From the Odunde Festival to Baltimore Avenue Dollar Days to any given weekend afternoon in Clark Park, the width and breadth of West Philadelphia has long been a hotbed of seasonal communal gathering and block party fun. If you can’t find something outdoorsy, interactive, and community-driven in West Philly, you simply aren’t paying attention. To that list, for the first time this week, you can add the Urban Art Fest 52 on Saturday, August 17, from 12 noon to 7 p.m.
Created by curator Karl Morris’ Urban Art Gallery, happening between Spruce and Walnut along South 52nd Street, six bands and musical artists, 20 plus visual artists, and a wealth of craftspeople and vendors displaying works dedicated to African culture will work their magic during this initial Urban Art Fest 52. A large part of UAF52’s outreach comes courtesy of the Urban Art Gallery’s fest partner, the African Cultural Art Forum, and its Community Art Day, along with the merchants from the 52nd Street Cultural Art Corridor Coalition.
Morris’ Urban Art Gallery (262 South 52nd Street) has been part of the West Philly community for eleven years strong, with a goal to portray the wealth of diverse artistry the region holds dear, along with its handful of live educational programs and workshops. If I can use Trenton’s motto for the moment, “What West Philly makes, the world takes.” Just what they make at Urban Art Gallery can be witnessed under Saturday’s sun with the festival’s wealth of abstract artists, photographers, and digital creators. If you get your full of visual arts, a handful of live electronic, jazz, R&B, and indie-pop acts such as Lucas Wolfe, Othneil Chambers Sr., Ryan Gilfillian, Arthur Thomas, and The Funkirium, Balmuor, and Rae Dianz take over the fest’s stages. If your kids get bored of too much art and music, let them get their faces painted while jumping in the moon bounce or play a virtual reality game nearby at the XVR Lounge.
The cost for a day at the first Urban Art Fest 52? Free.
Do this.
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