LAS GALLAS

Las Gallas featured in APIARY Magazine

2011-11-29T09:25:00.002-05:00

APIARY 3 Magazine features outstanding poetry and fiction by 30 contemporary Philly authors, alongside the stunning multimedia art of the Las Gallas art group and woodcut artist Rebecca Brame.

On Saturday, December 10, 2011, they will launch their very first FREE print issue. To celebrate, they are throwing down an evening of delights with the help of the Philadelphia Poetry Collective. Stay for the whole night or just swing by to pick up your issue. There’s enough fun (bookish and otherwise) to go around.

What: You, your beret and your dancing shoes - and a free copy of APIARY.

Where: Torrent Collective, 930 S 8th St, Philadelphia, PA (Italian Market area, Ellsworth/Federal or Lombard/South stop on Broad St. Line)

When: 7:00 p.m. – 2:00 a.m.

Tickets: $5-10 sliding scale. Every dollar over $5 is a direct donation to APIARY and gets you a raffle ticket

Click here to RSVP

7-8:30 p.m.: Live music and performances by APIARY authors. Laidback & family style. Holiday goodies & coffee.8:30-9 p.m.: Open Mic: poetry, fiction, anything goes.

9-11 p.m.: Beat Slam! After the massive success of its jokey ‘Emo Poetry’ Slam last year, Philadelphia Poetry Collective is taking on the Beats. Whether you’re a Kerouac, Ginsberg or Gil Scott-Heron fan, compete for prizes with your best imitation of the poets responsible for every stereotype about poets. Coffee & tea will be provided.

11 p.m.-2 a.m.: Dance party! 3 DJs. BYOB. Need we say more? Holy Allen Ginsberg!

Las Gallas receive the Vision Award

2011-10-10T02:47:00.002-04:00

Las Gallas are received the Vision Award as Creative Artists of the Year at the Hispanic Choice Awards in Philadelphia on Tuesday, October 11th 5:30-8:00 pm.

We are so honored to be recognized in the Latino community for our work as artists!!!

2011-08-29T19:29:00.002-04:00

Las Gallas

Barcelona, SPAIN

on the Mediterranean

July 21, 2011

LookOutFor10thAnniversaryInformationAndShenanaginsAndJustAllOutCrazyFunTimesAhead
So I posted this without Galla permission...I am so scared...they might kick me out of the Gallalandia...

Las Gallas perform and exhibit at Fourth Wall Arts Salon

2010-12-03T17:01:00.004-05:00

In October, Las Gallas exhibited their works and performed at the Fourth Wall Arts Salon. We created a performance piece in collaboration with skilled percussionist, Elizabeth Sayre.

CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO highlighting us. It was created by the video/ film group called Philthy Soft Pretzels Take a look below.

Las Gallas Fourth Wall Artist Profile from philthysoftpretzls on Vimeo.

Video of our exhibit at Taller Puertorriqueño

2010-09-22T16:23:00.001-04:00

Artist Talk at Taller Puertorriqueno

2010-06-01T15:12:00.003-04:00

Friday, June 4th 6-8pm
Lorenzo Homar Gallery, 2721 N. 5th St. Philadelphia PA 19133

Las Gallas will give an artist talk about their exhibition "Lo Que Aparece y Desaparece" at Taller Puertorriqueno. They will share their experience as a collective, the development of the work on the exhibit, and a few surprises.

"Lo Que Aparece y Desaparece" Exhibit

2010-04-11T03:14:00.009-04:00

Las Gallas would like to thank everyone that made it to our opening this past Friday. It was great to show our hard work and to have such positive feedback from all those that attended.

Our great friend, Monica McIntyre, opened the exhibit with a special musical performance.

The show will remain until June 5th, 2010. Here are some photos of our exhibit as a sneak peek, but be sure to see it in person!

Works by Magda Martinez

Works by Julia Lopez

Works by Michelle A. Ortiz

Las Gallas in Al Dia Newspaper

2010-04-11T02:43:00.002-04:00

"No somos Gallos, ni gallinas, somos Las Gallas"

por Nubia Erives/ Al Día Newpaper

Al Día newspaper interviewed us about our exhibit at Taller Puertorriqueño. To read the full article click here.

