Sunday, April 12, 2015

UPCOMING: Second Resident Show

Mark your calendars! 40th Street Artist-in-Residence Program presents "Past and Present works by Brujo de la Mancha." On display at 4007 Chestnut Street, first floor, from April 18th to May 9th. More information below:




OPENING RECEPTION
Saturday, April 18th, 6-9pm

GALLERY HOURS
Saturdays and Sundays 12-6pm
Or by appointment: (215)384-3369/40th.air.app@gmail.com

50% of the sales of this art show will be donated in favor of the caravan tour of the 43 missing students from Ayotzinapa Mexico, with the verification of RIUM (Red de Immigrantes Unidos port Mexico en PA) Network of Immigrants United from Mexico in PA.

About the artist:
I am a multidisciplinary, self-taught artist, teaching artist. Born in Mexico City in a mixed Mexican-indigenous and Spanish working class family. In my childhood, during visits to my father's family around Xico, Veracruz in Mexico, I experienced the surviving Mayan, Olmec, Aztec and Catholic cultures, traditional farming, and popular crafts that represent and express the life of the indigenous Mexican people. Later, I cultivated a sense of freedom to express my personal dreams and reality by immersing myself in indigenous cultures in the states of Oaxaca, Veracruz, Puebla, Michoacan and Tlaxcala. I grew up believing and experiencing independent thinking, realizing that people are rich in resourcefulness in their own power for self-control. My paternal grandmother migrated from Xico, Veracruz to Mexico City before I was born, and I have continued this family experience with my own migration to Philadelphia eleven years ago, where I have joined the diversity of lives and cultural exchanges of this city. In Mexico a great emphasis is placed on the connection between human beings and the natural world. In 2007 I got my Aztec name "Tletxayacoatl" (The Snake with the Face on Fire) in a summer solstice ceremony in Chicago with Master "Ocelotcoatl" (The Jaguar & Snake) and Master "Xavier Quijas Yxayotl". I also won a grant from The Institute for Cultural Partnership to learn how to make "Tlapizcalli" clay flutes with the Master "Xavier Quijas Yxayotl", my first formal training in art. I have continued this work on my own making a clay instrument called the "Ehekachiktli" -The Dead Whistle- an instrument that is very old.
My artistic name BRUJO DE LA MANCHA was giving to me by my friends through my artistic development. My name, Brujo, means "witch" in Spanish. Because transformation is a magic power that humans have inside, I encourage people to focus on the present, to recycle and embrace what they have around them now.







Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Resident Outreach Project Updates!!

Just to keep y'all up to date on what our artists have been doing to share their work with the community. 

Resident Brujo de la Mancha's outreach project works to generate dialogue about INDIGENOUS OF THIS CONTINENT LIVING IN PHILADELPHIA while resident Althea Baird has been collaborating with BARE TEETH dance group. Find pictures and further details below.

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BRUJO's project discusses indigenous identity in Philadelphia. He wants to include and give a voice to indigenous people, which could include Northern, Central, Caribbean, or South American indigenous people, as well as Africans or non-Africans who mixed with indigenous people and who currently live in Philadelphia. He is currently leading discussions about identity in this city, which will culminate in a collective piece of artwork (possibly a mural or a book). ALL ARE WELCOME TO JOIN IN THE DISCUSSION.

Upcoming discussions.
Wednesdays April 8, 15, 22 from 6-8 pm at the Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street.
Sundays April 12, 19, 26 from 2-4 pm at By My Side Parenting Program at Atonement Lutheran Church, 1542 East Montgomery Avenue.

Some pictures from the first discussion, last Wednesday at the Rotunda:



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ALTHEA has been holding choreography workshops and work-making sessions over the past few months. Pictures of these sessions are displayed below. 








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And don't forget to check out our upcoming artist shows at 4007 Chestnut Street. Brujo's show opens April 18th and Althea's show is coming up in May!!