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Philadelphia Sketch Club feat. Pam Herrick · philly has heART

0:17
Were you around for the smoke this weekend? Ugh,
0:20
was I? Let me tell you. I mean, I think forest
0:25
should come with sprinklers. TBD. I think it
0:29
kicked my allergy ass because I am so stuffed
0:32
up right now. Yeah. And I was even wearing a
0:35
K, I was wearing a KN95 when I walked to the
0:40
gym. Oh, were you now? On Friday. You were one
0:42
of those. Only after a certain point. And then
0:45
I was like, this is getting to be ridiculous.
0:48
Thank God it rained. But also, did you notice
0:51
that maybe there's more pollen? Yes. Also because
0:54
like it's rain. It's also kind of like raining
0:56
a lot. It's also like moving things around and
1:00
pushing them up. The world's fighting us right
1:02
now. Mother nature. We haven't been nice to her.
1:05
She's giving us a spanking. Yes, she is. Anyway.
1:08
How was your art field weekend? You first. What'd
1:11
you do? We kind of hung around, hung around the
1:15
burbs, hung out with friends, made some art outside
1:19
ourselves. Did you pee on a tree? No. I ended
1:24
up having like a little movie night out back
1:28
in the secret garden. We put up a projector screen.
1:32
We had our projector out there and we had some
1:35
friends over and it was super cute. Robert's
1:38
Theater. Yeah. My invite must have been lost
1:42
in the mail. Suburbs trip. That's totally fair.
1:45
Hard for you to get out there. You know it. What
1:48
were you up to? Well, friend of the pod, Angela
1:50
and I went to Wasted. which was kind of a mashup
1:55
between industrial designer in Philadelphia,
1:59
Palmer Purcell, and the brand Rarify. And they're
2:03
taking over storefront on 9th and Market. Okay.
2:09
And it's popping up this summer. They've got
2:12
a furniture store, the Rarify. They have clothing.
2:16
And I think I saw they had, I want to say records
2:20
or music. So a series of three. Also, this Rarify
2:26
location had the licensed versions of Mies van
2:32
der Rohe furniture and Aero Saarinen furniture.
2:39
Eero Saarinen, Finnish -American architect, son
2:44
of Eliel Saarinen, Finnish urban designer, the
2:49
younger designed Dulles Airport in the Washington,
2:53
D .C. Burbs. It's the international airport.
2:56
Gotcha. And I just started conversations with
3:00
anyone who paused in front of his furniture.
3:03
What else did you get into? Ballet X. The Little
3:06
Prince on Saturday night. Nice. How's our friend
3:10
of the pod, Eli? Eli did a fantastic job. Character
3:15
work was on point. Also, do you remember a few
3:19
weeks ago when we saw him on Instagram and we
3:22
noticed that he had dyed his hair blonde and
3:25
we're like, is he going through something? You
3:27
thought he might be going through an identity
3:30
crisis. Yes, I thought it was an identity crisis.
3:33
Maybe he broke up with someone. That's what happens.
3:36
If you ever see me cut bangs, check on me and
3:39
my husband. Exactly. I will say this. I noticed
3:43
that they were down quite a few dancers. And
3:46
Christine, in her prologue, she mentioned that
3:49
there were maybe three out on injury. Ouch. But
3:54
everybody else. Killed it. MVPs across the board.
3:59
Robert, pivoting. How excited are you for the
4:02
Shards? Have you seen the previews? Love. Love.
4:07
Can't wait. Okay, I mentioned it to my husband
4:10
last week, and at the time he was in a sour mood
4:13
and potentially not engaged with what I was saying.
4:16
I don't know. Cut to a few days later when he
4:18
started looking for tickets to see The Shards
4:21
because apparently he thought it was, I don't
4:23
know, Broadway tour production. So instead of
4:26
buying tickets to The Shards, he bought us tickets
4:28
to see Margaret's show on my birthday week, which
4:31
also the week that The Shards premieres. This
4:34
is a big deal because ever since the year I caught
4:37
COVID from the Ritz at Astana. We've refrained
4:40
from celebrating my birthday. For one reason,
4:42
he's out of town. Or another, he's out of town.
