pfp*exhibition< all that we do: 17] contemporary women, traditional arts On display at the <strong>Philadelphia</strong> <strong>Folklore</strong> Project, 735 S. 50th Street, <strong>Philadelphia</strong> through spring 2007, after which it is available as a traveling exhibition for rental. Call for details: 215. 726.1106. The full exhibition text is included here. Text <strong>and</strong> all photographs may also be viewed online at http://www.folkloreproject.org/programs/exhibits/wedo/index.cfm Yvette Smalls. Photo: James Wasserman, 2007 (For more detailed caption, see exhibition text). 14 WIP Winter 2007-2008
y Toni Shapiro-Phim <strong>and</strong> Debora Kodish Introduction The women pictured in this exhibition choose, against all odds, to learn, practice <strong>and</strong> teach cultural heritage—folk <strong>and</strong> traditional arts—in the 21st century. Here are nine exceptional artists, caught in moments that hint at the complexity of their lives <strong>and</strong> arts: Antonia Arias, <strong>Fatu</strong> <strong>Gayflor</strong>, Vera Nakonechny, Ayesha Rahim, Anna Rubio, Yvette Smalls, Michele Tayoun, Elaine Hoffman Watts <strong>and</strong> Susan Watts. Art forms represented include flamenco, Liberian <strong>song</strong>, Ukrainian needlework, <strong>African</strong> American crochet/crown-making <strong>and</strong> hair sculpture, Middle Eastern dance <strong>and</strong> <strong>song</strong>, <strong>and</strong> Jewish klezmer music, a small sampling of the vital contemporary practice of traditional arts in <strong>Philadelphia</strong> today. Some of the women pictured were featured in recent <strong>Folklore</strong> Project concerts, salons or exhibitions; others will be featured in concerts this coming year. This exhibition takes viewers behind the scenes, suggesting some of the ongoing work behind polished performances <strong>and</strong> exquisite craft, reminding us of the depth <strong>and</strong> breadth of relationships in which these women work. Here are artists honoring responsibility to family <strong>and</strong> broader communities (<strong>and</strong> to cultural practices <strong>and</strong> their lineages), all while enmeshed in the fast-paced global shifts that impact us all. And all while producing exquisite <strong>and</strong> important art. In her own way, each of the featured artists is groundbreaking: juggling a push at conventions (artistic <strong>and</strong> social) while respecting canons, or balancing a life-long dedication to learning a cultural practice while isolated from other such practitioners, or insisting on constructive, positive self-imagery in the face of racism <strong>and</strong> inequity. Nine women, out of hundreds of artists with whom the <strong>Folklore</strong> Project has worked over two decades: this 20th anniversary exhibition reflects ongoing <strong>and</strong> shared commitments to widening public knowledge about what counts as culture, to grappling with the continuing significance of heritage in a fractured world, <strong>and</strong> to creating (somehow, <strong>and</strong> together) systems <strong>and</strong> structures supporting meaningful cultural diversity. Responsibility <strong>and</strong> Balance Come into their homes! Like the arts in which they excel, these are women with many places they consider home. With roots in Liberia, Lebanon, Spain, Ukraine <strong>and</strong> elsewhere, they create <strong>and</strong> perform on many more stages than an outside public can know, or than a conventional biography might reveal. Their balancing acts, whether improvised or wellplanned, reflect responsibility to family, community, heritage, artistic traditions, social justice, <strong>and</strong> more. 1] Yvette Smalls does hair: she is a master braider <strong>and</strong> a hair sculptor, revealing the beauty within her clients. Here she welcomes the photographer, <strong>and</strong> us, to her home in West <strong>Philadelphia</strong>, 2007. 2] Saturday morning breakfast for Liberian singer <strong>Fatu</strong> <strong>Gayflor</strong> <strong>and</strong> family (husb<strong>and</strong> Timothy Karblee <strong>and</strong> daughter Fayola Thelma Karblee) at home in Sicklerville, New Jersey, 2007. Because of work schedules, the family can enjoy a morning meal together only once or twice a week. 3] Anna Rubio (center) <strong>and</strong> fellow flamenco dancer Gigi Quintana stretch before a rehearsal in the Rubios’ South <strong>Philadelphia</strong> rowhouse. Anna’s son David is on the left, 2006. 4] Ukrainian needlework artist Vera Nakonechny, wearing a traditional embroidered shirt, lights c<strong>and</strong>les for Easter dinner [Continued on next page >] 2007-2008 Winter WIP 15
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