Next performance in Philly 4/4/09

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

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

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

LAS GALLAS: Las Gallas Support Obama through Guerrilla Mural Making

LAS GALLAS: Las Gallas Support Obama through Guerrilla Mural Making

Las Gallas Support Obama through Guerrilla Mural Making

"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

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.