4:45
Oh my gosh. That is going to be an epic birthday
4:48
week. You know what else we're doing that week?
4:51
We're going to First Friday. First Friday! Oh,
4:54
I'm so excited! It's the week of blue! This is
4:57
an event in like half a decade. Sometime I'll
5:01
tell you about the time I thought he bought me
5:03
flowers and it was really Petit Garçon's nanny.
5:06
Well, on to the conversation. Let's go. This
5:19
is Robert Marsh, and you're listening to Philly
5:22
Has Heart Podcast. In this podcast, we sit down
5:25
with the artists, gallerists, educators, curators,
5:27
and other creatives who comprise the Philadelphia
5:30
art world to discuss upcoming performances. exhibits,
5:34
and other events and initiatives that are not
5:36
to be missed. The art scene in Philadelphia is
5:40
so rich that it can seem daunting. Consider this
5:43
your weekend cultural recommendation. With me
5:46
always is my producer, Lucinda Dyerland. Hola!
5:49
And today, we have Pam Herrick of Philadelphia
5:53
Sketch Club. Hi. Welcome. I'm so excited to chat
5:57
with you guys. Excellent. With over 150 years
6:01
of artistic heritage, the Philadelphia Sketch
6:04
Club is a non -for -profit dedicated to providing
6:07
a community for visual artists appreciation of
6:10
the visual arts and the visual arts education.
6:14
We know Philadelphia Sketch Club is storied,
6:17
but can you tell us about the origin story behind
6:20
the organization? Sure. The club was founded
6:23
in 1860. And so we think of ourselves as the
6:27
oldest, capital T, capital O, arts club in the
6:31
United States. And it was founded by students
6:33
of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art who wanted
6:36
something more than they were getting academically.
6:39
So they began meeting. They began inviting teachers,
6:43
instructors to come and offer life drawing. which
6:46
simply means drawing from a model, a living model,
6:49
a human. And the club then has gone on through
6:52
its history to become many, many, many different
6:55
things. One of the things that interests me about
6:58
the club is that I was recently appointed the
7:01
historian of the club. So I'm the first historian
7:03
of the Philadelphia Society. Congratulations.
7:05
Appointed like two weeks ago. Because I work
7:08
as a curator here in Philadelphia, and I came
7:11
to the club because of its long history. So folks
7:15
always say, how did it get started? But what
7:17
I'm really interested in is the 20th century
7:20
history of the club. Here we are in the 21st
7:22
century. Hundreds and hundreds of Philadelphians
7:26
have been members. And they themselves are quite
7:29
interesting. And they represent how the arts
7:32
economy and the arts culture of Philadelphia
7:34
has changed since 1860 to the present. So I'm
7:39
an historian, but I'm interested in the recent
7:42
past as much as I am in the distant past. Philadelphia
7:45
Sketch Club started admitting female members
7:48
in 1990, and this obtained its 501c3 status.
7:52
What kind of effect did that have on the club
7:54
at the time? I think this is one of the most
7:56
interesting collections. I am a woman, and I
7:58
came to the club as an historian to use the archives
8:01
of the club. And when I learned that the club
8:03
only admitted women in 1990, I was like... Really?
8:07
That seems late, right? So late. In fact, there
8:11
is a sister club on the same street. We're located
8:14
on Camac Street at 13th, near Locust Street at
8:18
13th. And just a few doors down the street is
8:21
the Plastic Club, which was founded by women
8:23
in the 1890s, not as a direct response to the
8:27
Philadelphia Sketch Club, but it was a place
8:30
for women artists. So here you had men making
8:32
art. three doors down from women making and exhibiting
8:36
their art, you know, just on the same beautiful
8:38
little street in kind of club central in Philadelphia.
