mark with her palette knife. The paint begins to flow and Edelson becomes invigorated, losing herself in the process. She paints on the areas of the canvas she can reach first. Then turning the painting, she accesses the previously unreachable portions to complete it. When each painting is finished, Edelson enjoys the process of bringing her diverse background to bear as she writes insightful titles for each work. Sharing her love of painting through gesture, color, and form, Edelson’s work reveals a voice that is both seasoned and spontaneous.

Edelson explains, “My paintings are full of color, feeling, and movement. They are lyrical like a song, strong like a knot, and intricate like a spider’s web.” Her work is in the tradition of Abstract Expressionism as were her strongest influences: artists Paul Klee, Jackson Pollock, and Willem de Kooning.

Zelda Edelson, Interrupted, acrylic on canvas, 40” x 30”, 2018

Zelda Toll Edelson was born in Philadelphia on October 18, 1929. Edelson traces her interest in art and painting to an experimental art class she took while at Girls High taught by distinguished artist and teacher Jack Bookbinder. This first introduction to modern art had a profound effect on her, which she would act on many years later. As a young woman, Edelson was a bit of a radical, frequently going to far away parts of town to see a foreign movie or check out a bookstore. When she completed high school, she went to the University of Chicago, where she graduated with a major in English Literature. After marrying Marshall Edelson, she eventually moved to Connecticut. There she began her twenty-year career as Editor and Head of Publications for Yale University’s Peabody Museum of Natural History. In her role as editor, Edelson used her artistic sensibility to create skillfully produced photographs and illustrations to complement the natural history articles of the Yale faculty.

When she retired in 1995, Edelson decided to focus on painting. She also moved back to Philadelphia, to her roots, where she still has many family members. Zelda has exhibited her work at the Woodbridge Town Center and the Creative Arts Center in Connecticut as well as at Gallery Q2, The Jewel of India, Art for the Cash Poor, and Main Line Art Center in the Philadelphia area. She received an Honorable Mention award in the 70th Annual Members’ Exhibition at Main Line Art Center in October of 2007. At eighty-nine years old, Edelson now lives in Haverford, PA, where she continues to be a prolific painter.

Zelda Edelson, Romance In A Winter Light, acrylic on canvas, 24” x 18”, 2012

Curator of the exhibition, Amie Potsic, MFA is the CEO & Principal Curator of Amie Potsic Art Advisory LLC, Chair of the Art In City Hall Artistic Advisory Board of the City of Philadelphia, as well as an established photographer and installation artist. Potsic has extensive experience curating exhibitions for museums, galleries, art organizations, and public spaces and offers Legacy Planning for artists and collectors. Legacy Planning involves the opportunity to shape an artist or collector’s legacy, during their lifetime, to create meaning and purpose through a life’s work. By documenting, exhibiting, and publishing their artwork as well as placing works with institutions and collections, she helps strengthen their artistic impact while relieving their loved ones of the difficult task of organizing an archive, studio, or collection. Potsic presents this legacy exhibition to honor Edelson and her work.

Potsic received her MFA in Photography from the San Francisco Art Institute and BA’s in Photojournalism and English Literature from Indiana University. She has held faculty appointments at the University of California at Berkeley, Ohlone College, and the San Francisco Art Institute and been a guest lecturer at the International Center of Photography, the University of the Arts, Tyler School of Art, and the Delaware Contemporary. Professional appointments have included Director of Gallery 339, Curator and Director of the Career Development Program at the Center for Emerging Visual Artists (CFEVA), and most recently Executive Director and Chief Curator of Main Line Art Center. Curatorial projects have included exhibitions for the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts, the Office of Arts and Culture of the City of Philadelphia, Philagrafika, Moore College of Art & Design, Main Line Art Center, Maryland Art Place, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Founded in 2006, the Old City Jewish Art Center (OCJAC) was envisioned as a platform to build Jewish community through the arts. Growing steadily since then, the OCJAC gallery has become an exhibition space for serious artists, holds monthly First Friday art receptions with a Jewish twist and provides social and Jewish holiday programs throughout the year. OCJAC is now a landmark gallery in the Philadelphia art scene and is the only gallery dedicated to Jewish artistic expression and cultural exchange in Philadelphia. Using the arts as a springboard, the Old City Jewish Art Center advances and promotes the universal messages of Judaism and spiritually to the broadest possible audience.

Color in the Moment will be on view November 2 – 30, 2018. The opening reception will be on First Friday, November 2 from 5:00 – 9:00 PM. Gallery hours are Thursdays and Fridays from 11:00am – 4:00pm, Sundays from 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM, and by appointment. Admission is free and all are welcome.

For more information, please contact Amie Potsic at amie@amiepotsicartadvisory.com or 610-731-6312.

Thank you to Amie Potsic for the content of this post.

Old City Jewish Art Center, 119 N 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106