May 2009
You may recognize Michael M. Koehler’s name from his extraordinary photo essay documenting a canoe run down the Schuylkill River on the cover of the City Paper in April. He’ll show a different side of his work with PARADE at the Salon on June 10th at the Laurie Beechman Cabaret (601 S. Broad St.).
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Michael M. Koehler started photographing on the streets, in local barbershops, churches and other community establishments where he learned that making photographs was based on the relationship that he shared with his subjects. After receiving a B.F.A from New York University Tisch School of the Arts in 2005, he traveled the country and abroad to photograph, interacting with both the people and the landscape. He has worked as a photojournalist for the Philadelphia City Paper and the Philadelphia Tribune. His work has been published in numerous magazines, such as American Photo and Complex Magazine and he has shown his work in galleries and museums, such as the Leica Gallery in New York, the Woodmere Art Museum in Philadelphia, Subliminal Projects Gallery in Los Angeles and the Sandro Chia Studio in Rome. Most recently, Michael was awarded a Jurors award at Perkins Center for the Arts.
PARADE is a selection Black and White Gelatin Silver photographs that focuses on human nature and the relationship people share with each other and there landscape, both urban and rural. The way the story unfolds is in the mutual way we see each other, the teller and the listener, the parade and the viewer. The honoring and witnessing that the viewer gives to the characters in the parade and the honoring and witnessing that comes back is a way of life. I have paraded, joined parades, and people have joined my parade. When we are authentically, naturally engaged with another human, we are at our most vulnerable state and mutual trust evolves. The experience is the true gift. For this exchange to occur, we both must become open, a gentle process that sometimes is questioned and denied. The photograph is the evidence, the data of this exchange. In this ritual, life becomes a parade of human engagement. We are nothing without each other.
See more of his work here: MichaelMKoehler.com
Join us on Wednesday, June 10th for Koehler’s Salon presentation along with three other artists exploring facets of memoir and documentary art:
Sarah McEneaney shares a series of thoughtfully rendered personal narrative paintings covering the flux of human experience ranging from the mundane to the acutely traumatic. Read more here.
Stephanie Yuhas reads from “American Goulash,” a collection of stories about growing up a first-born American daughter to an all-Transylvanian family. American Goulash
Nathan Manske will present selections of “true stories by gay people from all over” collected on his website Imfromdriftwood.com
The Salon takes place at the Laurie Beechman Cabaret (601 S. Broad St.) and runs from 7:3opm to 9:30pm
Admission is $8, seating is limited, and we typically sell out! Please buy your tickets in advance.
As one of Philly Mag’s Sexy Singles, Phil’s done his fair share of dating in the city, and he was bound to get around to North 3rd sooner or later. We really don’t want to push the metaphorical implications of “Baggage” too far in this story, but judge for yourself:
Also at First Person Arts these days:
Enter our national competition before June 30th
Stop into the Salon on June 10th
Drink and Dine on June 13th with Edible World: Joe Sixpack’s Northern Liberties
StorySlam for Summer Solstice at the Kimmel Center!
StorySlams Poster
First Person StorySlams are a monthly, real-life-storytelling competition co-sponsored by L’Etage at 6th & Bainbridge Streets in Philadelphia. Each month’s theme elicits stories that come from the life experiences of Philly’s storytellers. Who are these local tale spinners? Everyone with a story and a little sense of competition is encouraged to participate – that means YOU!
StorySlams take place on the fourth Tuesday of each month at L’Etage cabaret at 6th & Bainbridge Streets (one block south of South Street). L’Etage is located on the second floor, immediately above Beau Monde Creperie. The door for L’Etage is located on Bainbridge Street - the ’sign’ is a tile mosaic on the doorstep, it can be a little hard to find the first time you visit. Doors open at 7:30PM, and the StorySlam will begin at 8:30. Admission is $8 and a discounted 6-packs of tickets are available here. 
The videos are finished, and the audience votes are tabulated, and once again, the audience agreed with the judges! The winner of the “Baggage” StorySlam was Renee with her metaphorical use of the term to describe a relationship that now teeters on the edge of. . .well. . .something exciting, no doubt!
Thanks Renee, and welcome to the Golden Ticket Society!
June is thick with StorySlams, so mark your calendar for the Special Event StorySlam at the Kimmel Center on June 20th, part of the Summer Solstice celebration. The theme is “The Great Outdoors” and it’s hosted by Philadelphia Magazine’s Victor Fiorillo. Three days later, on Tuesday the 23rd, we’ll have another StorySlam back at L’Etage, hosted by renowned Philadelphia adman Ed Tettemer, and the theme will be “Do It Yourself.”
See you there!