"Lo Que Aparece y Desaparece"

2010-03-22T02:19:00.005-04:00

Opening Reception Friday, April 9 2010 5-8pm

Taller Puertorriqueño's Lorenzo Homar Gallery

2721 N. 5th Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 19133

(show runs from April 9 - June 5, 2010)

Lo Que Aparece y Desaparece is a mixed media print installation that explores the importance of mark making (those seen and unseen) in art, family and on the path of individuals. Lo Que Aparece y Desaparece was created by Las Gallas Artist Collective specifically for Taller Puertorriqueno’s 35th Anniversary exhibition season, The Graphic R/Evolution, and as an independent project of Philadelphia’s first international print quadrennial The Graphic Unconscious.

A mix of print techniques, including photography, screenprinting, collographs and woodcuts the exhibit explores marks themselves. How are experiences, people, places imprinted on us? How do we manipulate and recombine the artifacts of memory? What does a memory become when it begins to fade? How do we decipher marks with unknown origins? By creating an alternate reality through printmaking Las Gallas hopes to create a space to interact with these questions and the long tradition of printmaking in Latino arts.

We ask you to respond

2010-02-23T10:58:00.002-05:00

We are collecting phrases, words, responses related to our theme "Lo que Aparece y Desaparece" (What Appears and Disappears) for our exhibit at Taller Puertorriqueno in April.

We ask you to respond to these questions at las_gallas@hotmail.com

How are experiences, people, places imprinted on YOU?
How do YOU manipulate and recombine the artifacts of memory?
What does a memory become when it begins to fade?
How do YOU decipher marks with unknown origins?

Scar and Imprint

2010-02-09T17:35:00.005-05:00

Lo Que Aparece

foto by J.Lopez

Getting ready for Las Gallas exhibit "Lo Que Aparece y Desaparece" opening

Friday, April 9, 2010

at Taller Puertorriqueno, Inc.

for the Philagrafika International Quadrennial of Printmaking in Philadelphia.

I have spent a lot of time with images of Mami, Papi, and an abuelo I never met. Spending hours and hours with these images and reimagine-ing a story; stories that she told me, that he withheld and a story that I never got to hear. All have left an imprint; one that you can see on my skin and another that is buried within. This play is one that is almost done. I wrote "Graciela" to pay tribute to Mami's struggle as a single mother, as an immigrant, and as a woman who survived domestic abuse. She defended herself from all these trials by creating a world that left a bundle of scars in her abdomen, scars that lined her uterus and electrified her brain cells. Text from "Graciela" will be incorporated in the prints that are being produced for the exhibit. Mami is forever. It is my intention to acknowledge the value of the imprint and the impact it has had on my way of seeing the world and being in the world. This circle ends. The next celebrates the wonder of this struggle I call Life.

Las Gallas Community Art Workshop

2010-02-02T00:20:00.005-05:00

On January 23rd, Las Gallas led a workshop at Taller Puertorriqueño to explore the themes related to marks that appear and disappear in our lives. The images are works created by the participants. And some will be shown in our exhibit in April at the Taller Puertorriqueño as part of Philagrafika.

2009-12-01T15:54:00.003-05:00

Galla, Julia Lopez, became an Alumni of the
2009 Nonprofit Executive Leadership Institute
on Saturday, November 14th!
I started as a NELI Fellow in April. One of the most rewarding parts of the program was the incredible network of support of NELI participants and Julia's working group the "VIPS". The non-profit community is very diverse and unique. I appreciate the opportunity to share the NELI experience with many of its most dedicated leadership!

Las Gallas in Juarez, Mexico

2009-10-18T22:45:00.003-04:00

The United States Embassy selected galla Michelle Ortiz for the second time to conduct a series of workshops on urban art and recovery of public spaces, this time in Juarez, Mexico. During this two week residency, she conducted four intense community building workshops with local artists and community leaders. Fellow galla Julia Lopez conducted writing workshops that informed the content of the collaborative mural design.

From grafitti artists to grandmothers, a total of 80 participants worked diligently in creating the collaborative 17'x180' mural which depicts the themes of destruction, renovation, violence, change, power, unity, liberty and future. The mural entitled "El Nuevo Camino, La Alianza de Fe, Amor y Paz" stands as a testimony that in the midst of destruction and violence the people of Juarez are committed to creating social change through the arts. To view the more images of the mural click here.

Preparing for PHILAGRAFIKA 2010

2009-10-18T21:40:00.014-04:00

From pronto plates to fabric dying with printmaker Wendy Osterweil, Las Gallas are hard at work preparing for our exhibition at Taller Puertorriqueño in April during the PHILAGRAFIKA 2010 International Print Festival. Check out our work in process and stay tuned for more details regarding workshops with the community.

