Marquette: Allentown Arts Museum and SOTA Must Stop Gender Discrimination.

Blogger's Note: Allentown Art Museum is expected to announce changes in its mission at a "big reveal" today. John Marquette, a former docent there, has a "big reveal" of his own. If you belong to the penis club, your options are limited. Here's John's story. 

Imagine for a moment that you’re the director of a highly-respected cultural institution in Pennsylvania. It’s in the heart of a rapidly changing city, with new businesses and apartment buildings rising to the left and right. You recognize that it’s important to continue to stay relevant to the new arrivals and you do outreach to the newcomers even as you encourage your long-time financial supporters to keep visiting and bringing their checkbooks. An affiliated organization, whose members volunteer their time and who also contribute generously, meets in your conference rooms, hosts events, and shares your postal address. They even use your accounting firm!

There’s only one problem with these public-minded folks. They don’t allow a specific minority to be members. Still, they do contribute a lot of money and you can’t afford to hire people to replace the volunteer work they do. So you just keep the matter of discrimination on the down low, right?

What if it were not a minority that was being discriminated against, but an entire gender? If you are the Allentown Art Museum and the Society of the Arts is your affiliated organization, which only allows women as members, discrimination is overlooked, even tolerated.

On October 10, an Allentown Art Museum Facebook post shared news and information about a fundraising event held by the Society of the Arts. The Society, usually referred to as “SOTA”, is a major contributor to the work of the museum, providing it with funding and many of its volunteers, including its docents.

I was fortunate enough to be a docent for the museum for a few years, but was unable to join SOTA for two reasons. First, I have obligations which preclude me from offering the time that membership requires. More important to this article, however, is that SOTA membership is exclusive to women. SOTA provides the lion’s share of volunteers to the museum, especially in roles such as docents. Docents provide guided tours of the museum’s permanent and special collections, and are, for most visitors to the museum, its public face.

Since I ended my volunteering with the museum as one of the few “community docents” at the end of last year, all of those docent faces are female. The museum’s website gives no indication that it seeks community volunteers, showing seekers the word "SOTA" in search results.

SOTA’s website, on the other hand, offers a wide range of interesting and challenging volunteer opportunities in all areas of the museum’s operations. SOTA volunteers can offer tours, work in the development and curatorial areas, plan and staff museum events, and more. Again, SOTA members become the face of the museum.

Sadly for the Lehigh Valley, the faces SOTA offers to museum visitors are exclusively female. While the museum includes in its current employment post a non-discrimination disclaimer (“The Allentown Art Museum of the Lehigh Valley is an equal opportunity, equal access employer, fully committed to achieving a diverse and inclusive workplace.”), this group is neither diverse nor inclusive.

There are other avenues to volunteering with the museum. The Allentown Art Museum Auxiliary, founded in 1946 with membership open to women and men alike, has placed its member-volunteers in the museum shop, and more recently has extended its reach into the development and curatorial departments. While these positions are important to the daily operation of the museum, they do not rise to the level that many men in the Lehigh Valley are precluded by their gender from filling.

SOTA was founded about 20 years after the auxiliary. In its more than 50 years of service to the museum, it has contributed more than just its members’ time and effort. Funds raised by SOTA have made many years of free Sunday admissions possible for Valley residents. Other funds are directed to acquisitions for the museum’s permanent collection. At least two SOTA members sit on the museum’s board of trustees. These talented, hard-working women have contributed to cultural environment of the Lehigh Valley. For all of their work, creativity, intelligence, and funding, I am and will remain grateful.

At the same time I praise SOTA for their dedication, I glance - sometimes repeatedly - at the calendar to remind myself that it is 2017. In my years volunteering as a community docent and visiting other museums around the United States, none staff and train their volunteers from an organization with membership restricted by gender. In fact, when I described the Allentown Art Museum’s practice to working docents, I got reactions ranging from the raise of an eyebrow to more obvious expressions of shock that blatant discrimination was still occurring in public museums.

