April 1–8, 1999

hit and run

Keep On Truckin'

The next time someone admires that painting in your living room you just might be able to tell them you got it from the back of a truck. That's because on First Friday, April 2, Nick Cassway and Chris Wilson will be prowling the streets of Old City in an effort to bring affordable works of art to the masses.

Cassway and Wilson are the founders of Dissentia Curatorial Services, basically two guys who handpick artists to create site-specific shows in area galleries. A recent show, outhouse/inhouse, featured six art-containing outhouses installed on the third floor of the New Arts Salon.

Their newest project, called "art2u," is based on the premise that art should be accessible and affordable to everyone. The duo chose artists who produce "work of a very high quality but were interested in selling for a lower price," says Wilson. They didn't have a hard time finding artists. One show participant, David Michael Gerbstadt, has been known to routinely leave art out in the open until someone picks it up and takes it home.

On Friday between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m, Cassway and Wilson will load up a truck with small works of art (the pieces run 8 by 10 to 11 by 14 inches) and drive around Old City between Second and Fourth and Market and Race Streets. They plan to make three stops so passers-by can peruse the selection and take home what they like. And nothing's over $50.

After First Friday those slow to buy can check out Dissentia's Web site at www.icdc.com/~ncassway/dissentia/ where a soon-to-be-added link will let people shop online for whatever's left from the truck. The guys hope to take the truck out again in May for an Earth Day festival in Camp Hill, PA.

Wilson says he and Cassway have only the dissemination of affordable art in mind with their roving gallery.

"It's not our intention to snarl traffic or do anything that would get us ticketed or asked to leave," he said. Though he and Cassway spent some time scouting out the traffic patterns and picked spots that would do the least damage to the city's ebb and flow, they do have a Plan B with respect to Philly's finest: Be where the cops aren't.

"We're banking on the fact that it's First Friday and they'll have other things to worry about," Wilson said.

—Rosemary Darigo