8:42
The Franklin Inn Club is also on Kamek, and it's
8:45
just up the street. So that was for people in
8:47
publishing and writers. The Sketch Club and the
8:51
Plastic Club had members who were engaged in
8:53
that work as illustrators and designers of published
8:57
material. So it's not that the women artists'
9:01
needs weren't being served. They were being served
9:04
by the women who founded the Plastic Club. With
9:07
change in tax law, it benefited clubs who wanted
9:11
a 501c3 status, which is not -for -profit status.
9:14
You've got to admit everybody if you want to
9:17
have non -profit status. So the Union League
9:19
Club did the same thing at the same time. They
9:22
went from an all -male club to a women's club.
9:25
In 1990. Well, don't quote me on the date. But
9:29
because of this tax law, you cannot be a 501c3
9:32
and deny folks access. So that opened the door
9:36
to everybody. Wow. So there was a big opening
9:39
of doors to everybody in the Philadelphia clubs
9:41
at about that time. Interesting. It's also true
9:44
that women were invited to exhibit their artwork
9:47
from the earliest days. So women participated
9:50
in the exhibitions. They just didn't join as
9:53
club members. And recently I had a chance to
9:56
go to our free library where there's a bunch
10:00
of microfilm of early, early records of the Sketch
10:03
Club, including these gorgeous images on film.
10:08
that you have to look at with a reader, but there
10:11
are images of invitations to dances. There was
10:14
a ladies' night at the sketch club in the 19
10:18
-teens, long before women were admitted to the
10:20
club. So the social atmosphere of the club included
10:23
women, and the exhibitions of the club included
10:27
women. But women couldn't be members. Do you
10:30
know if there was any... crossover, but was there
10:34
a section in the Venn diagram of plastic club
10:38
members and members who were showing at the Philadelphia
10:42
Sketch Club? Was there any overlap? Yes, there's
10:45
definitely overlap. There continued to be, throughout
10:48
the 20th century, a great deal of overlap with
10:50
the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. So one
10:54
of the things I'm working on now with a team
10:56
of beautiful students from the Community College
10:58
of Philadelphia, where I curate a private art
11:00
collection, we have students that are volunteering
11:03
to help me scan and digitize the original member
11:07
application cards to the Sketch Club, which range
11:10
in date from 1860 to 2011. Wow. So we're scanning
11:15
those to make those all available to the public.
11:18
The Venn diagram is the exact way to describe
11:21
it. We're working on comparing the membership
11:24
of the club to the annual exhibitions, the juried
11:28
exhibitions that happened at PAFA to discover
11:30
overlap. And we're able to look at other organizations,
11:34
like in my case, I curate a collection from the
11:37
U .S. Mint. So I'm able to look at artists who
11:40
worked here in Philadelphia at our U .S. Mint
11:42
who were Sketch Club members, who exhibited at
11:45
PAFA. in to reconstruct the social and professional
11:50
network of all these artists that worked here
11:53
in Philadelphia in the arts economy in the 20th
11:56
century. So it's really rich. So we're digging
11:59
deep into this archive that has existed at the
12:01
club since the 1860s. I just had an opportunity
12:05
a couple weeks ago to walk into Philadelphia
12:08
Historical Society building. That's maybe a couple
12:12
blocks away. It is a couple blocks. It is effectively
12:15
the Philadelphia Historical Society, but we call
12:17
it the Pennsylvania Historical Society. Oh, excellent,
12:20
excellent. HSP, Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
12:23
And they have incredible archives there, too.
12:26
I'm wondering if anything from Philadelphia Sketch
12:28
Club has made its way over there. As of now,
12:31
the Sketch Club... retains all of its original
12:34
archives, which is why it was so important that
12:37
the club have an historian. It is true that all
12:39
the early records of the plastic club, the women's
12:43
art club, are at the historical site of Pennsylvania.
12:46
So we'll be using those records as we compare
12:49
what was happening at that club to what was happening
12:51
in our club. You know, it's a fascinating place.
