Woah, Brooklyn artist collective launching in a sister city..

With rents (in NYC) on the rise, and jobs on the downturn, it's often been tempting for me to move back home to the Delaware Valley. Commuter trains and buses along the Northeast corridor have made the trip between NYC and PHilly much more accessible in recent years, and more and more artists seem to be heading down to the City of Brotherly Love for inspiration.

The artist 'hub' 3rd Ward in Brooklyn announced today it's opening a new location in Philadelphia. Philly has long been a hub for creativity. Not only being the home to some top art schools (Moore, Art Institute, University of the Arts, etc), but also a new explosion of creativity in the last 30 or so years has gained the attention of many outside the Delaware Valley. For some time now, for several reason (high rent in other cities being one of the main drivers) artists have been moving either back to Philly or into Philly for the first time, in hopes of a more economically (and creatively) friendly environment in which to work.

See the article below on 3rd Ward Opens in Philly

http://bit.ly/n2HO07

Crossing Borders in Brooklyn

Last night was the first of many talks within the Brooklyn Historical Society regarding race and immigration. http://brooklynhistory.org/blog/author/ssullivan/

Sponsored partly by http://www.lovingday.org/ , There were panelists discussing the ongoing race and nationalization issues not only within Brooklyn, or NYC, but across The USA.

Jen Chau, founder of www.Swirlinc.org, initiated this gathering of all nationalities and race to openly discuss what often in today's politically correct society gets brushed under the rug.

After listening to so many honest views, questions, concerns in these matters it was made apparent we (USA) still have a LONG way to go.

If we are to truly make this country into the melting pot of it's claim to fame, we need to better understand one an other's cultural differences in order to truly work together as one. Often times people will 'tolerate' the one next door without ever having a conversation or inviting them to a back yard dinner. How are we to learn from one another if we never talk with each other about real issues, concerns, or ask each other the real questions on our minds.

It seems the more 'integrated' neighborhoods seem to a certain degree the more separate we become. Yes, there are many who really make an effort to truly integrate, yet more strict immigration laws are being passed which cause more damage within the workforce than those passing those laws cam comprehend.

Last nights meeting was the first of many in a Fall series within the Brooklyn Historical Society, and potentially on a larger scale within the nation.

What are your thoughts (reply via post below) on race and nationalization? How do you feel about a Muslim family moving in next door? How do you feel about serving a black family at a top tier restaurant, how do you feel about your (predominantly) Anglo Saxon government? Honest questions and honest answers are the keys to bridging the gap between these rooms with previously closed doors.

For a glimpse of the project featured in last nights talk you may visit these sites:

www.SoWhatAreYouAnyway.com Portraits by Samantha Isom featuring multi-racial

subjects and their commentary as such

http://www.uniondocs.org/fishbird Katrina Toshiko Grigg-Saito explores the experience of

being multiration through audio interview pieces.

www.LovingDay.org An organization hosting events in celebration of the legalization of

mixed race marriage in the United States, which only took place as recently as 1967

http://www.earsay.org/ Warreb Kehrer and Judith Sloan's, Crossing the Blvd, a

multimedia experience documenting the lives of new immigrants and refugees in the most

polyglot locality in the United States.

http://amzn.to/oByAwt The Invention of the Brownstone Brooklyn; A book by Suleiman Osman: Gentrification and the Search for Authenticity in Postwar New York