Welcome to the newest series of Streets Dept tours! Experiential PHL Tours dive deeper into Philadelphia's various arts scenes in partnership with artists and studios to offer one-of-a-kind guided experiences.
ABOUT THIS TOUR, THE SECOND HALF: The second half of this tour will take us into one of Philadelphia's most exciting theatre and dance education centers, Philly PACK, to see a special tech preview of Paprika Plains, a performance art piece apart of this year's Fringe Fest from Natalie Fletcher (Portland-based body painter and winner of Skin Wars Season 1) and Jessica Noel (performance artist, choreographer, and Director of Philly PACK.)
Through live body painting and dance-theater (with lighting design by John Noel and music by Joni Mitchell,) Paprika Plains tells a story of love, loss, and bargaining with the universe. Artist Jessica Noel explains, "Paprika Plains is the project we've wanted to do for a while to marry our artistic disciplines in a performance piece. I was reading a Joni Mitchell biography this year, and I came across her album Don Juan's Reckless Daughter from 1977. The Paprika Plains track is completely mesmerizing! I sent the song to Natalie, and she agreed the timing was right for the project, and the song provided the inspiration."
For this tech preview we'll watch a "start-and-stop," full painted rehearsal of Paprika Plains and then chat with the artists. We'll also meet and talk with Elizabeth Bergeland, the painter of Philly PACK's series of rotating exterior murals. (Note: Tickets to the non-rehearsal Paprika Plains performance can be found here, if you'd like to see both.)
ABOUT THIS TOUR, THE FIRST HALF: The first half of this tour will explore some of my favorite murals and public art pieces found of this more eastern side of South Philadelphia. We'll begin our tour at the Queen street entrance of Mario Lanza Park and zig-zag through the neighborhood, ending at Philly PACK and Paprika Plains!
ABOUT YOUR GUIDE: My name's Conrad Benner, and I'm a Philly-born photographer, curator, and the founder of StreetsDept.com, an award winning photo-blog that's been discovering art on streets of Philadelphia since 2011. Over the years, I have been named Philly's ‘Best Art Curator’ by Philadelphia Magazine, and my blog named one of the ‘Best Blogs for Travellers’ by The Guardian. I have a passion for art in the public space and the role it plays in our hearts and minds; in fact, you can read my blog's full purpose statement here.
A quick note on the ticket price: If you've attended one of my 2nd Saturday Street Art Tours or one of my Happy Hour Mural Tours in the past, then you'll likely notice that the price for these tickets is higher. That's due to the partnership nature of these tours! In short, we're splitting the ticket sales with the artists of Paprika Plains.
Hope you'll join us for this special #ExperientialPHL tour!