12:54
One of the things about the sketch club that
12:56
is different than some private clubs in the city
12:58
is that the public can come. You can walk in
13:02
the door. There are other clubs you're not going
13:04
to walk in the door unless you walk in with a
13:06
member. That's not the case at the Sketch Club.
13:08
So you can come on a weekend and you can look
13:11
at an exhibition on the top floor in our big
13:13
classroom and gallery. You can come to our special
13:17
events. You can come to our classes. You don't
13:20
have to be a member to participate in all the
13:22
activities of the club. And now with this notion
13:25
of historian of the club, We're really encouraging
13:28
researchers and historians, descendants of people
13:32
who were members of the club, to come and make
13:35
use of the archive to understand who were members
13:37
and what does that mean. Do you have any idea
13:40
how much club dues were back then? Oh, gosh.
13:42
I wish I knew. I sprang that on you. That just
13:46
came to me. That's a great question. Because,
13:49
you know, I'm thinking, I'm wondering if... If
13:52
paying dues were prohibitive, would that exclude
13:56
a certain class of artists, starving artists,
13:59
maybe, if you will, from joining? You know, I'm
14:02
not in the membership community. I don't even
14:04
remember what I pay for membership. But the cost
14:07
of classes is way cheap. It's under $10 for a
14:11
student to come to a life drawing class. So I
14:14
encourage my students from the Community College
14:17
of Philadelphia to come and do that. It supplements
14:19
the work they're doing in our art program. I
14:21
believe I understand that there is a scholarship
14:25
membership for young artists as well. Yes, there
14:29
are no barriers to becoming a member of the club.
14:32
Students or young artists who are regularly attending
14:35
the classes. can apply for a scholarship for
14:38
a free annual membership. Lovely. Pam, how did
14:42
you first get involved with Philadelphia Sketch
14:45
Club? Oh, I love this question. So I'm the curator
14:48
of the Gilroy Roberts Collection, which is a
14:51
private collection that is on long -term loan
14:54
to the Community College of Philadelphia. And
14:56
I joined the college three years ago as the collection's
14:59
first curator. And it turns out that Gilroy Roberts
15:02
was a member of the Philadelphia Sketch Club.
15:05
He joined in 1960, and I returned to Philadelphia
15:09
three years ago after living here a long time
15:11
ago. I was an undergrad at Temple, and at that
15:14
time I actually went and attended some of the
15:17
life drawing classes. So I knew what the club
15:18
was, but I didn't really understand that it had
15:21
this history, this archive that was available.
15:23
So I walked in the door, and I said, hey, hey,
15:26
I'm here to see anything you may have on my guy.
15:30
Gilroy Roberts. And they pulled out for me his
15:32
original member card with a little black and
15:35
white photograph of him stapled into the corner,
15:37
a photograph I've never seen before. And in his
15:40
beautiful fountain pen, it listed what his professional
15:44
affiliations were, what his interests were, and
15:47
why he wished to become a club member. At the
15:49
time that he applied, he was a bit of a rock
15:52
star in his field. He is the sculptor who created
15:56
the portrait of John F. Kennedy on the half dollar.
16:00
And at that time, that was created in 1964, just
16:04
following Kennedy's assassination. Gilroy Roberts
16:07
was the chief engraver of the U .S. Mint here
16:09
in Philadelphia, which is essentially a factory
16:12
making coins. And the mint, right? Maybe not
16:15
on Sunday. We were talking together on a Sunday.
16:18
But the Mint is now at Fifth and Arch and continues
16:21
to make coins here in Philadelphia. So I pop
16:24
into the Sketch Club, you know, completely enraptured
16:27
with the place. When you walk in the front door,
16:29
it's three conjoined 1820 brick Philadelphia
16:34
row houses. And you step inside, and there's
16:37
connection between all three. And you walk into
16:40
the historic library with... beautiful bookshelves
16:44
lining the walls, books that date from the early
16:48
19th century that were owned by club members,
16:51
portraits of original members painted by one
16:55
of the original artists and presidents of the
16:58
club, Ann Schutz, all around the top of the room,
17:01
all these very regal -looking men. And the club
17:03
has, you know, it's in a kind of colonial revival
17:06
set of row houses, but because it was a men's
17:10
club, created in that location in the early 1900s,
17:14
it has all these medieval revival elements. So
17:18
somebody carved these gargoyles that are tucked
17:20
in corners. There's all this medieval revival
17:23
furniture that still sits there, which we continue
17:25
to use for our meetings. There's a pool table.
