Little Berlin Fairgrounds Project

See the article here

Salvatore Cerceo will be Little Berlin’s Artist in Residence for summer 2012.  He is working on creating a giant salvaged-wood sculpture piece custom made for our Fairgrounds.  He will be working on this piece for the next few months in our Courtyard, so we are able to witness his working process. 

In his own words:

“Whether I’m mixing plaster with rope, welding steel or putting the chisel to wood, with every stroke, cut or mark on paper I am mending my soul and expanding my consciousness. Through my art making I am able to understand my self and it is through understanding myself that I am able to understand and communicate with the world around me. Art making is naturally a rebellious act. The life of an artist alone is a powerful force against all that is unnatural and dehumanizing.”

scerceo.com

We look forward to watching his creation unfold!

Last night I attended the Knight Arts Challenge award ceremony at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, with Kelani Nichole, Alana Bograd, Alex Walcroft and Lee Tusman.  The Philadelphia Art Museum put on a great event, it was a surreal experience.   Here is a photo of our award:

Here is a photo of the Little Berlin members in attendance.  It’s probably not the greatest photo ever taken, but it was definitely a night to remember:

Our grant was the smallest one awarded at the ceremony, the highest being $400,000.  This project is definitely not small potatoes, however!  I think it reinforces the concept that Little Berlin has exhibited thus far, that we can create great things with very little money and limited resources.  All it takes is passion, hard work, and determination.  

Now we need to start coming up with our match, to make the grand total $20,000.  We can do so much with this amount, every penny will be put to good use.  That being said, we will be coming on full force with our fundraising efforts in the near future, but any donations are greatly needed and appreciated.  Please donate to our good cause!!

I am so thankful to the Knight Foundation for taking notice, and having faith in us.  It feels awesome to be part of such a wonderful opportunity.  We are going to create something amazing!

Cheers to 2012!

 PHILADELPHIA, PA - Little Berlin will transform an unused, empty East Kensington lot into a community accessible outdoor visual art and performance space, thanks to a $10,000 two-year grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, as part of its Knight Arts Challenge.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s Knight Arts Challenge is a $9 million initiative funding innovative projects that engage and enrich Philadelphia’s communities.

The Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia is characterized by many vacant lots which are frequently neglected and used for dumping and other illegal activities.  Little Berlin will make use of one of these empty lots and transform it into a community gathering space, where they will engage the public in artistic and cultural programming. 

“This project is a gesture of resistance in the face of destruction and abandon.” Jeff Carpineta, President of the East Kensington Neighbors Association, said.  “It represents an instance of hope and a desire for the good, and despite (or perhaps because of) Kensington’s hard industrial history, the people have a need for living space which is relaxing, reflective of the positive, shows a regard for nature and can foster a sense of care for the landscape”.

“The arts can help create a sense of place, inspire people, and move the soul of a community. We’re excited by the prospect of how a vacant lot can be transformed into a neighborhood space that can weave the arts into people’s everyday lives,” said Dennis Scholl, vice president/ arts for Knight Foundation.

The Little Berlin Fairgrounds project will include a sculpture garden with art installations made by local artists.  In addition Little Berlin will organize cultural events such as film screenings, artist’s fairs, performances, and children’s workshops.  Little Berlin will collaborate with other local organizations and entities to provide diverse programming that caters to the desires and needs of the community, and seeks to create a sense of ownership and pride among the local residents. A strong emphasis will be placed on sustainable green energy, recycling resources and re-use of materials.

About Little Berlin

Little Berlin is a collectively-organized “undefined space” for
curatorial and artistic experimentation in the Kensington neighborhood
of Philadelphia. Founded in 2007, Little Berlin serves emerging and
established artists, with a focus on member-activated curatorial
projects. Little Berlin produces exhibitions, music shows, performances,
workshops, book fairs and additional programming to benefit the arts
community of Philadelphia.

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. We believe that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. To learn more, visit www.knightfoundation.org.

Contacts

Little Berlin: berlin.little@gmail.com, www.littleberlin.org/fairgrounds

Knight Foundation: Mike Pate, program director, 850-915-0258

On May 5th, 2012, Little Berlin will be holding a barbeque in our Fairgrounds, from 2-4pm.  The purpose of this barbeque is so we can meet the neighbors!  The goal of this project is to renovate an empty lot, and cater to the needs of the surrounding community. We welcome all questions, concerns, feedback, suggestions and collaborations.  Please come out and say hello!  

