gallery/performance

Artists are usually subject to the intimidation of submitting a portfolio to a gallery for a show or handing over hundreds of dollars in entry fees for possible inclusion. Big Art Show, a New Jersey-based nonprofit art collective, looks at things differently. And word is beginning to spread.

"We try and mix the local artists with the artists from everywhere else we have been," says co-founder Paul Yavarone Jr. "It's great for artists because they get to show their work in new places and meet other artists and network."

The roving collective has made appearances in cities such as Asbury Park, N.J., Brooklyn and even Akron, Ohio. Now the South Philadelphia Athenaeum will play host to what Big Art Show likes to call "a massive art party." Its shows typically include a mix of live performance and displayed art. This ranges from live music and poetry to art demos and multimedia presentations that you would be hard-pressed to find at a more stationary collective or gallery.

"Pretentiousness has no place with Big Art Show. Any artist in any medium can show with us," says Yavarone. "Eventually we'd like to be able to do shows all over the country with the same inclusive and creative ideas."

While registration for participation in this particular event is now closed, Big Art Show encourages artists to come out and see what it has to offer and feel free to contribute to its next show coming to a town near you or maybe a little bit farther down the road.

Big Art Show, Sat., Aug. 27, 7 p.m., $5, The South Philadelphia Athenaeum, 2011 S. Juniper St., www.bigartshow.com.