There is a remedy: SOTA could decide at its next board meeting to open its membership to persons without regard to gender. At the same time, SOTA appears from its Facebook description to its common mailing address and accounting firm with the Allentown Art Museum to be an operating arm of the the museum itself. If that is the case, then it is possible that agreeing to accept Federal, state, and other funding entails signing a statement of non-discrimination. If it is the practice of the Museum to have any volunteer provided by a gender-restricted organization or operating area, it is engaged in discrimination.

While I was a community docent, I was encouraged by SOTA members and SOTA leadership to bring more men into the program. What they were asking me, on one hand, was to help diversify the docent group and provide a wider range of perspectives consistent with the museum's high standards. On the other hand, it felt as if they were asking me to provide a separate-but-equal opportunity for men I could encourage to enroll in the training. The candidates I referred never heard back from the museum nor did their possible further contacts with SOTA convince them to begin the training process.

I believe that the Allentown Art Museum has a collection which is remarkable for a city its size. The traveling exhibitions it brings to the area and the shows it curates locally enrich all of us in the Lehigh Valley. I was personally enriched by my work with SOTA and with museum visitors, and came to see the works in the museum through new eyes. Unfortunately, I can no longer continue to contribute my time or many of my charitable dollars to an organization which does not offer the same opportunity to volunteer candidates as it does to people with checkbooks. I encourage SOTA and the Allentown Art Museum to end its gender-restricted practices and seek the best volunteers the region has to offer.

About John Marquette: Marquette is the author of “In Arch’s Footsteps”, a guide to Housenick Park, as well as many Wikipedia articles and a 2014 op-ed in the Morning Call on the management of the National Museum of Industrial History. He lives in Bethlehem.

A Winter Poem

A Friend sent this magical poem to me and I thought I'd share it with you. I can be an artsy-fartsy, too.

A poem by Abigail Elizabeth McIntyre

SHIT!

IT'S COLD.

The End

Elementary Arts Academy Planned at Racquetball Club

Allentown's Racquetball Club, shuttered for nearly three years, is being prepared for a new kind of clientele. Instead of of balls slamming along walls or whirring treadmills, the singing and dancing of children will echo through the halls. This downtown Allentown property, located at 601 Union Street, will be the home of the Arts Academy Elementary Charter School.

Dr. Thomas Lubben, who will chair the Board of Directors, announced this new elementary school during a July 22 news conference at the racquetball club. He was joined by other Directors, including business leaders like Lee Butz and Dennis Coffin, fitness consultant Cyndi Po, dance advocate Janet LaCava and educator Beth Peters.

With this elementary school, the Lehigh Valley now has arts schools from Kindergarten through high school. The Arts Academy Charter Middle School is located in Salisbury Township, and the Charter High School for the Performing Arts is located in Bethlehem. Though unaffiliated, it is expected that many who attend the Arts elementary school will wish to continue with the Arts Academy middle and high schools.

Beginning in September of 2014, as many 500 students in grades K-5 will trickle into what were once 16 racquetball courts. Those will be converted into 30 class rooms. Class sizes will be small. Kindergarten and First Grade will be about 15 students per class. Second through fifth grade will be approximately 20.

This school will mean 50 new jobs for fully certified teachers and other personnel. Applications are being taken now.
The charter will be sought from the Allentown School District, but students will be sought from surrounding school districts.

Calling the location "truly ideal," Dr. Lubben noted its location near the Baum School of Art, Allentown Museum, Community Music School and the Parkettes. In addition, a 75-space parking lot will make bus drop off and pick-up much easier than at other schools.

The school will lease, instead of owning the facility with a 30-year lease with rent starting at $400,000 per year and growing to $550,000.

In addition to their regular curriculum, arts academy students will have two hours instruction each week in dance, theatre, visual art, and both instrumental and vocal music. At least once a month, they'll also visit the Steel Ice Center for figure skating.