17:29
Our members hang out at night and play pool.
17:32
There's a fridge in the basement where members
17:33
keep their beer. It's a really fun, very social
17:37
place. So I walked through the door wearing my
17:40
curator hat, and the wonderful person who was
17:43
helping me said, hey, hey, you should become
17:45
a member. And I said, I'm not an artist. I'm
17:48
a curator. And they're like, hey, hey, you should
17:51
become a member. So I joined, and I started working
17:54
on the collections. We have a library, archive,
17:58
and special collections committee, so I started
18:00
volunteering. for that and then just have been
18:03
getting deeper and deeper into the library collection,
18:06
the archives. We have a big collection of art
18:09
and artwork. We have a collection of historic
18:11
furniture designed for our historic building.
18:14
And then we have these three conjoined historic
18:16
buildings. So it's a really significant historical
18:19
resource in the city. And I feel so welcomed
18:23
there. I joined thinking, oh, maybe I'll make
18:26
one or two friends. This would be cool because
18:28
I'm new to Philadelphia. Oh, my God. You know,
18:31
I've made 20 friends. It's just such a welcoming
18:34
and wonderful place. So if you're an artist or
18:37
if you're someone who loves art, it's a great
18:39
home in a big city. Let's actually backtrack
18:44
a little bit. As a curator, I'd like to talk
18:47
about how you landed on that. As a career choice.
18:50
And we are putting together in our minds that
18:53
you went to Temple. Did you go to Tyler? No,
18:56
I didn't. So I went to Temple as an undergrad,
18:58
and I was an English major. And I wanted to work
19:03
in the field of art history, but I didn't quite
19:05
know what that would mean at that time. So I
19:08
took an internship at the Bucks County Historical
19:10
Society and worked at the Mercer Museum, which
19:13
is one of my all -time favorite museums still.
19:15
Then decided to go to graduate school. So I'm
19:18
trained as a curator of American decorative art
19:20
at the Winterthur program, which is Winterthur
19:23
is Henry Francis DuPont's huge collection of
19:26
American decorative art in Wilmington. So my
19:29
master's is from... the University of Delaware.
19:31
The program that I did was the Winter Trip Program
19:34
in American Material Culture. Oh, wow. Yeah,
19:36
really fun start. What was your journey after
19:39
there? Yeah, after grad school? Yes. I left grad
19:42
school wanting to live in a country place, and
19:45
so I was looking for jobs in far -flung places.
19:48
I'm very interested in historic buildings and
19:51
in the stuff that's in them, mostly because I'm
19:53
interested in the people that made them, created
19:56
them, altered them, changed them. I'm interested
19:58
in human stories. However, my partner at the
20:02
time ended up in grad school in New York City.
20:04
So I found myself in New York City right after
20:07
grad school. I was the director of the 1748 Dutch
20:11
Stone House Museum in one of New York City's
20:14
parks. And, you know, I spent a number of years
20:18
as director of historic sites, and then I decided
20:21
to become a museum consultant, which meant that
20:23
I could work for lots of different organizations.
20:25
So I was in New York. Lived in the Hudson Valley
20:28
for a very long time. I had clients from New
20:30
York City up through the Adirondacks. It was
20:32
very engaging. It was really interesting. But
20:35
I always, I missed Philadelphia, even all that
20:38
time. So I was away for decades. And I decided
20:41
that I needed to be back here, especially working
20:43
in history. I knew there would be plenty to dig
20:46
my teeth into. So I returned here three years
20:48
ago, and I'll be here for the rest of my life.
