Block Party
An EXHIBITION BY: Philadelphia Collageworks
Exhibition Runs: AUGUST 02 - august 20
About the exhibition:
The concept for Block Party was structured on a collaborative venture that emerged out of the Philadelphia CollageWorks (PCW) collective desire to create connections amongst its members while simultaneously supporting each others artistic practice. Block Party is an example of the power of collaboration to share our stories, celebrate our diversities, and create unification.
The group chose the format of a square for its facility; and with the reference to the fact of Philadelphia being built on a grid gave the project its foundation and “Block Party” was born. Six teams were composed by pulling names from a box to introduce randomness into the project, and guidelines were developed for the process.
The criterion began with the decision to use cradled wood blocks as a substrate which would be fun to work with, not require framing and be easy to exhibit. The vision was an amalgamated grid design that would demonstrate the interests, experiences, and stories of each team, and reflect and symbolize the variation, wonderment and distinctive character that can be found in the idea of blocks not only representing Philadelphia, but how communities everywhere can be brought together through many factors.
Block Party will open in Gallery 2 at Da Vinci Art Alliance on August 2nd and be on view through August 20th. The opening reception will take place on Thursday, August 3rd, 4-7pm. A closing reception and artist talk will be held on Sunday, August 20th from 12-2pm.
About Philadelphia Collageworks:
Philadelphia CollageWorks (PCW), a member-based organization, was founded by Annie Stone in 2019 to bring collage artists and enthusiasts together to promote collage as a unique art form. Members of PCW meet monthly to share knowledge, process, and passion for an art form that utilizes a wide range of materials, including 2D, 3D and repurposed objects. PCW artists each approach their art practice in personal and imaginative fashions for the common purpose to transform and manifest an idea, present a message, a point of view, a question or may simply stand alone as something to be entertaining, beautiful or magical for its own sake. Each member’s individual work is distinctive, and when assembled in a group exhibition the pieces magnify each other’s artistry and originality. The ethnicity, background, experiences, and training of each of the members is wide ranging and diverse. Some have had formal training and are established in the art community, others are emerging, some self-taught, and a few are experimenting with collage for the first time. Whether creating a collage, mixed media, or assemblage piece, a common thread ties each of the members of Philadelphia CollageWorks together and that is a drive to foster the exposure, marketability, and acceptance of collage by the public and the art community as an evolving, worldly and esteemed art form.
