arts

Meaning “School of Blood Moving in the Heart” in the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs, Ollin Yoliztli Calmecac is a dance and cultural troupe based in the heart of South Philadelphia. A visually captivating portrait of the group told through their own voices, Aztec Dance in Philadelphia raises questions about indigenous history and the retention of cultural heritage in the context of modern immigration. “We consider it a school because we are learning about the culture we have lost,” says one of the group’s members.

Mothers in Charge is a determined group of women who are taking a stand against neighborhood violence. They are the family members of loved ones—mostly sons, fathers, or brothers—who became unwitting victims of Philadelphia’s deadly patterns of violent crime. The group was founded in 2003 by Dorothy Johnson-Speight after the murder of her 24 year old son. Grieving but courageous, members of Mothers in Charge conduct violence prevention, grief counseling, community outreach and education projects in an effort to support neighborhood safety and non-violent conflict resolution.

I Come From A Place by Asian Arts Initiative (Center City)

John Baker shows viwers a different kind of paper trail as he explains the process of producing paper from cotton by-products and the application of paper in his artwork. Using hand-made paper as his primary medium, the artist demonstrates how he forms it into molds creating an interesting variety of shapes and textures which become the building blocks for his finished works.

Filmmaker's Photo: 

From the Naval Yard to Progress Plaza, from the Civil War to Yellow Fever -- these are the themes of The Broad Street History Project, ten video documentaries produced by middle and high school students as part of Scribe Video Center's Documentary History Project for Youth. The series celebrates the exciting and often unknown stories of Broad street, Philadelphia's longest thoroughfare, with a history dating back to the days of William Penn and even earlier.