20:50
I love it. I love it. What brought you to the
20:53
Mint? Oh, it's so interesting. So I knew nothing
20:56
about coins and metals when I took this job.
20:59
I am very much a curator for hire. Like you set
21:02
me down in front of some stuff and I want to
21:04
dig into it and figure it out and I want to tell
21:06
stories from it. So I took this job and I thought,
21:09
well, yeah, I don't know from coins, but I'll
21:12
figure it out. So I just started doing research
21:14
on Gilroy Roberts in particular. He's a Philadelphian.
21:18
I think he was probably a quiet. contemplative
21:22
guy. I learned from his sketch club member card
21:24
that he liked to fish, which I didn't know until
21:27
I went to the sketch club. And I just started
21:29
digging into him and his work and I realized
21:34
no one had ever given him his full academic due.
21:38
So as a curator, to be handed a collection and
21:41
to be told, go at it, figure it out, and no one
21:45
has done that before, this is gold. And so for
21:48
me to have that opportunity, you know, I'm in
21:51
my early 60s. I've been at this at a long time.
21:53
But for someone to hand me a collection at this
21:56
stage and say, hey, go at it, is amazing. And
22:00
because it's in the context of the Community
22:01
College of Philadelphia, I'm able to pull students
22:04
into the research. So I have this whole team
22:06
of student researchers that are helping me fan
22:09
through online archives and flesh out this big
22:12
story, not just about Gilroy Roberts. but about
22:17
the community of artists and sculptors who were
22:19
here in southeastern PA. So my particular interest
22:22
is the sculptors that worked at the U .S. Mint,
22:25
and then later in the private Franklin Mint,
22:28
and that exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy
22:30
of Fine Art, and were members of the Philadelphia
22:33
Sketch Club. So I'm trying to reconstruct this
22:35
constellation of artists who were working in
22:40
mid -century in Philadelphia in the arts economy.
22:44
What happened to the Franklin Mint? Or what happened
22:46
to the stuff of the Franklin Mint? The stuff
22:48
of the Franklin Mint. The Franklin Mint is a
22:50
fascinating story. If you were alive during the
22:52
Bicentennial and you had a TV, you know about
22:55
the Franklin Mint because it produced initially
22:59
coins and metals in silver to collect. And then
23:03
later on, the Franklin Mint created collectibles
23:06
of all kinds. So the company began... under the
23:10
vision of a man named Joseph Siegel, who was
23:12
a brilliant serial entrepreneur. And he established
23:16
a phenomenally high -quality mint that made coins
23:19
that you could collect. It also made currency
23:22
for foreign countries. So my guy, Gilroy Roberts,
23:25
effectively was headhunted from the U .S. Mint
23:29
and made the chairman of the board and the chief
23:31
engraver of the Franklin Mint when it was founded
23:34
in 1964. So you grab the most famous, the most
23:37
visible, the guy who just did the JFK on the
23:39
half dollar to be the visible artist in your
23:44
company. So Gilroy Roberts had a very productive
23:46
second career at the Franklin Mint. And the Franklin
23:50
Mint is, I think, worthy of a deep academic study.
23:54
There's so much in it. to talk about American
23:57
industry. So when it was good, it was very, very
24:00
good. And when it was bad, it was rotten. We
24:04
all know, we remember the later iterations of
24:09
the Franklin Mint with all the collectibles,
24:10
the too many collectibles. My interest is in
24:13
those early years when they were making highest
24:15
quality, latest technology coins in foreign currency.
24:21
and trying to kind of restore that reputation.
24:23
Cause folks, you know, we all remember more of
24:25
the collectible bicentennial stuff, all the stuff
24:28
that came later. Oh my gosh. Yeah. I, um, I grew
24:31
up in media, so it was just down the street.
24:34
Yeah, yeah, totally. It was this huge building.
24:37
It was right by Wawa, and it just looks so fun.
