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Emily Spivak’s life revolves around clothes — just not in the drive-to-the-mall-and-spend-like-there’s-no-tomorrow kind of way. For the 29-year-old New York City transplant, clothes are her lifeline. She has used them as a wellness tool to help women surviving cancer improve their body image — the mission of her nonprofit Shop Well with You.
And, as part of this year’s First Person Arts Festival, Spivak will host the workshop "Worn Stories" that puts clothes in the spotlight again, this time with the intention of telling a story.
"It’s an extension of an ongoing project where I’m collecting stories about clothing and memory based on the idea that every item of clothing you wear has a story behind it," the resident of the 2400 block of Madison Square said. "Whether it’s given to you by a friend, it’s been passed down or you were wearing it when something crazy happened, the stories remain in your mind. It’s really a great way to access memory." In the future, Spivak may compile these stories into a book, but has no immediate plans.
Over the two-and-a-half hours tonight at the First Person Arts Festival — running through Nov. 11 at 2111 Sansom St. — Spivak will lead a group while they swap tales about their favorite garb or accessory. Her workshop — at a cost of $10 — is open to anyone with a story to tell.
"I’ll talk about ways to tap into memories and ideas to access stories and get them on paper," she said. "We’ll share stories informally, and spend a little time casually writing them up and then share them with the group.
"It’s pretty casual — not just specifically for someone who is a writer. It’s more about the people who have a story they want to tell."
Spivak is among
several South Philly festival participants and has been working on collecting stories generated from the people she’s met over the last year or so and their clothes. This is her first time in the festival and the first time she’s held this particular workshop — having held a similar one at the Institute of Contemporary Art in January. Although she’s fairly new to the area — having been in the city for just a year — Spivak said she immediately felt drawn to her neighborhood.
"I enjoy just walking around and getting to know South Philly and exploring the area," she said.
Spivak sees the festival as an ideal outlet for expression. "I really like what First Person Arts is doing," she said. "There’s really valuable work in Philadelphia and it’s allowing people’s stories to be told in interesting ways."
The festival’s goal is to transform real life into documentary art. Begun by Vicki Solot — a resident of Queen Village — in 2001 as Blue Sky, the Philadelphia event grew out of the interest in memoir and documentary art. Since then, it has successfully supported new versions and a broader audience. According to the festival’s Web site, more than 100 artists nationwide have participated over the past four years, celebrating the culture and heritage of everyday Americans. The events are open to all artists, some are approached to take part while others contact the festival organizers seeking an outlet.
Erica Hoffman is one participant whose work highlights the uniqueness artists can find in their own world. Her memoir, "God’s Food," was showcased in the Objects of Affection event last night after taking third place in the Annual Memoir Writing Competition where she beat out a pool of 200 applicants from across the country.
Hoffman, 38, who moved to Broad and Mifflin streets just six months ago, heard of the competition and used her piece as a transition back into writing after being preoccupied with her move from her native Washington, D.C.
"It was the first time I felt like I had a story to tell at all," she said.
Her inspiration came from her job at a busy used bookstore in Dupont Circle in D.C. where two homeless men’s frequent visits caused Hoffman and her co-workers to develop sly ways to guide the noisy duo off the premises.
"We had various ways of getting them out. Sometimes we’d tell them there was a sleeping baby, and they had to be quiet and leave. We had little tricks to try and figure out how to stay clam and get them out at the same time." Hoffman described them as "pretty incomprehensible," although her title did come from a favorite expression of one of the men who used it when attempting to feed a Whopper to an antique African mask in the store, telling Hoffman it was God’s food when she tried to stop him. Hoffman wrote the 2,500-word memoir in a style she said is similar to the way she talks, adding "kind of a spaz" is a phrase that describes her well.
"I joke with serious situations," she said. "You have to, otherwise you just go crazy. If you sugarcoat things with a little bit of humor, it helps it go down easier."
In her first year participating, Hoffman said winning came as a shock, but she’s more than thrilled to take part in an event she feels holds significant value.
"I think it’s great," she said of the festival, where she and other winners will read their memoirs. "Truth is stranger than fiction. Everyone has some fascinating thing about them; it’s just about expressing it in a way that’s palpable to anyone else."
Hoffman said she’s still getting acclimated to her new surroundings, but draws a good deal of entertainment from taking everything in.
"I like the feel of the neighborhood," she said. "I like the broad mix of cultures and ethnicities. It reminded me of the inside of my own head — there’s a lot going on, but it’s in secret. I just sit on my stoop and look at people. You learn a lot by seeing people walk by your house every day. It’s always surprising what I see."
In addition to these up-and-comers, long-time resident and respected artist Zoe Strauss will participate in the event. A film created by adolescents in foster care titled "If You Break The Skin, You Must Come In" about the photographer from 13th and Dickinson streets premiered last night as part of "Got The Picture?" During its making, filmmakers were forced to turn the camera on themselves, giving the audience a sobering look at finding joy and magic in their surroundings. A collection of Strauss’ photos, curated and chosen by Charday Laverty, who was featured in the film, will be on display throughout the festival with proceeds from their sale going in a trust fund Strauss set up for the young filmmakers.
The artistic side is not the only facet being showcased by local residents. Kathleen Carigan, from the area of the 1300 block of Dickinson, will serve as a panelist following a screening of "Strange Culture," a documentary from Lynn Hershman-Leeson premiering tonight at 8. The film explores the bioterrorism accusation levied by the federal government against University at Buffalo art professor Steven Kurtz, a founding member of the art and theater collective Critical Art Ensemble, which resulted in his artwork being seized. Carigan is the executive director of Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, an organization that provides legal referral services for arts, artists and cultural organizations. She will be joined by civil rights attorney David Rudovsky and Lucia Sommer, coordinator of Kurtz’s defense fund. The three will discuss artistic freedom in the age of the Patriot Act.
