FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Press Release Scribe Video Center Completes 3-Year Neighborhood Community History Project 12 Short Documentaries Premiere on Thursday, February 15, 2007 Philadelphia, PA- Dec 19, 2006 While tourists head straight for the city´s official "Historic District" and native Philadelphian´s think they have seen it all, Scribe Video Center´s Precious Places Community History Project reveals bypassed neighborhood sites as bright landmarks that surprise and inspire residents and visitors alike. Using the video documentary as a storytelling medium, neighborhood residents have come together to document the oral histories of their communities. These 12 new works were co-produced by Scribe and neighborhood groups woven through Philadelphia and Camden. Scribe Video Center´s Precious Places Community History Project will premiere on Thursday, February 15, 2007 at 7:00 PM, at the International House located at 3701 Chestnut Street, in West Philadelphia. The public is invited to this FREE event, to be followed by a discussion and informal reception with the community groups that worked on the videos. The premiere celebrates the completion of the 3-year Precious Places
project which has produced 42, 8- minute video documentaries in total.
For the first time in Philadelphia history, the people in the neighborhoods
are telling their own stories about vital neighborhood issues and the
people and places that make their communities unique. Scribe provided
all of the participating community groups with access to resources to
produce the videos, working with community residents of diverse ages,
ethnicities and economic backgrounds. The groups were paired with humanities
consultants from area universities and experienced film makers from the
local independent film and video community, to assist with research and
guide the group members through the video making process. On June 17,
2006, 12 community groups became miniature film crews with loaded back
packs, sun visors and professional video equipment in hand. They went
out into their own communities and recorded interviews, The premiering videos explore subjects including Brewerytown- Sharswood Civic Association´s take on 19th century baseball and 21st century recreation in North Philadelphia. Camden City´s African American Commission unveils the history of Petty´s Island, a former depot for enslaved Africans, and the Filipino American National Historical Society reveals the history St. Augustine´s Church as a cultural gathering place for Filipino´s. The Yorktown Community Organization documents the history of the Yorktown housing development and the community´s challenges, while the Asian Arts Initiative records the significance of their organization in the midst of their home, the Gilbert Building, being demolished to expand the convention center. Other subjects include Kensington and Lehigh as the old "workshop
of America" (Cardinal Bevilacqua Community Center), women jazz musicians
in Strawberry Mansion (East Park Revitalization Alliance), the Palmer
Cemetery in Fishtown (Fishtown Neighbors Association), Eve´s
Garden and its future in the shadow of the Camden County Sewage Plant
(Heart of Camden), the African American Muslim community in Mill Creek (Islamic
Cultural Preservation and Information Council), the history of Mt. Peace
Cemetery (Lawnside Historical Society), and one of Philadelphia´s
oldest gardens in Southwark Queen´s Village (Neighborhood Garden´s
Association and The completion of the Precious Places Community History Project puts Philadelphia among other major U.S. cities such as Atlanta, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago who had compiled oral histories of their city´s neighborhoods. A number of the videos have already been screened in film festivals and utilized as topics for discussion in university´s urban and geographical studies departments. Scribe will continue to work with arts groups, social change organizations and educational institutions to use the video compilation as an educational resource. The compiled works are also available to the general public on DVD through Scribe. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Scribe Video Center is a non-profit media arts center in Philadelphia
that seeks to explore, develop and advance the use of video as an artistic
medium and as a tool for Precious Places is made possible by the Nathan Cummings Foundation,
the Community Partners in Arts Access program of the John S. and James
L. Knight Foundation, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Claneil Foundation,
the Samuel S. Fels Fund, Dolfinger McMahon Foundation, Philadelphia Cultural
Fund, our member contributors and special assistance from Temple University
Library´s Urban Archives. For more information about Precious Places or to receive high resolution images contact Joslyn Ladson, Program Coordinator at 215-222-4201 From website: http://www.scribe.org |