We here at Philly Typewriter have been having a wonderful past few weeks. We have quite a few updates on upcoming events and on what’s going on at the shop for you in this newsletter, but first, we wanted to tell you about a cool event we recently got to be part of!
A few weeks ago, when the writing convention AWP was in town, some typewriters from our Philadelphia Public Typewriter Program had the pleasure of being part of an art installation called The Dream Seed Factory, created by Marshall James Kavanaugh (aka @dreampoetforhire on Instagram!). In this installation, participants could type up their spring intentions on paper created with recycled materials and native wildflower seeds dispersed throughout. They could take these typed intentions home to plant, or they had the option to donate them to be planted at a designated plot at the Cesar Andreu Iglesias Community Center in North Philly, getting to watch as their intentions grow and blossom over the coming seasons. In addition to all this, each typewriter present was connected to guitar effects pedals via contact microphones, creating a typewriter orchestra as participants typed. This event was part of a series of interactivities at WAP Party, hosted by Philadelphia Contemporary, and curated by Cynthia Dewi Oka (@freedewi on Instagram) and Yolanda Wisher (@yolandawisher on Instagram). We are so grateful that our typewriters could be part of such a special and innovative installation!
