Legacy
An Exhibition Honoring Michelle Angela Ortiz, Linda Lee Alter, Kathryn Pannepacker @ gallery x
Exhibition Runs: June 15th - July 15th, 2020
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About the exhibition:
The word legacy comes from a Latin word legatus, translated as ‘ambassador, deputy.’ In the late 14th century, an old French word legacie was used to describe a body of people sent on a specific mission. In 1931, a group of 9 Italian immigrants came together on their own mission to build a space of creative refuge at a time and place in our history where immigrants were barred from major artistic, academic, and scientific institutions. Their legacy is Da Vinci Art Alliance.
Between the beginning of World War II and 1996 there was little activity at Da Vinci Art Alliance. In 1997 artist, community organizer and artist Kathryn Pannepacker breathed new life into the organization by taking up residency in the building, renovating the gallery space, and establishing a web presence for the institution. Under her leadership Da Vinci Art Alliance was reborn.
At Da Vinci Art Alliance Kathryn’s legacy is one of a catalyst. Her mission-driven work sparked the revitalization of an organization, a movement. Kathryn’s work is rooted in the ideas of “art-for-all” and “peace-for-all”. She celebrates diversity and brings people together through her projects. When Da Vinci Art Alliance was looking to name the tracks in our Fellowship program, Kathryn’s history and values seemed like a perfect fit. Our “Fellowship program provides equitable opportunities for local creators by opening up our space to perspectives and artists who may not have access to many resources. The program boasts under-represented voices, innovative ideas, and artistic explorations.” In looking to honor two other community leaders who shared the same values as Kathryn and the goals of our Fellowship program, we thought that both Linda Lee Alter and Michelle Angela Ortiz would be a seamless fit.
Michelle, who was born just blocks away from our building, has spent the last 20 years capturing lost legacies, sharing personal narratives, and unearthing silenced voices through her internationally recognized public artworks and community arts practices. Lee, who has previously shown work at DVAA, has spent much of her career devoted to helping other artists. Whatever the medium, Lee’s artwork (and her spirit) conveys the essential message – “that we are all members of the human family, and all deserving of kindness and respect.”
When one starts to think about legacy, you begin to take stock of your possessions, accomplishments, fears, hopes, and dreams. You look at what you learned and who you learned it from. You begin to see patterns in how your story was told and who was listening. In taking stock of the careers of these three women, we see them demonstrate impeccable leadership, community investment, support for the most vulnerable, and a commitment to building community through art. Da Vinci Art Alliance is proud to share this mission with these three leaders and honor them through the Da Vinci Fellowship Program.
About the artists:
Michelle Angela Ortiz is a visual artist/ skilled muralist/ community arts educator who uses her art as a vehicle to represent people and communities whose histories are often lost or co-opted. Through community arts practices, painting, and public art installations, she creates a safe space for dialogue around some of the most profound issues communities and individuals may face. Her work tells stories using richly crafted and emotive imagery to claim and transform spaces into a visual affirmation that reveals the strength and spirit of the community.
For 20 years, Ortiz has designed and created over 50 large-scale public works nationally and internationally. Since 2008, Ortiz has led art for social change public art projects in Costa Rica & Ecuador and as a Cultural Envoy through the US Embassy in Fiji, Mexico, Argentina, Spain, Venezuela, Honduras, and Cuba. Ortiz is a PEW Fellow, Rauschenberg Foundation Artist as Activist Fellow, a Kennedy Center Citizen Artist National Fellow, and a Santa Fe Art Institute Equal Justice Resident Artist. In 2016, she received the Americans for the Arts' Public Art Year in Review Award which honors outstanding public art projects in the nation.
Image Credit: Dave Moser Photography
Linda Lee Alter is a fiber artist, painter, art collector, and founder of the Leeway Foundation. During her career as an artist, Lee has taught arts and crafts, worked as a commercial artist, as a display artist, and has illustrated children’s books. Whatever the medium, Lee’s artwork conveys the essential message – that we are all members of the human family, and all deserving of kindness and respect. Lee’s message is often presented with humor. Lee’s fiber art and paintings are represented in many private and public collections, including – the Allentown Art Museum, Anheuser Busch Company, Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Lehigh Valley Health Systems, National Museum of American Jewish History, Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science, Temple University Fox School of Business, and the Woodmere Art Museum.