24:40
It's so cool. It had a big museum. It had a big
24:43
museum collection. The museum was round like
24:45
a coin. Right. It was totally on. The brand was
24:49
tight. Right. It was really tight. When it was
24:51
good, it was very, very good. So I'm interested
24:54
in kind of tearing apart that company and looking
24:57
at its history. There are only some records that
25:00
survive. I want to get other historians engaged
25:03
in it as a study of American business in the
25:06
second half of the 20th century because I think
25:08
it's a really good example of rapid growth and
25:12
then obvious decline. Can you tell us a little
25:15
bit more about Philadelphia's Sketch Club and
25:18
the offers that it has to the public and to members?
25:22
Yes. The Sketch Club, one of the things I'm really
25:25
impressed by, as I get to know this club better
25:27
and better, is how much programming it has committed
25:31
to. The club does 12 exhibitions a year. As a
25:34
curator, I can tell you that's a huge undertaking.
25:37
So every month there is an exhibition in the
25:39
third floor galleries, in that gallery and classroom
25:43
space. spans these three row houses. It's a very
25:46
big, beautiful space. We can exhibit as many
25:48
as 100 works of art. And there is a jury, and
25:53
we award prizes, ribbons. to artwork in each
25:57
of the shows. There's a theme. Just as one example,
26:01
March, was flowers. That aligns with the Philadelphia
26:03
Flower Show. And, you know, I was fascinated
26:06
with several works of art on the wall that I
26:08
would love to have brought home at the end of
26:10
the show. So there's a really big commitment
26:12
to exhibits. There also is a huge, to my mind,
26:16
for a small organization, it's mighty. There's
26:18
a huge commitment to classes. There are, I think,
26:22
eight. Life drawing class is weekly. There's
26:25
something every day. And then there are many,
26:28
many club members who also serve as instructors
26:30
and offer workshops as well, which go deeper.
26:34
There's a sketch marathon. There's a whole weekend
26:36
where it's just kind of like sketching around
26:38
the clock. You can drop in and view the galleries.
26:42
If you're interested in history, if you think
26:44
you have a family member that was a club member,
26:46
you can reach out to me and I'll dig around in
26:48
the archives and tell you about your grandfather,
26:50
your great -grandfather, and the ways in which
26:52
he interacted with the club as a member. Yeah,
26:55
it's a really vibrant, very engaging club. It
26:59
very much has an open door, not just to its members,
27:02
but to the general public. What's your favorite
27:04
part of being a member? Honestly, it's just making
27:08
friends. I have met the coolest people. Really,
27:13
totally. And the thing that I really like about
27:15
the membership is the membership ranges in age
27:17
from 20 to 90. And it's men and women at all
27:21
stages of career, all everything. It's a very
27:26
interesting soup. And when we get together for
27:30
events and we have kind of social time as part
27:33
of those events. It's fascinating to me. I always
27:36
meet someone that I can go deep with and have
27:39
a really interesting conversation with. So yeah,
27:42
if you have any interest at all in art, I would
27:44
encourage you to come to the club, start doing
27:47
some of the free things we have on offer, consider
27:49
becoming... Becoming a member. If you're looking
27:52
for community around the topic of art, I can
27:55
think of no better place than the Philadelphia
27:57
Sketch Club. Love that. Where can we find the
28:00
Philadelphia Sketch Club? You can find the Sketch
28:02
Club online at sketchclub .org. And our physical
28:05
location is 235 South Cromack Street in Philadelphia.
28:10
And weekends, we're open. You can drop in. See
28:14
the very cool historic building and look at art
28:16
and you can see our exhibitions. Absolutely amazing.
28:20
Thank you so much for the conversation today,
28:22
Pamela. It was amazing. And everyone check out
28:25
Philadelphia Sketch Club. We'll be right back
28:27
with some rapid fire questions. And we're back
28:34
with rapid fire questions with Pam. Philly art
28:38
scene in one word. Diverse. Favorite place to
28:43
score a cheesesteak? Oh, God, no, not the cheesesteak
28:46
question. Oh, my God. All right, but I do have
28:49
an answer. Gus's at Reading Terminal. Ooh, lovely.
