MEGA Opening and Dance Party at Goldilock's Gallery

See correction and note on the presenting artists per the comments.-Adam 9/9/11



MEGA Opening and Dance Party at Goldilock's Gallery
Friday, September 2nd


By Emily Currier


In the warehouse space formerly housing the non-profit Basekamp, Goldilock's Gallery has opened up its glass door to the public this past Friday night, September 2nd. Oddly situated above the fancy pants restaurant Morimoto, the space is a sprawling warehouse that could promise to house interesting exhibits. Another perk of their location situates the gallery several blocks from Old City and its First Friday fare, creating an easy pool of exhibit attendees- if Goldilocks can get its act together.

As a new venue, Goldilock's Gallery will benefit from establishing a unique identity in the gallery and music venue soaked city of Philadelphia. Though it vaguely draws its name from both a fairy tale and an astronomical term, Goldilocks doesn’t feature any obvious allusions to either. Instead, the space is still crawling out of the ashes of the estranged non-profit Basekamp and struggling with organization along the way.

For their first official gallery opening, Goldilocks advertised the start time as 7pm on Facebook and as 8pm on their flyers. In the past, events at the space haven’t started up until 10pm, to avoid disturbing the neighbors, which seemed to discourage any early birds. The lack of attendees turned out to be a mixed blessing, though, as there was construction, complete with loud drilling noise and loose nails, happening in the space’s shop area until around 9:30pm. The first show featured work by a few of Goldilocks’ resident artists and was also primarily attended by the residents.

The event started to pick up around 10pm with a mixture of 20somethings touting their own six packs and wine bottles. Around 11pm, DJ Osagie started playing soul, funk, and rock vinyl for the sparsely populated dance floor. Many party attendees still milled around the exhibit space or poked their noises into residents’ studios. The majority of the party, though, ended up on the space’s expansive roof to enjoy a cigarette, the scenic view, and fresh night air. For a new space, Goldilocks relied on the 20something residents bringing in friends to the event, though they’ll have to put more effort than that to sustain themselves in the Philadelphia art scene.

Emily Currier

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