BalletX, one of our favorite dance companies in the city, is in the middle of a five-night run at the Wilma Theater—this time, featuring three female choreographers. If you have the time this weekend, we definitely recommend the show. See this video for why. BalletX: Female Choreographers Project The Wilma Theater (Broad and Spruce Streets) Through July 27 (times vary) Tickets online......

Anne d'Harnoncourt, the highly respected director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and a vibrant force as an arts activist and advocate for the arts in Philadelphia, died unexpectedly late Sunday night. In a prepared statement, David B. Brownlee, professor and chair of Art History at the University of Pennsylvania stated that "Philadelphia has lost one of the greatest cultural leaders in its entire history. Anne d'Harnoncourt transformed the Philadelphia Museum of Art in a......

It's nasty out, but don't let the weather keep you from exploring all that this city's artisans and art curators have to offer! Take, for instance, the special First Friday event the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts is throwing in honor of their new (aforementioned) Cecilia Beaux American Figure Painter exhibition, starting at 5PM. It's the first chance that Philadelphians will have to see the exhibit, plus, there will be live music and free food.......

Let us say up front that we buy into Virginia Woolf’s theory about women artists: it was/is often lack of opportunity, rather than lack of talent, that keeps the gender imbalance in the classic art canon holding steady. Controversy still abounds as to the placement and display of female artists, particularly whether it matters. If art is good, it is good, right, and will be recognized as such, regardless of gender. Would that it were......

It's time again for First Friday. What's that you say? You don't like the looks of tonight's weather forecast? Silly readers! A little cold and wet never killed anyone (well, pneumonia and tuberculosis aside, at least). And besides, all those warm bodies packed into a little art gallery, accompanied by free wine? You'll be warm for sure, in no time flat! Here are a few places where we suggest keeping dry. Before jumping on the......

The cold weather - and holiday festivities - descended upon Gothamist. The Rockefeller Christmas tree was lit, Broadway stagehand finally ended their strike, and NASCAR decided to run their victory lap through Times Square. There were disturbing photographs revealing the working conditions in which many city manholes are produced and ninjas were also a hot topic, either robbing homes or entering into alibis. But the city was really rocked by how Rudy Giuliani's visits......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Friday: Last Friday: Last Friday at the Philadelphia Art Alliance (251 S. 18th), featuring visual, literary, and performance offerings, 7PM. Free Saturday: Space is the Place: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts hosts a family day inspired by their Space is the Place exhibit, 11AM-4PM. Free with museum admission, $5-7 (children, adults) No, Not the Bourne: Arab: The Born Identity, featuring four spoken word poets sharing their experiences......

For the uninitiated, raised only on Bad Boy singles and Hype-William’s videos, hip-hop culture is typically said to break down into four "elements." MCing is the art typically known as rapping and what people are usually thinking of when they talk about what hip-hop is. DJing has been replaced by the producer; the party-oriented mixes of the past have been replaced by the complexity of far removed beat makers tinkering on pro-tools. Breakdancing lives......

Wow-ee! At ten this morning, a brand new Ben Franklin sculpture (this one by James Peniston) was unveiled at 4th and Arch Streets, bringing the total number of sculptures of the founding father in Philadelphia up to 24,367.* To celebrate, we're going to be sure we do First Friday up right this month, starting with the very special reception to welcome the newest Ben in the city. "Keys to Community": The Ben Franklin Project set......

A gunman attacked an armored car as it pulled up to service an ATM at a Wachovia Bank in Rhawnhurst early yesterday morning. He killed two guards, injured a third, and escaped with a bag of money. Surveillance cameras recorded the entire attack. The killer "is described as a black man, wearing a yellow baseball cap with a black logo, a black short-sleeved shirt, blue jeans and white sneakers. His car appeared to be......

Even though the Philly Orchestra is off to Colorado, there are still some great midweek concerts to attend. Tuesday Rutgers-Camden's summer lunchtime series continues with flutist Adeline Tomasone. Mallery Room (2nd floor of Fine Arts Complex of Rutgers-Camden University; Noon; FREE Wednesday Former organist for New York City's St. Patrick's Cathedral Stephen Tharp comes to Philadelphia as part of the Kimmel Center's Summer Organ Series for an evening of organ greats from Elgar to Stravinsky.......

LAist was comped front row seats by the Dodgers due to Malingering being struck by a foul ball last week, and she came back with some great photos, and earlier made fun of 4th of July on Venice Beach. But the biggest stories of the week was that the Mayor's Hot Tamale was revealed, and that a Kwik-E-Mart was erected in Burbank. Phillyist was busy doing the Fourth of July up right, exercising their......

Vacations stretching your budget too much? Fear not. Everything this week is free!Monday The Philadelphia Orchestra presents its second Free Neighborhood Concert of the summer, with works by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and Ives. Pastorius Park (Chestnut Hill); 7 PM; FREE Tuesday Venture across the Ben Franklin Bridge to hear pianist Andrew Willis as part of Rutgers-Camden's summer lunchtime series. Mallery Room (2nd floor Rutgers-Camden University's Fine Arts Complex); Noon; FREE Thursday The Brandywine Valley Association......

It's all Fumo, all the time! Fumo might lose his defense counsel! Fumo might sell his house to pay for his defense! Fumo is still an important figure in local politics! Fumo, Fumo, Fumo! Speaking of "fumo," no fumo in PA! Well, sort of. The state senate passed a statewide ban on smoking yesterday, which would theoretically replace Philly's own smoking ban if it were to get signed into law, even though it has so......