28:52
Okay. If you could select any piece of art to
28:55
have in your home, forget the guilt of it becoming
28:59
inaccessible to others, what would it be? I have
29:03
held in my hands one of six matching solid sterling
29:08
silver tankards by Paul Revere. And if I could
29:11
take one of those home, I certainly would. Favorite
29:14
Philadelphia neighborhood? Mine. I live in Fairmount
29:20
and just off the Parkway, Art Museum Central.
29:23
I love it. I love the Parkway. Favorite wing
29:26
of the PMA? The American wing. Great choice,
29:29
great choice. Again, Pamela, thank you so much
29:32
for your time today. And everyone, again, check
29:35
out Philadelphia Sketch Club. Thanks so much.
29:37
You guys are a lot of fun. going to dig in and
29:50
see if one of your ancestors was a member of
29:54
the philadelphia sketch club so i did hear back
29:59
really yes i did and unfortunately he was not
30:05
on the list of members oh I know. It would have
30:11
been so cool if he was. No matter. I can't wait
30:16
to check out the Sketch Club and become potentially
30:21
a member myself. Oh, my. Okay. Start that generational
30:25
membership. Can you also audition for the Philadelphia
30:29
Gay Men's Chorus? Those auditions are coming
30:32
up. Oh, that seems like a big commitment. You
30:35
got it. You got it. Bring us through what we're
30:39
doing. The Notebook, presented by Ensemble Arts,
30:43
opening on the 21st. That was yesterday. And
30:46
running into August at the Academy of Music.
30:50
12 Gates Arts, The Poets Studio, July Writing
30:54
Workshop, featuring Miles E. Johnson, on Thursday,
30:58
July 23rd at 630. Rarify and Docomomo Presents
31:04
Tour and Discussion, pop up as Preservation.
31:08
On Thursday, July 23rd, starting at 4 .30 at
31:11
Mean Time on Market and moving over to Village
31:15
of Art and Industry at 5 .30 for the discussion.
31:20
Eustace Mamba is leading a July Twilight in the
31:23
Gardens at Philadelphia's Magic Gardens on Friday,
31:27
July 24th from 7 to 10 p .m. Get ready for some
31:32
tactical experimentation, people. I think that's
31:35
tactile. Hey, Robert. Yes. Lock out your Friday
31:41
night. You are going everywhere. I'm going nowhere
31:44
but couch rotting. Down that 4 p .m. espresso
31:48
martini because we are going to open studios
31:52
at Village of Industry and Art. Open from 5 p
31:56
.m. to 9 p .m. Then Glass House opening at 980
32:01
North 2nd Street from 5 p .m. to 9pm. Then, Furniture,
32:06
History, and Feminism, a sweet American panel
32:09
discussion at the Museum for Art and Wood from
32:12
6 .30 to 7 .30. Then, More Than Murals, Making
32:16
Art Across Mediums, a conversation with digital
32:19
content creator and strategist at Mural Arts,
32:22
your favorite, Dominique Slack. and artist, designer,
32:25
creative director, and cultural strategist Gianni
32:28
Lee at the W Philadelphia from 6 p .m. to 9 p
32:31
.m. Then we are going to top it off with Art
32:34
Battle Philadelphia at Spin from 6 p .m. to 10
32:38
p .m. Thank you for managing my calendar. Just
32:42
love having a social secretary. The Jog Salon
32:47
Celebrating Unfurling 250 at James Oliver Gallery
32:51
is this Saturday, July 25th from 630 to 930.
32:56
How many times have you been to the James Oliver
32:58
Gallery in this last month, Lou? More than once,
33:01
less than thrice. Finally, America Today, Voices
33:06
in Contemporary Print at the Print Center is
33:09
closing on the 25th. Tick tock. And with that,
33:13
Philly has heart. And art. Philly has heart,
33:55
celebrating the people, projects, and passion
33:57
that inspire us. Don't forget to subscribe wherever
34:00
you listen to podcasts. And follow us on Instagram
34:04
to keep up with Philly's art community.