Sarah McEneaney’s arresting autobiographical narrative paintings rely on a variety of sources for their inspiration: drawings, memories, photographs, and imagination and by the sheer range of perspectives they control tend to read less like memoir and more like creative non-fiction. She turns this creative documentary lens equally on the mundane activities of daily life–napping, reading, bathing–and the moments of acute horror–surviving an illness and the trauma of violent crime. An activist–she was directly involved in the efforts to keep the baseball stadium out of Philadelphia’s China Town–her work dwells on individual experience but never loses sight of its resonance with a broader community.
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Sarah McEneaney, born 1955 in Munich, Germany, attended The University of the Arts (formerly Philadelphia College of Art) and The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Primarily a painter, McEneaney lives and works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her autobiographical work has been exhibited in numerous group and solo exhibitions in Philadelphia, New York and throughout the country for more than 25 years. In 2004, The Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia presented the first museum survey show of her work. Recent solo exhibitions include Mills College Art Museum, Oakland CA (2008) and The Chinati Foundation, Marfa Texas (2009) McEneaney’s paintings are in many public and private collections including The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Rhode Island School of Design, Johnson and Johnson and Microsoft Corporation.
McEneaney is currently represented by the Tibor de Nagy Gallery in New York and has had solo exhibitions there in 2006 and 2008. Additionally in 2008 she had solo shows at the Mills College Art Museum in Oakland CA and Locks Gallery in Philadelphia PA
See McEneaney share and discuss her work at the June 10th Salon at the Laurie Beechman Cabaret (601 S. Broad St.). She’ll be joined by three other artists producing memoir and documentary work in a variety of media:
Stephanie Yuhas reads from “American Goulash,” a collection of stories about growing up a first-born American daughter to an all-Transylvanian family. American Goulash
Michael M. Koehler shares PARADE, a photo essay exploring his relationship to Philadelphia, mediated through images of this city’s iconic Mummers. Michaelmkoehler.com
Nathan Manske will present selections of “true stories by gay people from all over” collected on his website Imfromdriftwood.com
The Salon runs from 7:3opm to 9:30pm.
Admission is $8, seating is limited, and we typically sell out! Please buy your tickets in advance.
Theme: Baggage
When: Tuesday, May 26th. Doors at 7:30. Slam begins at 8:30.
Where: L’Etage Cabaret at 6th and Bainbridge
Who: Katonya Mosley, a runner up in the 2008 First Person Festival Grand Slam, will host!
Why: You’re carrying it around, why not unpack it in front of a bar full of friends!?
How much: $8 with $4 well drinks all night (6-pack of tix for $40)
Endorsed by Super Fun Times Philly and NBCPhiladelphia.com, you’re not going to want to miss tonight’s StorySlam at L’Etage, hosted by none other than Katoyna Mosley. Here’s a playlist of some of her appearances on the First Person Arts stage:
If you’ve ever loved a car (or anything, for that matter) despite its obvious flaws, you’ll appreciate Lou’s “Odd Jobs” story. This one takes a sad turn at the end:
I’m pretty sure this is just like the Renault R10 that serves as the backdrop to Lou’s encounter with a femme fatale.
I’m sure there’s a literary name for Scott’s storytelling technique:
I could tell you there’s going to be another StorySlam on Tuesday, but instead I’ll show you:
Theme: Baggage
When: Tuesday, May 26th. Doors at 7:30. Slam begins at 8:30.
Where: L’Etage Cabaret at 6th and Bainbridge
Who: Katonya Mosley, a runner up in the 2008 First Person Festival Grand Slam, will host!
Why: You’re carrying it around, why not unpack it in front of a bar full of friends!?
How much: $8 with $4 well drinks all night (6-pack of tix for $40)
Title: First Person StorySlam: Showing Off
Location: L\’Etage, 6th and Bainbridge
Link out: Click here
Description: Doors open at 7:30, Slam starts at 8:30. $8 at the door. 21+
Start Time: 8:30pm
Date: 2009-10-27
End Time: 10:30pm
Title: First Person Salon
Location: Laurie Beechman Cabaret
Link out: Click here
Description: First Person Salon
October 14th, 2009 7:30-9:30 (Doors at 7pm)
Location: Laurie Beechman Cabaret at The University of the Arts
(Philadelphia Arts Bank, 601 S. Broad St., Philadelphia)
Admission: $8 (Get tickets here)
Philly Brewing Company beer is available by donation.
Start Time: 7:30pm
Date: 2009-10-14
End Time: 9:30pm
"Showing Off"
Date: October 27th
Time: Doors open at 7:30pm, Slam
starts at 8:30
Location: L'Etage (6th & Bainbridge)
Cost: $8
Age: 21+