Later in the evening, we will launch a kickstarter, which is a collaboration with BITBY.tv (Bands in the Backyard, http://bandsinthebackyard.tumblr.com/)

We have partnered with BITBY, they will be using the money to produce a vinyl release of the first 13 bands from year 1 of Bands in the Backyard, with one song from each of the actual backyard sessions.  BITBY has agreed to donate half of the proceeds from their kickstarter campaign to Little Berlin to fund our Fairgrounds project.  This is going to be an awesome event!  It will start at 6pm and will be in the Viking Mill Courtyard.  Here is the line-up:

BITBY.TV and Little Berlin present

CINCO DE MAYO 2012

BITBY.tv and Little Berlin KICKSTARTER LAUNCH PARTY!!!!

performing live: (outside in the courtyard / inside if it rains)

PET MILK
ARC IN ROUND
WIGWAMS
ARCTIC SPLASH
SUMMER FICTION
ATTIA TAYLOR
PENROSE
HEYWARD HOWKINS (solo set)

plus LADY BAND BEAT djs all night.

Saturday May 5th (RAIN or SHINE!)
LITTLE BERLIN
$8 ALL AGES
6pm Doors
bands at 7pm

There will be beers and margaritas available for those over 21 plus sodas and water for those under 21. Plus Little Baby’s Icecream will be there! 

Little Berlin is located in the Viking Mill, a historic textile-mill turned artist space in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia located at Boston St. at Coral St. – enter through the courtyard at Coral St.

www.bitby.tv 
www.littleberlin.org

@BITBYPhilly  

visit the facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/events/305571776178418/

Today was a very successful day!  We had all our cleaning supplies donated from the city of Philadelphia.  Here is a perfect example of the horrors of trash dumping.  This is a before photo of what we had to deal with today:

Not included in this photo, next to this particular pile, was a burned dead cat carcass among other awful things. With the help of Alex Walcroft, John Detweiler and Cliff Bailey, we packed this horrible pile into 16 trash bags, and 2 recycling bins.  Here is our accomplishment:

In addition to our clean up effort, Beth Heinly installed a piece called “No One Wins” by Jasmina Llobet and Luis Fernandez Pons.  

“Llobet & Pons’ artistic practice focuses on the broad concept of everyday objects and the language of things, these ideas being the starting point for various multidisciplinary projects. After a careful study of the context in which they find themselves working, through dialogue, through playful investigations and the frequent use of humour and irony, the artists approach matters of importance and banality in society. Llobet & Pons are particularly interested in the relationship between objects and artefacts, turning elements from the everyday upside down and using them as significant entities to build intricate combinations and let new metaphors and meanings emerge.”

www.llobet-pons.net

Intervention in public space

Basketball hoop manipulated to be too small for standard balls to go through, ball

2010

Jon Miller decided to leave his “self portrait” up for a few weeks in our Fairgrounds, as an experiment.  In his own words, 

"I am curious to see what happens when it's left out unattended in the neighborhood. 

For me it's interesting as an evolution of the piece where nature or nurture can come into play.  

How will forces outside of my control change it's definition?  

I am interested to see what happens over time as a second stage of the piece. "

Tyler Kline and a few other artists took advantage of this opportunity to fill up the white space:

 Overall today was a very productive day!  I am proud of our accomplishments.

-Angela McQuillan

As part of the city wide spring clean-up effort, Little Berlin will be leading a clean-up for the area bordered by Coral st., Hagert st., Emerald st., and York st.  We will be cleaning up on Saturday April 14th, between 9am and 2pm.  All cleaning supplies are provided by the Philadelphia Streets Department.  Please come out and join us, any help will be greatly appreciated!

J. Miller
Self Portrait (2012)
Salvaged wood and ropes, plaster, gypsum board, latex paint
16’ x 8’ x 8’

The project was conceived as a self portrait.  The blank wall at the front represents my outward picture to the world while the disheveled construction behind it represents my internal struggle to keep that outward picture intact.  It combines the form of a billboard with the form of a domestic interior.  The wall is left blank to express a lack of communication while the weathered materials of the interior are meant to emphasize the toll of time.  Outriggers are used to keep the wall from falling backward while ropes are used to keep it from falling forward; the push and pull of indecision.