Janet LaCava, Beth Peters, Lee Butz, Tom Lubben, Cyndi Po and Dennis Coffin

Santa Has an Art Gallery in Bethlehem

When she was President of Northampton County's League of Women Voters, Santa Bannon-Shilea was nice to me, even after I poked fun at her group. She almost got me to join, too. After all, I am one hulluva' sexy women. But I lacked the $50.

Once all the other LWVers discovered that I like Santa, they immediately got rid of her. From time to time, she drops a line about something that interests her. But I had no idea until yesterday that Santa - no relation to St. Nick - is an artiste.

That's right. I'm actually on friendly terms with a foo foo.

Anyway, Santa has a Fine Art Gallery (Studio 243) at the Banana Factory, and will exhibit portraits between October 5 and the end of November

I think I'll drop in and say Merry Christmas or something.

Julio Guridy Wants County to Fund Arts When Allentown Does Not

The Allentown Symphony Association kicked off a $6 million fundraising campaign last week, and before soprano Cristina Nassif could belt out a few refrains from Bizet's "Carmen," the rich foo foos had already kicked in $3.1 million. One of their major objectives is to raise $2 million to promote music appreciation by kids. "$2 million of the fund would be used for programming and music education the association produces for children, such as student and family concerts at Symphony Hall and its Musicians in Schools events.”

Too bad there's no enthusiasm for making sure they're fed. It's hard to appreciate Beethoven on an empty stomach. But you see, this "charity" has little to do with children. It exists so the area elite - many of them members of the Lehigh Valley Partnership - can don tuxedos and pretend their shit doesn't stink. Maybe it doesn't, and as long as they're paying for these improvements themselves, I say "Bravo! Encore!"

But rich people - especially members of the LV Partnership - have an annoying habit of ramming their preferences down our throats. Whether it's a bi-county health department or regional rail, these unelected aristocrats know what's best.

So, at the same time that they brag about raising $2 million to bore grade school kids with inferior classical performances at Allentown Symphony Hall, they are putting the bite on Lehigh County for MORE money for M.O.R.E., which provides public funding. LC Exec Don Cunningham cut it out of his 2011 budget, but Commissioner Bill Hansell has already proposed restoring it.

Artsy-fartsy nonprofits know how to pressure local governments. At Tuesday night's budget hearing, Commissioners will be compared to barbarians or worse ... tea party members. Over the past few days, they've already been deluged by form letters, demanding that funding be restored and increased for both the Allentown Art Museum and Symphony Hall.

One of these form letters has been leaked to me. It's on the letterhead of Allentown City Council member Julio Guridy, who took time out of his busy taxpayer-funded job at the bridge commission to demand public funding for the arts. After all, the recession's over.

What kills me about Julio's missive, other than the fact that it is a cut-and-paste job, is that he is telling Lehigh County government that it needs to fund two institutions in Allentown that do not receive any funding from Allentown.

What the hell was he thinking?

You think it might occur to him that he could prepare an ordinance to have his own Council give them the money. After all, it's not being used for cops.

Julio's letter is below.

Guridy on Sympony Hall

Bethlehem Schools Will Negotiate ArtsQuest TIF

... according to Northampton County Council Prez Ron Angle. He claimed, at the end of a Finance Committee meeting yesterday, that Bethlehem School Board President Loretta Leeson had called and is willing to talk, but not until next week.

I wonder if she'll be limited to three minutes.

Did You Know the LV Has a High School For the Performing Arts?

The Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Performing Arts (LVPA) is a small high school in downtown Bethlehem. It has slightly more than 400 students total, drawn from forty different school districts. Admission is based on a successful audition in dance, instrumental music, visual arts, vocal music, theatre or figure-skating.

Diane LaBelle has just been appointed to the newly created position of Executive Director, according to a news release from LVPA’s Board of Directors. She starts July 1, 2010.

