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For Theresa Rose, South Philly exists as an ever-blossoming expanse where those keen on creating camaraderie can consider themselves spoiled. The 39-year-old artist is displaying her infatuation with the environs as one of three contributors to Wind Challenge 2, an element of the 37th annual Wind Challenge Exhibition Series at Fleisher Art Memorial, 719 Catharine St.
“Coming up with ideas and making something of them are intuitive processes for me,” Rose said from her home on the 1200 block of South Clarion Street. “South Philly has such life to it, so I wanted to give reverence to that with my work.”
Through Feb. 7, the Passyunk Square inhabitant will have 10 pieces at the Bella Vista location. Reflecting regard for her surroundings, the creations represent the marriage of photographs and watercolor washes to enhance the hue of an already vivid area. Joining more than 300 innovators who have gratified gawkers through the series, she is encouraging enthusiasm for analyzing everyday occasions and observations, with each, according to her Fleisher artist description, telling a story, eliciting a response and evoking meaning.
“There’s so much to notice, and it’s amazing what can become apparent when we stop and take a breath,” Rose said of her project, which she started to ponder and perfect while serving as FringeArts’ visual arts program director. “Even the ordinary can take on extraordinary qualities when we reduce our active doing and look within. Since my art school days, that’s been key for me.”
The introspective individual learned of her exhibition acceptance shortly after the December 2013 birth of her son and feels fortunate to have the location host her homage to South Philly, where she has resided for seven years. She will continue to chronicle the turf’s effect on her cognizance with tonight’s free 6 o’clock experimental performance concerning her beloved block, with East Passyunk Crossing dweller and City of Philadelphia poet laureate Frank Sherlock assisting the public program’s execution.
“I felt I was ready to offer my understanding of South Philly life,” Rose said of submitting pieces to Fleisher. “I wouldn’t say it is a quintessential look at the neighborhoods and residents’ experiences, but it shows me wanting to capture and preserve moments in time. The addition of the washes brings out that desire a little more. I’m just thrilled to have an opportunity to show my appreciation for being in this community and for gaining a sense of the beauty in the commonplace.”
The Northeast Philly native matured as a figure fascinated with understanding the workings of her given environment, thanks in large part to the importance placed on volunteerism at Villa Joseph Marie High School. With her mother’s artistic background, Rose seemed destined to take to creating, but she confessed that her shift to such pursuits occurred randomly.
“I just started to look within myself more,” she said, noting that the Temple University-affiliated Tyler School of Art yielded more acute admiration for internal growth. “That compelled me to try to gather even more opportunities for expression of that ability in each of us.”
Through middle and high school teaching duties and Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts-situated graduate studies, Rose raised her comprehension of art’s possibilities, with a local agency helping that knowledge to bloom.
“Having been out in the world, so to speak, I had such curiosity to learn the workings of a city,” she said of her five-year stint as public art project manager for the City of Philadelphia Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy under the guidance of former Hawthorne inhabitant Gary Steuer. “I wanted to know what organizations were aspiring to, and I enjoyed navigating through different systems.”
Rose found her government employment riveting yet yearned for a return to her studio identity, a restoration that commenced with her FringeArts tenure. As her year-and-a-half sojourn unfolded, interest in introspection and intense affinity for her community united to inspire what Fleisher visitors have been enjoying since Dec. 5.
“I’m just one of those people,” she said of seeking immersion and integration into her realm, particularly the “sweet network” that is Passyunk Square, for whom she is a member of its titular civic association and a volunteer at Passyunk Gardens, 829 Wharton St. “I need to know what’s going on here because I love understanding it, advocating for it and contributing to it.”
Rose tends to the final component of that trio through Philly Stake, which she founded in Sept. ’10. Through nearly two dozen projects, she and her peers have generated more than $18,000 for voted-upon proposals that its originators have presented at well-attended dinners offering locally-sourced victuals. Contending that the gatherings help attendees to “see the city in a beautiful, positive way” because of the proposal devisers’ visions, she looks forward to a February meeting to discuss Philly Stake’s future, noting she deems the endeavor another example of her combining communal and creative concerns.
“Philadelphia has so much at stake, so I want to keep influencing others to chip in because that likewise encourages me,” Rose said.
Along with enjoying parenting with her husband and interacting with the “really, really special” people on her block, the grateful figure has ensured that younger generations of creators will have more impetus to believe in their concepts as an instructor for The Village of Arts and Humanities and The Moore College of Arts & Design, the latter involving Art and Social Engagement and Community Practice graduate programs. Applying for grants to match her Market Academy Knight Foundation honor and preparing for February inclusion in the Institute of Contemporary Art-situated “Imaginary Archives,” she is reveling in, rather than suffering for, her art.
“I can’t imagine leaving here,” Rose said of her Philadelphia, particularly Passyunk Square, occupancy. “There’s camaraderie and consideration. That’s what inspires.”
Call 215-922-3456, or visit fleisher.org.
Contact Managing Editor Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
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