Galla, Julia Lopez on "Radio Times" w/Marty Moss-Coane June 17, 2009

2009-08-10T14:00:00.007-04:00

How do we create safe communities? Marty Moss-Coane interviews (galla) JULIA LOPEZ, the Executive Director of Centro Pedro Claver, an asset-based program that works towards a self-sufficient neighborhood through home foreclosure prevention counseling, a youth summer arts school & other programs to improve the neighborhood’s quality of life.

Click here to listen to the interview.

2009-07-28T16:52:00.002-04:00

Las Gallas luck out on a fantastic concert
featuring Luba Mason at the World Cafe Live.
Ruben Blades is Luba's husband and he treated
us to a few songs with his wife. We also got
the amazing opportunity to talk with Luba and
then have a discussion with Ruben. He spoke to
about ten of us about his time as the
Minister of Culture in his homeland of Panama
and all of the difficult and rewarding work
with youth.

Hear Las Gallas on Termite Collective- Television!

2009-07-16T11:40:00.004-04:00

Las Gallas will be your guide on this irreverent, hilarious, and often informative tour of Philadelphia- from North East corner of 4th & Race Streets. Film created by Graham Hancock.

WALK PHILLY is a series of video tours that you can download onto your ipod or iphone. You can then follow along in the actual location to get a unique first person experience of the space. Each video tour is a personal interpretation evoking different moods, memories and histories. Some are led by artists, historians and community organizers. Some are created by filmmakers incorporating experimental and fictional elements into the tour.

Las Gallas performance at AAI's Grand Opening

2009-04-19T21:14:00.005-04:00

Las Gallas (Magda Martinez, Julia Lopez and Michelle Ortiz) pay homage to the Santa Galla to send blessings to the Asian Arts Initiative new space.

Next performance in Philly 4/4/09

2009-03-29T23:17:00.006-04:00

Las Gallas will perform to celebrate the Asian Arts Initiative’s 15 year history and the opening of their new home! We will be performing with a fantastic diversity of dancers, musicians, poets, and spoken word artists in this live performance showcase.

Saturday, April 4, 2009 - 3 to 7 p.m.
Open house - 4 p.m. Live broadcast of www.WizWitRadio.com - 7:30 p.m. Performance Showcase: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=54338029091&ref=ts

All Grand Opening Celebration events are free and open to the public. Reservations for the performance showcase are encouraged.

Las Gallas receives grant from the NALAC Fund for the Arts

2009-02-02T23:43:00.000-05:00

Las Gallas was awarded funding by the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture. This grant will support their work in progress that will be featured at Taller Puertorriqueño, a participating organization at the Philagrafika 2010.

Philagrafika 2010 is an inaugural presentation of a multi-sited international festival of contemporary art that will occur in Philadelphia every four years. The festival will focus on artistic practices that engage the visual, intellectual and creative frontiers in printmaking and how these approaches relate to social and political issues in the public sphere.

Upcoming Workshop- Addressing Social Issues through the Arts

2009-01-26T14:50:00.000-05:00

LAS GALLAS will conduct a workshop entitled:

Addressing Social Issues through the Arts
Friday, January 30, 1:00-4:30 pm
Fleisher Art Memorial, 709 Catherine St., Philadelphia

The arts are increasingly seen as a tool for addressing pressing social issues such as violence in a community. LINC Philadelphia has invited LAS GALLAS to conduct an interactive and interdisciplinary session for Teaching Artists and Program Directors, Las Gallas (an artists collective) will share their process for developing workshops that address social issues through the arts.

Participants will learn about two sample workshops series: Despierta, developed and facilitated by Las Gallas Artist Collective (Julia Lopez, Magda Martinez and Michelle Ortiz) and the Impact of Violence on Our Quality of Life, developed and facilitated by Centro Pedro Claver, Inc. a community based organization in North Philadelphia. Using these examples, participants will work in small groups to identify social themes in their community and begin to build curriculum that can effectively and responsibly address these themes. Participants will also receive sample curriculum, checklists and lesson plans.

For more information go to: www.artistlincphiladelphia.org/teaching

WHYY's Interview of Galla Michelle Ortiz- Obama Mural

2009-01-15T19:06:00.000-05:00

LAS GALLAS: Las Gallas Support Obama through Guerrilla Mural Making

2008-11-09T19:37:00.000-05:00

LAS GALLAS: Las Gallas Support Obama through Guerrilla Mural Making

Las Gallas Support Obama through Guerrilla Mural Making

2008-11-09T19:02:00.000-05:00

"VOTA MI GENTE, Latinos for Obama" Mural on Hope Street by Michelle Angela Ortiz 2008
2728 Hope Street, Philadelphia

The Obama Campaign in the Latino community asked me to create a mural of Obama to encourage the Latino community to vote. I created this 30' mural in four days, guerrilla muraling, with the help of fellow Galla Julia Lopez, Dolio Durant, Ivan Henderson, Rafael Zapata , Andreina Castillo and volunteers from the community of HOPE Street in Philadelphia.

