Philadelphia Asian Arts

WC Fields isn’t the only one who wants to be in Philadelphia these days.  For the living, it’s becoming an enormously vital center of arts and culture.  It has had a very strong identity for many decades, but recently has started to become a focal point for new work.  The old neighborhoods, with their particular histories and lessons of the past, make it a wonderfully apt place for exciting cultural work.  It seems as though it may be less than a generation ago that Philly was the place to go to get a break from the excess of New York City, and where people could test work out before bringing it out in front of a discerning public.

Today, Philadelphia’s art scene has evolved to the point where it doesn’t need another city to validate its existence, and it’s become a destination rather than a stop on the way.  This is one of the many reasons why it’s such a great place to visit.  In Philadelphia, cheap hotel accommodations are easy to find, and restaurants are as spectacular as they’ve ever been.  Tourists and young artists find themselves having a rather splendid time any time of year, because there is so much going on here.  In case there’s any doubt, visitors are encouraged to check out the work from the Asian Arts Initiative. This is a wonderful place to get a sample of visual and other creative arts from the local Asian American community.

There are wonderful sensibilities at work here, presenting local and international work to the Philly community.  There are some fantastic people at work in this project as well, demonstrating some of the most proficient and energetic talents in the world.  Sean Stoops, the Gallery Coordinator and Visual Arts Curator has a magnificent eye for work that speaks to global and local audiences.  He is an artist in his own rite, with spectacular installation projects on his cv, and always something new in the works.  He’s interesting to watch for his influence on visual culture as a curator as well as a creator.