For many years, much of Lee’s energy has been devoted to helping other artists. In the early 1980’s, Lee began to collect artwork by American women artists to increase the visibility and appreciation of women’s art. In 2010, Lee gave her entire collection of more than 400 works to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA). In 2012, PAFA celebrated this Collection of Art By Women with a major exhibition: The Female Gaze. A similarly named book about the Linda Lee Alter Collection was published concurrent with the exhibition. More recently, Lee’s collecting has focused on women artists of color and LGBTQ+ artists. In 1991, Lee started the Leeway Foundation to provide an on-going and more inclusive way to help local artists. Leeway’s mission is to support women and trans artists working to create social change in the greater Philadelphia region. Lee has also served on several arts-related Boards of Directors – including the Institute of Contemporary Art, the Poetry Review and the Print Center.
In recognition of her decades-long efforts to help other artists, Lee has received a number of awards that include – the Bebe Benoliel Founder’s Award from the Center for Emerging Visual Artists, Robin Hood Was Right Award from the Bread & Roses Community Fund, and the Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial Founder’s Award, an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from Moore College of Art & Design, and from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Lee holds a B.S. in Art Education from the Philadelphia College of Art (UArts), an M.S. in Art Psychotherapy from Hahnemann College and Hospital, and Certification in Occupational Therapy from the University of Pennsylvania.
“To my knowledge no other woman, or person, has done more to advance the art and cultural life of women and under represented artists in the city of Philadelphia than Linda Lee Alter.”
Rochelle Toner
Professor Emeritus and Former Dean
Tyler School of Art and Architecture/Temple University
Kathryn Pannepacker is a Philadelphia based textile/visual/community artist who balances her time in the studio (at the loom or painting) with community projects that have included working with adults, kids, seniors, adults with disabilities (physical, behavioral, and intellectual disabilities), adults in the criminal justice system, homeless men, women and children, adults in recovery and with substance abuse disorders, and/or with mental/behavioral health challenges.
Kathryn Pannepacker has worked extensively with the Mural Arts Philadelphia & Independence Arts Studio/ Liberty Resources, Philadelphia Arts and Education Partnership (PAEP), and BuildaBridge to implement countless community art projects.
Kathryn’s sparked the revitalization of Da Vinci Art Alliance in 1997, breathing new life into the organization by taking up residency in the building, renovating the gallery space, and establishing community-oriented programming for the institution. Under her leadership Da Vinci Art Alliance was reborn.
Kathryn’s work is rooted in the ideas of “art-for-all” and “peace-for-all”. She celebrates diversity and brings people together through her projects.
“Kathryn has a ritual of “stoop sitting” in front of her home in Germantown where she collects food for her students and volunteers, and connects with her staff colleagues at the Kensington Hub where they work together to mitigate the social isolation that is perhaps the greatest barrier to recovery and build both the self- trust and deep friendship that are critical to healing. If that isn’t the most important work of an artist, I don’t know what is.”
- Thora Jacobson
About the Da Vinci Fellowship Program:
Inspired by the vision of DVAA founders, The Da Vinci Fellowship Program was created in 2018 to better serve the DVAA Membership and the evolving arts communities throughout Philadelphia. The Da Vinci Fellowship program builds off of DVAA's founding mission by annually supporting and bringing together Philadelphia-based artists, curators and DVAA members through equitable opportunities for local creators. By opening up our space to perspectives and artists who may not have access to many resources, the Da Vinci Fellowship Program boasts under-represented voices, innovative ideas, and artistic explorations. Throughout the fellowship, Fellows meet and engage with the DVAA membership, the other Fellows, and the greater community; furthering DVAA’s mission to build a meaningful community through art.The Da Vinci Fellowship Program has three unique tracks, open to artists of all backgrounds, named after Michelle Angela Ortiz, Linda Lee Alter, Kathryn Pannepacker. The Da Vinci Fellowship Program is made possible by individual contributions, DVAA Membership Dues, Artist & Craftsman Supply, and a generous grant from the Joseph Robert Foundation.