ColorWheels, with Events Sponsored by PECO, Rolls out for 2014

ColorWheels, Fleisher’s mobile art studio, will make its 2014 debut on Saturday, April 19, at South Philadelphia’s Cambodian New Year Celebration (Sixth and Ritner streets). ColorWheels’ spring and summer programming is made possible by the generous support of PECO.

“We are proud to support the Fleisher ColorWheels program and their efforts to take art on the road and into the community,” said Romona Riscoe Benson, manager of Corporate Relations, PECO. “This program helps ensure local children and their families have access to the arts and arts education.”

Inspired by the neighborhood’s majestic Preah Buddhist Temple, children attending the festivities will be invited to incorporate sand, which holds great importance and numerous meanings throughout the Buddhist faith, into their artwork through special sand bracelets. In addition to colored sand, the bracelets will contain small bits of paper on which something or the name of someone important to the child is written.

Dubbed the “Swiss Army Knife of Art,” ColorWheels debuted in 2012 as a way to bring creative experiences directly to Philadelphia’s neighborhoods and communities. ColorWheels is equipped with the tools and supplies needed for Fleisher’s teaching artists to guide community members in hands-on, culturally inspired workshops, collaborative public art projects and art technique demonstrations.

Other upcoming ColorWheels appearances include: Art in the Open Family Day on the Schuylkill Banks on May 17, and the Glenwood and Fairhill Neighborhood Clean-Up and Block Party July 13. To find out more about ColorWheels and see a full calendar of events, visit fleisher.org/community/colorwheels.php.

The Fleisher Art Memorial was founded by industrialist Samuel S. Fleisher in 1898 and is renowned for its mission of making art accessible to everyone regardless of economic means, background or artistic experience. Fleisher Art Memorial is one of the nation’s first community-based art centers, providing free and low-cost studio art classes along with opportunities for beginning and seasoned artists to exhibit their work in a professional gallery setting. Fleisher’s arts education programming reaches deeply into local schools and community centers, and has brought the organization national recognition and powerful opportunities to advocate for and shape arts education initiatives throughout the region and the country.

Fleisher Art MemorialDominic Mercier, 215-922-3456 ext. [e-mail] resolution photos available on requestorPECODebra Yemenijian, [e-mail]