It's the first First Friday of the spring, and the weather today promises to be perfect for walking around Old City. Which means today's probably going to be crowded, so if you want free wine and all the cheese and crackers you can eat, you should plan on hitting the galleries earlier in the evening. That's what we'll be doing, at the places below and other locations. (Free is the best kind of drunk to......

And now, a story of rebirth: Dr. Watson’s Pub was a bar with a reputation. From the early 70's on, it was known to host every stripe of Philadelphia resident: Eagles and Flyers players celebrated there frequently. Construction workers tossed shots with med students. Lines stretched around the corner and the weekly open mic stage was always packed with fresh local talent. Unfortunately, after a chance mix of underage kids, alcohol and the police, this......

“Well, there are various directions we see it going in. I personally envision LNS as a chance to bring together like minded-crazies, shave some heads and commit various acts of random mayhem. But, you know, this is a start.” So says Post Midnight, host of Late Night Series: Philadelphia, as he speeds down the Jersey turnpike on his way to University City. Every Thursday Night he makes the 30 minute trek (“at least the......

...

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. Antiques Roadshow (Mon; 8PM-9PM; PBS [WHYY]) - The final part of this show's three episode visit to Philly. This time they look at some paintings by John F. Kensett, a diamond ring, and some autographed baseballs. They also take a side trip to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Digging for the Truth (Mon; 9PM-10PM; History Channel) - Appropriately enough, given the fact that the King......

As we mentioned a while back, King Tut is coming to town this weekend! Well, okay, maybe not the King himself, but a bunch of his coolest stuff will be on display at The Franklin Institute. Now that it's become clear that Tom Knox is doing exceedingly well, and has a great deal of money, a bill has been introduced to temporarily cancel the campaign contribution limits in order to even things out a......

Spoken word is usually not for us. Quality artists are few and far between, with most seeming to be about performing, rather than the words themselves. The artists add weight to dull selections through tone and inflection, but left alone on the page, their words become tepid. Thankfully then, the Kelly Writers House is welcoming one of the premiere spoken word artists tonight, someone whose work is equally admired live as upon the page. A......

The Pennsylvania Hmanities Council and local PBS station WHYY are collaborating on a new TV show called "Humanities Live," to be hosted by Tracey Matisak. The taping of the first episode of the show goes down this Thursday evening at WHYY's Civic Space, and will feature renowned dancer and choreographer Tania Isaac's program "Caribbean Social Dances." "Dances" is made up of performances by members of Tania Isaac Dance, and explores various dance forms, examining their......

Philly cops are being bad again, and sometimes on video. First we've got a narcotics lieutenant who crashed into a car while driving a city vehicle drunk; he could lose his job. Also, the Daily News let's us know that a Philly policeman was caught drag racing in a police vehicle on YouTube - we tracked down the video here. If you know the identity of the racing officer, or anything else about the incident,......

It's time to dust off that old manuscript in the shoebox under your bed. You know, the one you revised and revised until you forgot what the hell you were writing about in the first place. Tomorrow, bring your questions to the writing workshop at MilkBoy Coffee in Ardmore. Get your revision on. "Are We There Yet? Thoughts on Revising and Thoughts on When to Stop" is moderated by award-winning author Robin Black. Local writers......

Photographer J.J. Tiziou...

This weekend, this Phillyist (along with my wife, co-editor Star, and her sister) had a ball running around the Philadelphia Museum of Art on a Watson Adventures scavenger hunt. Watson doesn't run traditional scavenger hunts, where you have to find and bring back certain items (the Watson people were careful to point out that we should not pick up any vases or paintings while we were in the museum). Instead, their hunts consist of a......

Next week, Philadelphia will play host to the first Global Creative Economy Convergence Summit, which aims to inform business folks, artists and technology professionals about how the Creative Economy contributes to the economic future of the world. Think of it as the business side of creativity. As much as we’d like to think that the arts exist in purely non-commercial form, it’s not the case. Example? We write on this board for the love......

Robert Ryman's art installation, Philadelphia Prototype, 2002 now has a permanent home in Philadelphia; specifically at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Hooray for geographically appropriate art! Artist Ryman, hailed as a "pioneer of Minimalist painting" in the Academy's press release, calls the Academy "courageous" for purchasing the painting. We're not entirely sure what's so brave about an art gallery purchasing a piece of art. Perhaps it's the fact that the installation is designed......

What topic is more interesting and more dear to your heart than yourself? None topic, that's what! So everybody should be able to enjoy the Fifth Annual First Person Festival, "the only festival of its kind dedicated to presenting multi-disciplinary works-of-art based on authentic, real-life experiences," especially since it opens tomorrow night with a gourmet gala called Edible World, which will feature food, secrets, and behind-the-kitchen-door stories from all of Philly's top chefs. There are......

Does going to the orchestra give you the creeps? It will on Monday. The Philadelphia Orchestra presents its annual Halloween concert, replete with scarily dressed orchestra members and “creepy classics.” Drag queen Carlota Ttendant, a regular at Gay BINGO, hosts. Carlota joins her fellow members of Philly’s good-time, badly-behaved Big Mess Vaudevillians, making the show anything but stuffy. Rossen Milanov conducts excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, Stravinsky’s Suite from The Firebird, Humperdinck’s "Witch's Ride," from......