Mt. Airy Art Garage (MAAG) is set to host its fifth annual MAAG Rocks Art! event, featuring 35 local artists and musicians in a vibrant celebration of Northwest Philadelphia's creative community.
The event, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 14, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., will showcase 30 artists and five musical groups, almost all of them local. The 7100 block of Germantown Avenue will be closed to vehicular traffic for the duration of the event, with Sunday, Sept. 15, serving as a rain date.
MAAG, which functions as an incubator for professional and emerging artists, aims to spread the spirit of art and community throughout Northwest Philadelphia. This one-day festival will feature artists displaying and selling their works alongside performances by local bands.
Among the featured artists is Mt. Airy resident Gerald Alston, whose journey to artistic expression is particularly noteworthy. A South Philadelphia native, Alston's early entrepreneurial spirit led him from selling shopping bags on 9th Street and shining shoes to pursuing a law degree and eventually finding his passion in woodworking.
"I made my own wooden shoeshine box to carry polish, brushes and rags," said Alston, who has two adult daughters, one in Delaware County and one in Overbrook.
Alston's path to becoming an artist was circuitous. After earning an undergraduate degree from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, and a law degree from Rutgers University Law School, he worked as a prosecutor in the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office before entering private practice. His legal work focused on issues like personal injury and bankruptcy.
However, Alston eventually lost his passion for the law and made a dramatic career shift, opening a restaurant in North Philadelphia with a friend. "That was the hardest work I ever did," he recalled. "People see a drawer full of cash and think you're doing well, but you have a narrow profit margin. If you clear 10 to 12 percent, you're doing well."
By the mid-1990s, Alston found himself looking for a hobby and turned to woodworking. His inspiration came, in part, from a bookshelf he had made in junior high school wood shop. "She had it in her bedroom for 50 years," Alston said of his late mother. "You would have thought that I'd built her a house."
Alston honed his craft by reading books and articles, starting with simple projects and gradually tackling more complex ones. He built small tables and toy boxes before focusing on bowl-making a few years ago.
Initially, Alston gave away his bowls to family and friends. However, after winning first prize in his craft category at the 2021 Manayunk Art Festival, he realized people might be willing to pay for his work. "Someone reminded me that anyone will take something you give them as a gift, but the true test of craftsmanship is whether people will pay money for it," Alston said. His bowls will be on display at MAAG Rocks Art.
MAAG Board President Patricia Smith expects 500 to 600 attendees based on previous years' turnout. "In addition to the musicians and artists, there will be children's activities and food trucks," Smith said. She also credited former board member Larry West with the original concept for MAAG Rocks Art. "We want to give him credit for this," she added.
The event's sponsors include East Mt Airy Neighbors, Mt. Airy Local, Weavers Way, Elfant Wissahickon's Larry DiFranco team, Philly Office Retail, Electrical Wizardry, Drumcliff Foundation and Philadelphia Cultural Fund.
In addition to the upcoming event, MAAG is calling for submissions to their "Artists with Cameras: 2024 Photography Show," a juried exhibition running from Oct. 20 to Nov. 22 in MAAG's Gallery. The show is being held in partnership with MAAG's Photo Club. Photographers may submit up to two pieces of artwork for consideration.
For more information or to see the lineup of local artists and bands, call 267-323-2312 or visit mtairyartgarage.org. Constance Garcia-Barrio contributed to this article. Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com.