LaBelle comes from GoggleWorks, an Arts Center in an old Reading lens factory. She was named Executive Director there in 2005, after successfully raising $15 million in a capital campaign to renovate the former safety goggle factory.

LaBelle also served a brief stint as LVPA’s principal in the school’s first year. Before that, she served as Director of the Banana Factory from 1998-2003. Her background includes extensive experience in leadership roles in arts and nonprofit organizations during the past 15 years.

“I am very excited about taking a leadership position at LVPA as the school takes its next steps toward infusing academics with the arts,” says LaBelle. “LVPA provides a wonderful opportunity for me to offer my experience and pursue my interests at a thrilling time in the school’s history. I am eager to redirect my energies to my home community [LaBelle resides in Bethlehem] now that I have achieved both a professional and personal goal of establishing a thriving, self-sustaining arts center.”

I'll be honest. Before today, I had no idea that the Lehigh Valley even had a performing arts high school. There's even a special school for bloggers. It's called the Juvenile Justice Center.

Nazareth Likes Artsy Fartsys, Too!

In addition to pizza, we got art, baby!

Just around the corner from Insomniak Theatre, the fledgling Nazareth Arts Center (30 Belivdere Street) will have its grand opening next Friday night. I have offered to put on a beret and publicly read a few blog posts, but haven't heard back from the artsy-fartsys. (They probably lost my email).

This new arts center will be featured tonight on WDIY 88.1’s Lehigh Valley Arts Salon show, beginning at 6:00 p.m. That should be fascinating. Tune in if you have insomnia.

Blogger Ross Nunamaker, who publishes News Over Coffee, has created their web page. He wears a beret all the time.

DeSales Students Design First Ever Digital Murals for U.S. Women's Open

Athleticism can come from women golfers, too!

That's the focus of 11 Digital Art murals designed by two DeSales students for the U.S. Women’s Open, currently in progress at the Saucon Valley Country Club, July 6 July 12.

Juniors Chris Morganelli (of Bethlehem, Pa.) and Amanda Ziegler (Aston, Pa.) created eleven murals showcasing the passion of women golfer, and they're on display at the merchandise tent.

They are the first such work to ever be created for any U.S. Open.

Morganelli and Ziegler used photos and text provided by the USGA (United States Golf Association) that features a wide range of emotion and passion from women golfers. Morganelli and Ziegler agree that it was an all-consuming project, but are very grateful for the experience.

“Working on the project was a great learning experience,” said Morganelli. “We didn’t realize the magnitude of the event until after we started working on the project. We realized athletes come from all over the world to participate in the event and thousands of people watch it. Ultimately, we knew the murals would get a lot of exposure.”

As part of the project, Morganelli and Ziegler attended over a dozen meetings during the spring 2009 semester, beginning at the end of April until mid-June, well after the academic year was over. The final stage of the project was completed approximately three weeks before the start of the event.

“There were challenges, especially coming up with ideas both designers agreed upon. Plus, it required a lot of hours both on- and off-campus, including weekdays and weekends, but well worth it,” said Morganelli, whose future career plans are in the area of architectural visualization.

Northampton County DA John Morganelli tells me he's very proud of his son, and should be.

Molovinsky Bashed for Complimenting Deceased Friend

We're miles apart politically. For example, I think Don Cunningham would be a great governor. But this little bastard has the nerve to call him "easy smile boy." Jealous, I suppose. Despite these differences, Allentown blogger Michael Molovinsky is my friend. He cares about people, whether they are minority merchants on Hamilton Street or low-income homeowners forced to undergo systematic home inspections.

Like me, Molovinsky is a product of the 60's and was clearly a big part of Allentown's counter-culture movement. I search titles with a woman who was friendly with Michael in those days. She tells me he was the funniest person she knew. A Lehigh Valley Woody Allen, it's no surprise Molovinsky became friendly with a person he calls a "one man art machine," Gregg Weaver. As Michael tells it, Weaver inspired a generation of young artists. Molovinsky also knew Gregg's wife Fran, and took their wedding picture. He knew her for thirty-eight years.

