The document summarizes the author's experience attending their first First Friday art event in Philadelphia. Some key details: - First Friday events occur on the first Friday of each month in Philadelphia and allow the public to freely view art in various galleries along 2nd and 3rd Streets. They began in 1991 as a way to promote galleries. - The author shares their experience visiting multiple galleries, including The Painted Bridge Art Center which had an aquatic-themed installation, and The Center for Art in Wood showcasing works made of wood. - They observed a wide variety of art forms, from paintings and sculptures to installations and mixed-media works. Street vendors also sold artwork. - The

1. In the city of brotherly love, one can experience art right outside their door. The city of Philadelphia is
surrounded with art; from the enormous morals painted on the sides of buildings, to the graffiti spray
painted on park benches. Where ever you go in Philly, there is always something beautiful or at least
interesting to look at. Having lived in Philadelphia all my life, I never got the opportunity to closely
observe the arts that surround me. Little do many Philadelphians know, myself being included, that
there are multiple inexpensive ways to experience the arts in Philadelphia. Among some of the
inexpensive opportunities are the “First Friday” events.
First Friday events occur on the first Friday of each month and have no charge to them. Art lovers from
all around the city can just walk into the many galleries along 2nd & 3rd Street and observe all the
creative pieces. Among all the galleries being open to the public, there are vendors along the streets
selling their art pieces. This event has been going on for many years. First Friday events started in 1991
and were meant to be an open house for galleries along the old city streets. Since then the event grew
bigger and is commonly known around the city.
First Friday is a great opportunity to admire talented works of art, rather by someone famous or
infamous. Since my First Friday visit on September 5th, I have learned that not all good art is created by
someone famous. Many of the young artists along the streets had a lot of talent to offer. Some artists
created paintings, spray paintings, jewelry, pins, fabrics, scarfs, and many more unique subjects. The
experience altogether was something different and made me feel inspired to go explore and admire
more of the amazing arts in Philadelphia.

2. After getting off the train at 2nd street station, I was clueless where to start. The streets were filled
with people and I was a bit confused if I should literally just walk into any gallery. I ended up
using my google maps to figure out where exactly does this event start. I walked down to 230
vine street where I found The Painted Bridge Art center. Once I arrived, a young girl welcomed
me and was able to inform me what First Friday was about and what galleries I should enter
first. At The Painted Bridge Art Center, they had an installation piece going on called “Deep Blue
Sleep”. The entire gallery had an aquatic look to it with beach props on the floor and ship parts
on the walls. The gallery inside and out was very fascinating to look at. Since I just recently
started learning about installation pieces in another art class, this gallery gave me a firsthand
glance at what installation was really about and how it looked up close and personal.

3. At The Painted Bridge Art Center, the installation piece and a mixed theme. The downstairs to the
gallery was an aquatic scene with corpse everywhere. Corpse were sleeping in beds, under umbrella’s
“tanning”. The creators of this piece were the Found Theatre Company who actually use the
installation piece as a prop for their performance. The performance was very humorous and playful
and gave a different perspective to the different forms of art and how they intertwine. The upstairs of
the gallery was a “Moby Dick” theme. The company was given a insert from the novel Moby Dick and
had to interpret what they visualized while reading the insert. It was fascinating to see the different
interpretations each company member took from the insert. While in the gallery I tried to imagine my
own work and what image I would create after reading the insert. The creativity the company put into
their images was phenomenal. They all used different medias ranging from acrylic paint to news paper
spray painted. The entire piece was eye catching.

4. The next gallery I visited was The Center for Art in Wood. Currently they were presenting an
exhibition showcasing work done by the 2014 Windgate ITE International Resident Fellows.
Upon entering the gallery, there were many tall wooden doors which many the gallery feel like a
fun house because many of the observers were confused on what doors actually lead to the
outside. Also, all the art pieces in the gallery were completely made out of wood which was
interesting to observe because of the different textures of wood the objects were made up of.
Most of the artist created common everyday objects like iPhones, chairs, and tools out of wood.
The art work hung from ceilings, were installed on walls, and some just laid on the floor. The
craftsmanship was very precise and well done.

5. The later the day went, the more crowed the streets began to get. Art lovers young and old filled
up and down 2nd street and all the galleries became packed with people. The amount of people
that came out to this event was surprising to me. Due to the fact that I never heard of a First
Friday even nor ever been to one, I did not think that so many people in the city of Philadelphia
were that interested in art. This just proves to me that there are many art lovers throughout the
city and this event appeals to all ages and all races. Events like this make Philadelphia a great city
to live in, where people can come together to adore art for free and also have the opportunity to
socialize together in harmony.

6. Along the streets were multiple upcoming artists from many different institutes among the city
of Philadelphia and even outside of Philadelphia. These artist have been working on different
projects and doing what they love for many years and come to these First Friday events every
month for many years. These vendors were selling most of their quality art pieces for very cheap
prices. Each artist had something different to offer, rather it was paintings, sketches, jewelry,
pins, clothing, magnets, prints, or photographs. The variation was incredible. These unknown
artist were very talented. I was surprised at how they were able to create many of the art pieces
with unique mediums such as wire, spray paint, buttons, and so much more.

7. The last gallery I went into was my favorite. At this gallery you could actually buy the art pieces.
Although most of the art work was out of my price range, it was very beautiful to look at. Also
these art pieces were every day objects that could be used like lamps, tables, chairs, and mirrors.
These objects were rather hand carved or decorated by using different metals or wood. The
gallery also sold paintings that were filled with a lot of color and just a simple landscape image.
If the price range was in my budget I would have definitely went home with one of the paintings
or lamps.