Art/Gage!

This Saturday, artists from the Cultural Arts Center had a booth at the annual Art/Gage Community Street Fair hosted by Philadelphia's Magic Gardens. We sold hand-made tote bags, note cards, hand-made paper, ceramic pots, wind chimes, and prints while raising awareness about PDDC's programs and activities.

 We made beautiful ceramic pendant necklaces. 

 Mary mans the booth!

 Our silk-screened and quilted tote bags were also for sale.

Hand-printed notecards made from handmade paper, etchings, and zines (of course!)

Free Movement Specialists Visit the Cultural Arts Center!

Today members of Free Movement Specialists, led by Joanna Quigley, led two dance workshops at the Cultural Arts Center focused on both exploring new dance techniques and improvisational movement. We learned new dance moves like "Hot Child in the City," "Easy Knees" and "The Blowhole."

You can view even more photos on the Flickr site of The Arc of Philadelphia and PDDC.

Free Movement Specialists, INC. at the Cultural Arts Center!

On Monday, March 26, dance company Free Movement Specialists, INC., featuring Cultural Arts Center dance teacher Joanna Quigley, will lead two workshops at PDDC focusing on exploring new dance techniques and audience interaction.

Free Movement Specialists, INC. is happy to guide you on a journey to being free - free of all technique, all pre-existing dance crazes and all worries of what you really look like when dancing in public.

The workshops are open to the public and are scheduled for 10-11:30 AM and 12:30 – 2:00 PM in the lower level Cultural Arts Center. PDDC is located at 2350 West Westmoreland Street in Philadelphia.

Anyone and everyone is invited to join us!

February recap

February has been a busy month!


Our very own Chanel is now engaged! You go girl!



Marcos and Rasheed prank called Alison



Teresa helped Sarah with her copious amounts of paperwork





Alison and Sharay gave everyone neon manicures in anticipation of the coming warm weather. Alison is diligently working on Tyree's nails and Maggie is showing off her hot pink digits.







Karaoke club rocked the house! Floyd sang some motown favorites, Marcos and Richard did a Michael Jackson duet, and Ashley melted our hearts with a Mariah Carey classic.






Mike G. and Emily started the construction of a reading nook to display our art books at the upcoming Cultural Arts exhibition at Chestnut Hill College in March. Here Charlene, Sandy, George and Emily prime the soon-to-be book shelves!

More Photos from "House of Dreams"

Our director Jerry Perna with Mike S., Laura, and Linda before the performance


Tom and usher Rasheed


Richard chases Keith as a muskrat.


David emerges from a giant egg as a baby dinosaur.


Richard leads the audience in a game of "Simon Says."


Taking a bow


Ashley and her friend after the performance

These photos from the debut of House of Dreams were taken by Bonnie Squires unless otherwise noted.

"House of Dreams" Debut

Our play, House Of Dreams, premiered at The Rotunda in West Philadelphia yesterday to a very supportive and receptive audience.

It encompasses the main goals of the program by showcasing the various creative talents of the individuals within the Cultural Arts program through acting, writing, performance art, choreographed movement, live and recorded music, 2 and 3 dimensional visual art, and multimedia outlets, all under the umbrella of theater.

The project was headed by Jerry Perna, Michael Gerkovich, and Alie Vidich, with the rest of the Cultural Arts staff contributing in a strong way. Linda Price and Gina Renzi facilitated its creation.


Richard contributed a great deal of his creative energy to this project. He played beautiful songs for the audience as the cast took their places backstage.


Mike S. narrates.


Eyes in the dark, at the bottom of the sea


The cast focuses their collective energy to become The Blob


David emerges from a dinosaur egg.

Special thanks to Nofre Vaquer for taking these photographs!

House Of Dreams opens Saturday!

House Of Dreams, the play we've been working on throughout the summer, will be premiering this Saturday, September 25th at The Rotunda (4014 Walnut Street, West Philadelphia) at 1:00pm. We look forward to once again sharing our work with the community.





http://www.therotunda.org/calendar/house-of-dreams/

PDDC Picnic!

There was dancing, games and delicious food to be shared at the annual Arc/PDDC Picnic! The artists of Cultural Arts program designed and printed the t-shirts we wore that day. Special thanks to Shalaine Wallace for organizing this event and Mike Barnes for coordinating the Chestnut Hill College volunteers who helped make the day a success!


Marcos and a volunteer from Chestnut Hill College


Jane and Alison with Swoop


Charles and Kelvin


Asha and Fatima


Sarah and David


Mike S. meets Swoop

Getting Ready for AFTCP!

We've been hard at work creating note cards, dioramas, and paintings this week. Many of these works will be for sale at Art for the Cash Poor, an event sponsored by InLiquid at the Crane Arts Building. You can visit us at our table on June 12 from 1-6 PM and check out what we've been making. Check out the InLiquid website for more details.


Monica adds a hand-sewn touch to a painting by Karen.


Timmy and Emily silkscreen the first layer of a notecard.


Murph and Emily work on the second layer.


Hector and Mike G. created this diorama together.