Events

On Friday, September 4, from 5 until 8 pm, we will attend First Friday in the gallery section in Old City. For our itinerary, see below. We may go again in March; but try to make this first visit.

This is also the first night for the Philly Fringe/Live Arts Festival. Here is the link for that. Check it out; some of you may want to get tickets and go to one of the many events going on in connection with the festival. Some are free, some might cost ten dollars for a ticket; they aren't expensive. You can order on line and then pick up.

The Music Department faculty present free concerts on many Monday nights. Find these concerts at: http://www.rowan.edu/mars/depts/music/

The Art and Music Departments, and the Dance and Theatre Departments, have many student and faculty shows that you will want to see. Here are some links to their activities:
The Westby Gallery shows faculty work and student work, and work of various guest artists.
The College of Fine and Performing Arts website lists most faculty and many student performances

Here's our itinerary for First Friday

Please note: More than 10 people at a time is too large a group for a gallery. Split up into smaller groups, stay in touch by cell phone, and do your best to cover the stops on the itinerary. Here's my cell: (215) 704-0444. We'll start at a gallery on the east side of Second street north of Market, the Larry Becker Gallery, 43 North 2nd, across from Old Christ Church (I think the arrow on the map points a bit north of this; don't take it too literally!).  Start at the Larry Becker Gallery at 5:00. We'll wait for you until 5:15, but after that it will be up to you to find us!  We'll go from Larry Becker to the Temple gallery next door (45 N 2nd). From there it's across the street to the 3rd Street and Muse galleries (58 and 60 North 2nd), and continue working our way up the street, covering Artist's House (57 N 2nd), Rosenfeld Gallery on Arch street (turn right, walk half a block, it's on the left) and then (a bit of a walk) Nexus (137 North 2nd), The Clay Studio (139), Vox Populi (141) and Pentimenti. From there, go up to Race Street, turn left and walk to 3rd Street. Look for the Wexler Gallery at 201 North 3rd Street; it has great fine art furniture and glass, as well as other work, and like the Clay Studio is a great place to see how the conventional fine art/craft distinctions are breaking down. (But be sure to notice the prices, and think about what they mean for what has changed and what hasn't!) Turn left again on 3rd and head back down to Cherry. Stop anywhere you want on the way, (I especially recommend Biello Martin Studio, 148 N. 3rd) but be sure to check the Snyderman and Works Galleries (303 Cherry), and Gallery Joe (302 Arch). Here are a few extras you may want to check out, depending on your interests: The Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine Street (mainly a performing arts center, but also shows some visual art). A new, edgy pop culture gallery at 3rd and Arch (?). Two more craft centered galleries: The Wood Turning Center, 501 Vine Street, and Hot Soup, 26 South Strawberry Street (between 2nd and third, between Market and Chestnut - this gallery specializes in blown glass and other glass art). There's a lot to see! Since we won't all be able to stay together all the time, we'll spend some time in class debriefing. For a list of these galleries, with some idea of what's showing at them, go to http://entertainment.philly.com/art_museums/, scroll all the way down, and click on galleries. A pop-up window will appear that lists most (not all) of the participating galleries, and says (in a very general way) what they are showing. Most of them are also listed at InLiquid.com, with links to their websites. Click on Resources, then Links, then Local Galleries.

Here's a map with some directions

To get there, take the Ben Franklin Bridge.  As soon as you get off the bridge, stay to your right, turn right, and loop around so you are heading back the way you came (not across the bridge, of course, but back east). That will take you to fourth street, which goes one way south.  Take it to Race, turn left, then right on second, head toward Market and start looking for parking.  (If you miss the quick right turn off the bridge, keep going, turn left on 6th or 8th, go south to Race, turn left, keep right so you don't get back on the bridge, and proceed as above.)

A note about parking: Parking is free (but very scarce) on Front street, also along the waterfront by Penn's landing, if you don't mind walking over the Penn's landing bridge. I've often found a spot somewhere closer, and fed the meter until 6:30, when it's free. There are also several lots in the immediate area, where you can park for the night for under $10. If you car-pool, this is inexpensive for all. Parking regulations keep changing, so don't take this website as the last word; keep your eyes peeled.

You can also take the PATCO high speed line to 8th street and walk back to 2nd, or change to the market street subway headed back east and north (I don't remember if this is a free interchange) and get off at the Penn's landing stop, which brings you up just east of 2nd street .

There will be no class trip to the Philadelphia Art Museum this year. However, for those who have never been there, I strongly recommend that you go; directions appear below. If you go on Sunday afternoon, admission is whatever you want to pay. You can give yourself an art history tour of western art from the middle ages to the present, starting on the top floor and moving down to the first floor, ending up in the back corner of the first floor in the contemporary wing of the museum. The second floor also has a wonderful Asian section adjoining the Medieval and Early Renaissance galleries, and a great collection of medieval and renaissance armor at the head of the great stairs.

Directions to the Philadelphia Art Museum

To get there from Glassboro, take 55 north to 42 west to 676 north to the Ben Franklin Bridge.  Cross the bridge, go straight and get on to the Vine Street Expressway.  Get off at the Parkway and Museum area exit (the one after Broad Street).  Turn right, go north through one light and turn left on to the Parkway.  Take the Parkway to the Art Museum Circle. To pay for parking near the museum (I think this is $5) keep right around the circle, but as soon as you are away from the circle (at the first light), turn left into the museum grounds and at the top of the hill, turn left into the lot.  Here are some other parking options, in order of convenience (and inverse order of likelihood of actually finding a spot). 1) Follow the road around to the west entrance, but instead of turning left into the paid admission lot, park along that road so you don't have to pay for the lot.  If you like, you may also go past the museum entry road, and take the next left into the lot at the bottom of the hill. This lot is bigger and free, though you might get confused getting into it, and it's a steep uphill or up-step walk from there to the museum. It's where I usually park. There are usually spaces available (but not always). In a pinch, look for parking on the other side of the big road (i.e., Kelly Drive) on any of the neighborhood streets there (e.g., 25th Street). That will take some cruising around, but you should eventually find a spot. Here's a map of the immediate museum area, and one of the area from the bridge to the museum.