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The Bike Part Art Show began as the vision of Sue Ellen Klein, a founder and Board member of NBW, and artist Molly Mullahy. With a long-time interest in found object art, Sue Ellen appreciated the aesthetic quality of used bicycle parts and saw the event as an innovative fundraiser for NBW. The two met at an open studio workshop tour in the fall, 2002, where Sue Ellen was attracted to Molly's elaborate, delicate mobiles of discarded objects. A self-taught artist and a bicycle commuter who has taught art to young people for several years, Molly enthusiastically embraced the idea, and the seed for the Bike Part Art Show was planted. For an overview of Molly's work, see www.mollyworks.com
With Sue Ellen as Chairperson and Molly as volunteer Program Coordinator, the first annual Bike Part Art Show was held at the Free Library of Philadelphia on Logan Square in June, 2003. Artists were invited to 'raid' NBW's workshop for used bicycle parts with the challenge of transforming them into art pieces that would be donated to the exhibit and sold to benefit NBW's youth programs. With over 30 artists participating, the show particularly delighted library personnel, who had warily anticipated a gallery of 'greasy, rusted bike parts.' The refinement, creativity and diversity of the work were evident and established a standard upon which subsequent shows have grown.
The second year's show was held in partnership with the Esther M. Klein Art Gallery at the Science Center in University City, the fifth in their annual Arts and Community Program. In 2005 the third show was exhibited at The Journey Home Community Enrichment Center, 948 N. 8th Street, and curated by artist Robert Bullock, Journey Home's gallery director and director of Coalition Ingenu, the self-taught artists' collective; some of the work appeared in a pre-exhibit at the Art Institute of Philadelphia. Photos from past exhibits..
This year's show at Nexus Gallery will have 24 new artists and over 35 returning artists. Among those 'pioneer' artists who have contributed their work to the show for each of its four years are Randell Cleaver, Carol Cole, Stef Cooper, Sue Ellen Klein, Molly Mullahy, and Kathryn Pannepacker, and SoulPurl 77. Complete list of contributing artists.
While most participants consider themselves 'professional' artists, the show draws work from cycling enthusiasts, youth participants in NBW programs, and members of West Philly's Bike Church Coop, which uses NBW's workshop facility in the evenings. The range of participants reflects the democratic nature of cycling itself, an activity that transcends class and culture, whether for sport, recreation, a means to fitness, or a mode of transportation.
It is that aspect of the show that resonates with Klein, along with its inherent message of recycling - trash transformed from the discarded, utilitarian objects of our daily lives into something of beauty and value. And ultimately, "the Bike Part Art Show is about building community, " says Klein. "It is about bringing people together to confirm our commitment to the youth in our neighborhoods and to those who work on their behalf. It is the recognition that art, however broadly defined, can change lives
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