On The DL

Second Friday in South Philly

by Sam Tremble

Fri., June 8, 6-9 p.m., P'unk Avenue, 1168 E. Passyunk Ave., 215-755-1330; 7-9 p.m., Benna's Cafe, 1236 S. Eighth St., 215-334-1502; 8-11 p.m., Tenth Street Laundromat, 1141 S. 10th St., 215-463-3100

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Nancy Trachtenberg, owner of Benna's Cafe on Eighth and Wharton, has been hanging art on her walls and holding openings on second Fridays for the last two and a half years. Inspired by her consistency, Geoff DiMasi, of the newly renovated design firm P'unk Avenue, decided to bring together Benna and the rest of his artistic neighbors for a South Philly take on Old City's First Friday. Last month, nearly half a dozen art spaces held synchronized openings, creating an art crawl that weaved through the lines at Pat's and Geno's.

"I think it's really great for the urban fabric, for the life of the city," says DiMasi. "People rub against each other, there's friction, and new ideas emerge. That's the reason I love to create that kind of space."

This month, DiMasi, Trachtenberg and Lisa Budnick, owner of the Tenth Street Laundromat — who has been hanging art for the last year on a bimonthly basis — will all have openings. The Laundromat will show Steven Langdon's William Eggleston-inspired photography and Maria Latour's encaustic paintings, while P'unk Avenue will display photographer Rosi Dispensa's experimental prints of old steel towns.

At Benna's, local artist Katie Henry will present her "madebyhank" backpacks (handmade alternatives to the Eastpak/Jansport binary and industrial R.E.Load bags) and new sewn drawings. Inspired in part by stories of feral children and fading photographs bought in bulk from a West Philly thrift store, the three-dimensional renderings in thread — testaments to her mastery of her $70 Brother sewing machine — portray bizarre animal/human hybrids.