Portrait Photography & Presidential Prowess - A Conversation with Rachel Peri

In this very special LVAP: Backstage episode, we went to the Lehigh Valley Music Industry Information Share presented by Icehouse Punk & DIY. While there, we chatted with a few of those in attendance. Follow Ice House Punk & DIY for info on when the next LV Music Industry Information Share will be held!

Here is a list of those interviewed in this episode:

Ryan Susko (@icehouse.punkdiy & @musicgardenpa)

Rachel Ana Dobken (@rachelanadobken)

Jason Reif (@freestone_jason)

Barry Knoblach (@ocean.avenue.musical)

Marlana Faye Ryan of The Normal Colleagues (@thenormalcolleagues & @Lane2go)

John Hoofman (@sonny_dai.feed)

Elflok (@elflokviolin)

Stewart Brodian of WDI (@nickelstew & @wdiyfm)

Rachel Mackow (@rachel.mackow)

Jon Blanco of We're From Antarctica (@werefromantarctica & @jonny_devito)

Jess Meoni (@scrantonpunkco)

Ray Meoni (@diavolobooking)

Cris & Craig of Loaf of Toast (@loafoftoast.lot)

Jason Shanes (@justsaywhenband)

Sol Katana (@solkatana)

Madison Van Duzer (@madisonv137)

Katie (@k8s_art_and_nails)

This week, Elise interviews author and poet Robin Gow.

Robin Gow (it/fae/he & él y elle) is a critically acclaimed trans poet from rural Pennsylvania. He is the author of several poetry collections, an essay collection, and Middle-Grade and YA novels. Faer novels include Ode to My First Car, A Million Quiet Revolutions, and Dear Mothman. Fae works as a community educator, calling folks into discussions around queer and disability justice. It lives with it's partner Rain and their menagerie of animals.

To find more of Robin's work, you can follow them on instagram at @robin_gow_poet, on tiktok, or by checking out their website at https://robingow.com/.

For more of Robin's upcoming events and readings, you can find a list here.

For more about Robin and Rain's training click here.

Our opportunity of the week is the Fine Arts and Curiosities Craft Show and Vendor Market presented by Arkana Antiques and Oddities. This craft show and vendor market is dedicated to showcasing fine art, oddities and the metaphysical. It is going on March 9, 2024 from 10am-4pm. Robin will be there vending and book signing! for more information, check out Arkana's facebook page.

This week, Ben interviews Brandon Dominguez.

Brandon Dominguez is a boundary-pushing contemporary artist navigating the realms of abstract and pop art. At the heart of his creative universe are the iconic characters Brian(the Brain) and Moonie(the Moon), who take center stage in his vivid compositions. Dominguez masterfully employs vibrant colors, crisp lines, and dynamic motion to convey the universal spectrum of human emotions. Influenced by the whimsical charm of rubber hose animation, his work invites viewers on a journey to explore the essence of creativity and the myriad emotions that make us uniquely human. In each piece, Dominguez seeks not only to showcase his artistic prowess but also to unravel the intricacies of what it means to be a creative being.

You can follow Brandon on Instagram @brandondm.art or visit his website at https://www.brandondmart.com/.

You can see Brandon’s work currently on display at ESOArts in Lancaster. Follow them on Instagram at @ESOArts_ or visit their website at https://www.esoartslanc.com/.

Brandon’s work will also be on display soon at Midnight Gallery as part of the exhibition Resilience: Expressions of the Mind, which will be on display soon. Stay tuned for more details by following them on Instagram at @midnightgallerypa or visiting their website at https://www.midnightgallerypa.com/.

Our opportunity of the week is Winter Replay 24’ presented by Marz Meets Venus, going on Saturday, February 24 from 1-8pm at 143 W Linden in Allentown! There will be vintage apparel, tattoos, clothing, art, jewelry, food, and music! For more information, check out the Marz Meets Venus instagram page @marzmeetsvenus. 

This week, Elise and Elisabeth interview Larry Mason.

Larry Mason, is a writer, musician, Theatre Artist, and Disability Advocate. He works within the theatre world to try to build shows that talk honestly about his history with Disability, and how to build a more accessible theatre experience.

To follow Larry Mason on Social Media, you can check out his instagram page @larrymasontheater!

This week, Elise interviews the incredible Arta Brito.

Arta Brito is a classically trained oil painter who has studied with various professional artists in New York City. She’s worked for the world renowned Jeff Koons studios from 2014-2016, has had several group and solo exhibitions throughout the U.S. and is in the permanent collection of the Hunterdon Art Museum and Lehigh University Art Galleries.

Brito’s work explores gender and queer themes inspired by both personal and current events. Her creative process serves as a vehicle for self exploration and storytelling. Brito’s work often resists sociopolitical structures and illuminates historical events purposefully left out of academia.