When Fran died suddenly and unexpectedly, Michael mentioned it to me. It certainly bothers him that both Gregg, a victim of diabetes, and Fran are now gone. At the Chen Arts blog, he reminisces a little at her passing.

"around 1980 fran worked at bethlehem steel. she was a very statuesque woman, and we joked that her presence there was a safety hazard for the men. during this time she produced an amazing series of very large paintings (6X10 ft.) on the open hearth and other aspects of bethlehem steel. these paintings projected enormous energy and were exhibited at kutztown university."

Michael was paying his compliments to a friend. She was the wife of another friend. He paints her as an attractive woman with enough artistic talent to have her work showcased at a local university.

To add to his grief, Michael's story has now been slammed by the Villas , branded as "sexist remarks about a Chen member who died tragically recently. You have no class whatsoever Mike or brains." They add it is "absolutely shameful that Allentown Mayoral Hopeful Mike "3%" Molovinsky is leeringly fixated on a tragically deceased person's 'statuesque' figure. Juyst [sic] incredible. Does he realize it's not 1960 anymore? He's disgusting." "MM is a sexist pig. To attempt to pay tribute to a woman's legacy by invoking memories of her 'shapely figure' (another definition of statuesque) is worse than insensitive, it's telling a lot about the source. But that's the way it is when you live in Memory Lane. Stuck in the '60s."

Obviously, there's nothing even remotely sexist about Michael's compliment. Of all people, I would think the Villas would respect Michael's loss. They instead exploit Fran's death to attempt to alienate Molovinsky from whatever is left of Allentown's art community. In doing so, they just continue to diminish themselves.

They also hurt Michael. In their sick world, that's a bonus.

Yesterday morning, when Fran Weaver was laid to rest in a Lehigh County potter's field, Molovinsky was there to pay his final respects. The Villas were nowhere to be found. But they have a good excuse. They were busy trashing someone on their blog.

Photo Credit: Michael Molovinsky

Nazareth Center For Arts to Host House Tour This Saturday

Did you know Nazareth has a Center For the Arts? Well, it does, and this group will conduct a tour of seven "distinguished houses" in and around Nazareth on Saturday between 10 AM and 3 PM.

How do houses get distinguished? Do they grow beards?

This is no freebie. Tickets, $20 a pop, are being sold at the Nazareth Chamber of Commerce (201 N. Main St, Phone 610-759-9188), Lynn's Florist (30 S. Main St.) and Donahoe Farms (589 E. Lawn Rd). Money raised from this event will be used to convert the old firehouse at 30 Belvidere Street into a Center for the Arts to be used by everyone. Still, $20 is a bit steep, especially since my estate is off limits. You see, I gave the servants off this weekend.

I think they should include a carwash.

The unique feature of this tour is that there will be musicians and an artist at each home. Artists include Claire Lukas, Brenda Messinger-Voll, Robert Lichner, Jane Marshall, Diane Werkheiser and Dottie Nealon. Ronnie Simpson will show her photography. Musicians include Nazareth High Band students and two guitarists.

Bethlehem Police Get Tough on ... Artists!

I'm sure more than a few people drove right off Minsi Trail Bridge on Sunday when Bethlehem's finest nabbed an 57 year- old fart (just like me!). Apparently, he was photographing a woman (also 57 years-old) au naturelle and claimed it was "art."

Gee, I wonder if this is what Alfosno Todd means by street art. If so, the Upward Bound Allentown show should be packed on July 12.

Jazz, Bop & Folk Music Next Friday in Bethlehem

Although I love to argue with Look Out Lehigh Valley, I value her skills as a writer as well as her contributions to the blogosphere. But did you know she's also a concert promoter? Well, she is, and has planned one for next Friday, featuring three very different bands.

