July 2010-Spiral Q Receives 2010 George Bartol Arts Education Award

STOCKTON RUSH BARTOL FOUNDATION SELECTS
SPIRAL Q PUPPET THEATER TO RECEIVE
2010 GEORGE BARTOL ARTS EDUCATION AWARD

Award Honors Artistic Excellence and Commitment to Community

Spiral Q Leads Grass-Roots Artmaking as a Vehicle for Social Change


Philadelphia, PA—The Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation announced that it has selected Spiral Q Puppet Theater as the 2010 recipient of the George Bartol Arts Education Award. As part of its annual grant review process, the Foundation designates one grantee to receive this additional award of $5,000 to further support its arts education programs. More information on the award and the Bartol Foundation is available at www.bartol.org

The George Bartol Arts Education Award was established in 2001 to recognize outstanding arts education programs by a non-profit cultural organization. Each year, a grant of $5,000 is made in memory of George Bartol, founder of the Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation, who believed that the key to a thriving arts community was an investment in arts education for its children. This year’s award is made possible through a gift from Mr. Bartol’s children.

The Award is given to an organization that provides sustained, meaningful exposure and participation in the arts; that demonstrates an active engagement in the lives of its students and community; and that maintains high artistic standards for its faculty and students.

Spiral Q is a community-based arts organization that mobilizes and empowers low-income communities to promote social change and justice. Through extended work in communities, Spiral Q brings together intergenerational and multicultural groups to articulate their most compelling stories and to animate these stories with large-scale puppets, parades, printmaking and pageants. Programs like Spiral Q’s annual Peoplehood event brings together these communities, culminating in a citywide parade and performance highlighting pressing neighborhood concerns.

“This $5,000 award is made to Spiral Q for its commitment to arts excellence and to the diverse communities it serves,” said Beth Feldman Brandt, Executive Director of the Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation. “Through its extended and rigorous educational programs, people learn the value of their story, uncover the assets of their community, and experience the power that comes from being an engaged citizen.”

“There is a long history of the arts being used as a tool to promote issues of social justice,” explained Tracy Broyles, Executive Director of Spiral Q. “This award recognizes not only Spiral Q but the power of the arts to galvanize people toward making social change a reality.”

The Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation, as the only local Foundation devoted solely to supporting local arts organizations, seeks to foster an environment where arts and culture can flourish. Created in 1984, the Foundation provides financial and technical support to non-profit arts and cultural organizations in Philadelphia. Through its grantmaking, the Foundation works to ensure a vibrant cultural life for all of its citizens through programs that use art as a catalyst for meaningful communication and connections, strengthening the social fabric of Philadelphia’s neighborhoods.

June 2010-Struggle to Freedom:Remembering the Medu Art Ensemble

Spiral Q Puppet Theater Presents:
Struggle to Freedom: Remembering the Medu Art Ensemble
Spiral Q invites you to join us in rememberance of the Medu Art Ensemble with Medu Survivor Judy Seidman and South African multiinstrumentalist Mogauwane Mahloele.

Monday, June 14, 6:30 – 8:30 PM
Church of the Advocate
1801 West Diamond Street
Philadelphia, 19121

Free

On June 14, 1985 the South African Defense Force raided a small community in Gaborone, Botswana assassinating twelve Medu Art Ensemble artists and community members whose community influence and political involvement posed a tremendous threat to the brutally inhuman and oppressive system of apartheid.

The Medu Art Ensemble was an exiled arts and culture organization that brandished songs, poems, photos, and performance art to unite South Africans and international allies against one of the most oppressive and inhuman regimes of our times. In 1982, Medu organized the Culture and Resistance Festival which brought together artists throughout South Africa and catalyzed many of them to commit their work to the anti-apartheid struggle. After the assassinations in 1985, Medu's work as a collective ceased.

Twenty-five years later, Spiral Q remembers the Medu Art Ensemble with a multimedia performance and special presentation from Judy Seidman- printmaker, cultural worker, educator and Medu survivor- who comes from South Africa for the occasion. Also joining the conversation is Philadelphia based Mogauwane Mahloele, a South African musician, artist, and activist who remembers Medu well and attended the Culture and Resistance Festival. Spiral Q invites all of Philadelphia to join us as we remember the Medu Art Ensemble and reflect on the role of art in shaping our communities. A small reception will follow the event.

June 2010-Norris Square Parade and Celebration

Norris Square Parade & Celebration
Norris Square Park Diamond and Hancock Streets Friday, June 4th
Children's Pageant at 4:30 PM
Parade at 5:30 PM
Open Mic Performances 6:30 to 8:30 PM

Join the Norris Square community and Spiral Q as we parade together in celebration of neighborhood leaders who helped make Norris Square a safer and more unified place! On Friday, June 4th, residents, students, civic leaders, faith-based groups, politicians, performance ensembles, and recovery groups will come together for a celebratory performance and parade to encourage an increased committment to safety and unity within the neighborhood.
Through song, dance, artwork and other performances, students from Hunter School, McKinley Elementary School, and Kensington CAPA will commemorate community leaders who worked to beautify the neighborhood and bring residents together. Among those honored are Rosemary Cubas, Rafael Feliciano, Tomasita Romero, Pat DeCarlo, Stanley Sautner, Iris Brown, Reverend William Gage and Sister Carol Ceck.

The artwork and symbols created for the parade and celebration were inspired by a series of community dialogues during which residents related that the community is safest when all generations are connected to each other. We hope to see you on Friday at this beautiful multigenerational expression of hope and pride for the Norris Square community!