This project was definitely a collaborative project. More than 50 volunteers helped paint and clean the abandoned lot where there mural is painted. What a great joy it was for all of us to see Barack Obama become the president-elect. This mural is a documentation of this historic moment.

Read more about the mural at: http://nativenotes.net/2008/11/04/barack-obama-mural-in-philadelphia/

Las Gallas- Workshop Video Documentary

2008-07-23T23:18:00.000-04:00

Check out the video documentary of Las Gallas' "Finding the Frida in Me" workshop with young women in Temple Universtiy. Go to http://templeyouthvoices.blip.tv
Currently this video and artwork from the young women are being shown at the PMA at the education pavilion.

Temple Press Article- LAS GALLAS

2008-02-21T14:31:00.000-05:00


TEMPLE UNIVERSITY PRESS Art for social change
Friday, February 15, 2008

CONTACT: Kim Fischer <kim.fischer@temple.edu>
	215-204-7479

In conjunction with the Frida Kahlo exhibition currently on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Temple’s University Community Collaborative of Philadelphia has partnered with the PMA to create a series of workshops for teenage girls. Through art, movement, creative writing, group discussions and film screenings, the workshops engage young women in an exploration of leadership, identity and the role of women in society.

Facilitating many of the workshops, which are held on Temple’s Main Campus, are members of Las Gallas, a Philadelphia-based, multi-disciplinary art collective. The name of the all-female collective stems from the feminization of the word gallo, which means rooster in Spanish.

Photo by Natalia Smirnov

Painter Michelle Ortiz works with workshop participants to silkscreen words onto shawls, which will be worn in the tradition of Frida Kahlo. Selected by participants, the words hold personal meaning as sources of individual strength.

In one workshop, participants drew on Frida Kahlo’s penchant for wearing colorful shawls to fashion their own rebozos in a way that would signify individual notions of personal strength.

Said one participant, Inshira, a high school junior, “The program has given me new insight into art and myself.”

The series will conclude with a visit to the museum for a tour of the Frida Kahlo exhibit and the opportunity to share ideas with muralist Cesar Viveros, who will begin working on a Kahlo-inspired mural, “Viva la vida,” sponsored by the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program.

Plans for future collaborations between UCCP and PMA are currently under way. For more information on Temple’s UCCP, visit www.temple.edu/uccp.

http://www.temple.edu/newsroom/2007_2008/02/stories/uccp_kahlo.htm

"LAS GALLAS" on the move

2008-02-03T18:14:00.001-05:00

Saturday, February 2nd- Gallas perform at UPenn
Las Gallas performed at The Annenberg Theater at University of Pennsylvania for the MECHA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Atzlán) Conference. We presented a melody of written works that gave the audience a taste of what we do.

Friday, February 1st- Special Reading- Frida and Me, Common Threads
Las Gallas presented a special reading at the opening reception for "Frida and Me, Common Threads" exhibition at the Projects Gallery. The exhibition featured works by four Latina contemporary artists, Galla- Michelle Angela Ortiz, Marta Sanchez, Doris Nogueira-Rogers and Marilyn Rodriguez-Behrle. The show and readings presented how all the artists related to Frida and her legacy. www.projectsgallery.com

January/ February- "Finding the Frida in Us" Leadership Workshops

Las Gallas are leading workshops sponsored by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Education Department. The workshops are for young women to learn, be inspired and explore Frida Kahlo’s life and art.

We are working with high school students from various schools and college students who are part of the Youth Civic Engagement program of Temple University. We are providing interactive workshops in the arts to young women that will expand their understanding of the importance of the arts and how various forms are connected to one another and to daily life.

Throughout this creative process, the young women will be learning about Frida Kahlo’s life and how sometimes great leaders are people who you don’t notice, but they spur people to do something.

Las Gallas are overall exploring the Frida in us, How do we lead? Physically, visually, with the spoken and written word? What are the leadership qualities we all possess.

LAS GALLAS BLOGSPOT

2007-11-06T23:31:00.000-05:00

KIKIRRIKIRIIII!!!

Welcome to the LAS GALLAS blogspot... a place to stay connected, communicate, share and create!

Please feel free to drop us a note. Also, remember to visit us at WWW. LASGALLAS.COM for upcoming events.