You can follow Arta on Instagram @artabrito

Arta's work is  on display at Bradbury Sullivan LGBT Community Center in the exhibition “Arta Through The Looking Glass” from December 14th - January 29th. The gallery is located at 522 W Maple St, Allentown, PA.

On Saturday, January 27th at Bradbury Sullivan there will be an artist talk. This will include a conversation with Arta Brito and Mark Wonsidler, Curator of Exhibitions and Collections at Lehigh University Art Galleries. For more information, check out this webpage. 

Arta's work is also on display at Atelier Jolie Gallery in the group show "The Language Of heART" from November 30th - January 31st. The gallery is located at 1122 W. Hamilton St. Allentown, PA.

This week, Elise talks with jazzy drawing artist Doug Trachtman.

Doug Trachtman is a 26 year old artist, musician, and food pantry coordinator. He grew up in Allentown, Pa, went to school at Temple University and is now living in the Lehigh Valley area.  Doug began making art as a child and drew frequently until high school when he took drawing class and hated it. In college Doug got back into creating both music and visual art. During his senior year of college, he turned his apartment into a makeshift art gallery and hosted two art shows that featured his own art and some friends' art. Post college, Doug has been working on creating a brand around his art and trying to sell locally. His work is characterized by its bright colors and various happy subjects.

His work is currently on-view and available for purchase at Art Beat Cafe, 432 state ave Emmaus,pa  18049

At the end of the episode, Doug mentioned the Punk Rock Flea Market in Philly. At the time this episode releases, this event will have passed.

You can follow him on Instagram at: @lavalampbebop

You can check out his etsy shop at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/lavalampbebop?load_webview=1&bid=diOPrW7AFynlAX6pwwT6gLdSXwZc

You can check out his appareal at: https://www.teepublic.com/user/lava-lamp-bebop

This episode is the finale of Season 3 of the Lehigh Valley Arts Podcast. We will be back soon with new episodes as we kick off Season 4!

This week, Ben sits down with artist and curator Elizabeth Johnson.

An artist and exhibition curator, Elizabeth Johnson began writing reviews for
artpractical.com in San Francisco, California, and later covered exhibitions in New York City, Philadelphia, and the Lehigh Valley for theartblog.org. She has written for artcritical.com, Artvoices Magazine, Figure/Ground.org, The Brooklyn Rail, and DeliciousLine.org. Currently she interviews artists for Gross McCleaf Gallery in Philadelphia, and Philadelphia gallerists for theartblog.org. She curated The Big Painting Show at Workspace Limited in San Francisco’s Mission District and has since curated shows that mix local and visiting artists at Lafayette College, Cedar Crest College, Brick + Mortar Gallery and the Soft Machine Gallery, all in the Lehigh Valley. She co-curated Pathological Landscape for Marquee Projects in Bellport, New York, and Residential Tourist for Gross McCleaf Gallery in Philadelphia. Solo shows have been held at Café Museo, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA); Canada College, Redwood City, California; Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture SFMOMA Artists Gallery; and, in 2019, Cedar Crest College. After receiving a BA in Fine Arts from Bard College in 1986, she lived in San Francisco, California for 25 years. She moved to Easton, Pennsylvania, in 2011. She makes oil paintings that suggest dimensional space using curved and warped images. You can follow her on Instagram @elizjohnson2018 or check out her website at https://www.elizabethjohnsonart.com/

The show WORRY features twenty-two artists from Philadelphia, the Lehigh Valley, New Jersey, and New York in the hope of soothing shared political and cultural anxieties by revisiting classical drama. Loosely modeled on Penelope, Odysseus, and Athena from Homer’s Odyssey, WORRY compares Penelope’s suitors to a throng of stubborn anxieties, which might be mitigated through artmaking rather than annihilation. Emphasizing Athena’s association with protection, handicraft, and wisdom but not war, WORRY identifies Odysseus not as military hero but in terms of the joy of wandering and distraction. WORRY is a show at Soft Machine Gallery in Allentown, PA.

WORRY artists include: Rocío Cabello, Matthew Crain, Eva Di Orio, Morgan Hobbs, William Hudders, Duwenavue Santé Johnson, Elizabeth Johnson, Frederick Wright Jones, Elizabeth Keithline, Tom McGlynn, Renny Molenaar, John Mortensen, Jill Odegaard, Joseph O’Neal, Bethann Parker, Celia Reisman, Paul Rider, Anthony Smith Jr., Emily Steinberg, Charles Stonewall, Bruce Wall, and Tenesh Webber

WORRY will be having a closing reception on Saturday, July 1 at 2 pm for a brief Artists Talk and music by Francine Roussel (vocals) and Patrick Paladin (piano) who will present a repertoire of popular songs, in the original French, with a jazz approach.

Soft Machine Gallery is a contemporary art space/performance venue in blossoming Allentown featuring local/national artists & performers.
It is located at 105 Ridge Ave, Allentown, PA 18101. For more information about them, follow them on Instagram at @soft_machine_gallery.