Date & Time: Friday, June 27, 7 PM

Place: The Banana Factory, 25 W 3rd St, Bethlehem, PA

Bands:

Mostly Other People Do the Killing, a Long Island jazz band "founded on the idea that not only is Jazz still alive and vibrant, but it can and should be fun, engaging and thoroughly contemporary."

Strand of Oaks, epic folk music for the new generation, from the coal regions.

The Secret Life of Sofia, folk rock from Brooklyn.

Cost: If you can afford it, between $5 and $10. Any profit will go to Second Harvest Food Bank.

I've listened to the music. It makes me wish I were young again.

Upward Bound Allentown Wants You!

A determined and growing gaggle of activists wants to change Allentown. At the spearhead of this movement is a quiet mother, artist, teacher and blogger - Mrs. Dottie. Her group, Allentown Chen-Arts, is already planning its third meeting on Saturday night.

But an even bigger event is being planned. Street art, baby! Upward Bound Allentown is a multicultural celebration of music, art and food that will take place on Allentown's Hamilton Street (between 6th and 7th Streets) on Saturday, July 12, 10 AM thru 6 PM.

Organizer Alfonso Todd (AlfonsoTodd36@msn.com) is looking for performers, artists, vendors and volunteers. Michael Molovinsky has already volunteered for the dunk tank between 10 and noon.

I'll be selling kisses and might do a Chippendale routine.

Molovinsky the Filmmaker

That bastard, Michael Molovinsky, has been playing with all of us. He portrays himself as some stuffy conservative curmudgeon, but he's really a closet hippie.

Want proof? Check out his touching tribute to Allentown artist Gregg Weaver, a film he made back around '72. If you're a boomer like me, the music and images will bring back memories of a wild time in our nation's history - one we're unlikely ever to see again. His film itself is art.

Can Art Help Rescue Downtown Allentown?

In my evil quest to rule the blog universe, I went to House of Chen Friday night to knock off a few bloggers. Since that's in downtown Allentown, I figured no one would even notice for a few days. By the way, killing bloggers is completely legal in the Queen City so long as you pay the necessary permit fees. Molovinsky on Allentown, Lehigh Valley Somebody, Allentown City Arts, Lehigh Valley Lexicon and Seventh Street Now were actually all going to be in the same place at the same time, a serious security lapse.

Imagine all the room I could free up on my blogroll!

The person I really wanted to nail was Michael ("Can't we all just get along?") Donovan, the Inclusion blogger and Allentown city councilman who says outrageous things like "Stay in touch, smile, be civil." Unfortunately, when Donovan saw me coming, he hightailed it out of there, telling the waitress I'd be picking up his tab. (He must have learned that trick from Mayor Ed).

Why was everyone at House of Chen? Actually, the whole thing was planned by Mrs. Dottie, and this get-together attracted around thirty artists, writers and local businessmen. From beginning to end, I enjoyed wonderful conversation and great Asian cuisine with people I'd be unlikely to see in the political world. I also got to catch up with Rosemary Gesek, who was my sister's best friend in high school. You can view some of her work by clicking on the gallery here.

Can art help rescue a rough place like downtown Allentown? These artists think so, Alfonso Todd will have a community arts festival between 6th and 7th Sts. in July and is looking for artists. It is guerrilla art, in which artists simply set up shop and work away. People who see this type of art naturally slow down, talk and relax. It may make communities just a little safer.

Dottie has a few pictures from Friday night. Sarina "was really happy to see so many people and find out that there are painters, writers, musicians, graphic designers, etc. living quietly and working diligently in the Allentown area." Joe Skrapits claimed it "was inspiring to meet and listen to so many intelligent, creative people ... ."

Fortunately, neither Sarina nor Joe met me. I was busily stuffing eggrolls and lo mein in my pockets as Skrapits spoke. When Molovinsky caught me, I told him I've become a sculptor.