This week, Ben interviews Lauren McChesney & Matthew McClanahan, the owners of Shankweiler's Drive-in as well as The Moving Picture Cinema.

Matt has always known he wanted to work in the movie industry. He has a filmmaking degree from Temple University and has produced numerous independent short and feature films. After completing an internship in Los Angeles, Matt became enamored with independent arthouse theaters and shifted his focus toward the presentation side of films rather than the production. In 2014, Matt helped to revive and run a drive-in theater in Carbon County, PA, and felt he found his niche. Matt teamed up with his friend and fellow theater operator, Brendan Joyce, in 2019 to found The Moving Picture Cinema (TMPC), presenting professional-grade outdoor cinema to unique, non-theatrical spaces in the greater Philadelphia area. TMPC kicked off operations with a handful of small, intimate screenings at local breweries and taprooms.

Lauren spent the majority of her adult life as a medical social worker and healthcare marketer. She met Matt in 2018, when she was a customer at his first drive-in theatre. After traveling around the country together visiting drive-in movie theaters and unique cinematic displays, Lauren found herself gravitating more toward the cinema business. In May 2022, Lauren took a leap out of healthcare and joined TMPC full time to oversee the company's marketing and business development activities, helping to expand the mobile cinema into new markets.

During the spring of 2022, Matt and Lauren met with the owners of Shankweiler's Drive-In Theatre in Orefield, PA. The theater had been for sale for several years, and its future was uncertain. They made the decision to purchase the theater and continue its operations. The drive-in re-opened in November 2022 and is now open year-round. TMPC continues to innovate and evolve new events and partnerships to offer the drive-in experience to communities across Eastern PA, allowing Matt to combine his love of vintage cinema with his borderline obsessive DIY spirit.

For more information about Shankweiler's, check out their website https://www.shankweilers.com/ or follow them on instagram at @shankweilers.

For more information about The Moving Picture Cinema, check out their website https://themovingpicturecinema.com/ or follow them on instagram at @movingpicturecinema.

This week, we talk with interdisciplinary artist, designer and arts administrator, Melissa R. Strom.

Melissa R. Strom is an interdisciplinary artist based in the Lehigh Valley and New York City Metropolitan area. She earned her BFA in Studio Art and Graphic and Interactive Design at Moravian University. Primarily working with oil paint and found object assemblages, her practice stems from themes including mental health, relationships, music, and everyday life, and is often informed by a span of historic and current events. Recently, patterns, light, and text have become important aspects of her work, and she continues to explore different approaches to forming, altering, and handling these components. Melissa currently works at the Allentown Art Museum.

To keep up with Melissa and hear more about what she's doing, follow her on Instagram at @artbymelsie or check out her website at https://melissarstrom.com/. 

This episode's opportunity of the week is for The Gold Door Gallery's fundraiser "Heart of Gold Charity Show." Proceeds collected at this year's exhibition are benefiting the Pennsylvania SPCA. This event will be held on February 11, 2023 from 7-9pm. All artwork on display will be for sale or auction. Entry to the event is free, but they are asking for supply donations if possible. These include pet food and general pet supplies. You can follow the Gold Door Gallery on instagram at @golddoorgallery or check out their website at https://www.golddoorgallery.art/. 

On Saturday, January 21st from 11am-3pm at Art Beat Café (@ArtBeatStudioCafe) in Emmaus a group gathered for a New Years Artist Get Together. They made artist trading cards, worked on some of their personal projects, had coffee, and talked with us about what they were most excited for in the Lehigh Valley arts scene this year! This event was planned by David Matzura in collaboration with The Lehigh Valley Arts Podcast

The artists we interviewed (In order of appearance):
David Matzura (@Treeman_Artist)
Tyrone Webb (@Fine_Spray_Paint_Art)
Brandon C. Lay (@Living.Proof.Pictures)
Katie Hovencamp (@KatieHovencamp)
Larry Mason (@touchstone_theatre)
Ben Burrington (@WhyNotFailAgain)
Noel Elvin (@NoelElvinMusic)
Bryana Joy (@_bryana_joy)
Emma Ryan (@Hues_of_Bluez)
Rachel Cavotta (@rkc_artwork)
Chris Singleheart (@ChrisSingleheart)
Robert Pipeling (@ItWasAllaDweeb)
Gabby Gentile (@Gabby_M_Gentile)
Jen Schaffer (@SweetJuneMoon)
Nicole Schaffer (@LazyDaisyDog22)
Melissa R Strom (@ArtByMelsie)

To follow any of our hosts on Instagram, you can find them at:
Elise Schaffer (@EJSchaffer)
Elisabeth Orr (@Li_Beth_19)
Benjamin Orr (@BenjaminDavidOrr)

The Art Beat Café is located at: 432 State Ave, Emmaus, PA 18049