The Philadelphia Dumpster Divers’ 25th anniversary exhibit opens this Friday,  and we’ll have Divers on the inside,  Divers on the outside  (check out our new window display,  below)  and Divers on our website  (don’t miss our two-part anniversary album of Diver art).

But first,  we’d like to invite you to visit….

“DUMPSTER  DIVERSions”

The Divers,  of course,  are that merry band of found-object artists and their painter-photographer-performance art friends who have worked and played together since April Fool’s Day,  1992.

Among our 46 featured Diver artists are (clockwise from top left):  Leo Sewell,  Ellen Sall,  John Jonik,  Hugo Hsu,  Smokie Kittner and Harry Anderson

And starting Friday,  October 6 (our opening reception) – and every Friday and Saturday in October from 6-9 pm – we’ll host  “DUMPSTER DIVERSions”,  a free pop-up exhibit of the Divers’ found-object art assemblages,  collages,  paintings,  photography and more.  Just visit our South Philadelphia studio at 1548 E. Passyunk Avenue,  on the corner of E. Passyunk Avenue and Tasker Street.

Included in our exhibit (clockwise from top left):  Works by Leo Sewell,  Len Davidson,  Simone Spicer and James Dupree

We’ll also welcome visitors from 1-5 pm on Saturday, October 28 during East Passyunk Avenue’s annual Halloween & harvest fest.

(And, yes – be sure to check our parking tips below…!)

LOOK!  UP IN THE SKY!   IT’S….SOMETHING

During our five years on East Passyunk,  we’ve used our corner windows to display photos of everyone from our neighbors at holiday time,  to South Philly celebrities from the 1960s,  so this weekend we unveiled –  you guessed it – 26 portraits of longtime Divers.

Here’s the view from Linn Street….

And here’s the view from Tasker Street and E. Passyunk Avenue….

“That couple on the corner have WAY too much time on their hands….”

The portraits will be up every day through October 28,  and will be lit from 4 pm ’til 1:30 a.m.

DON’T  MISS  OUR  VIRTUAL  EXHIBIT

Can’t visit in person?   No problem!  Check out our online 25th anniversary photo directory for more work by 46 Divers….

Waiting for you in our online Diver directory:  Greetings from  (clockwise from top left)  Ann Keech,   Kate Mellina,  Alden Cole,  and Betsy Alexander

Simply click either here (Part 1) or here (Part 2) to visit our “Unexpected Philadelphia” website.

Then,  when you arrive,  click on any thumbnail image to page through larger versions of all the photos in order.   For each Diver,  you’ll see a mini-bio and portrait,  followed by multiple examples of their work.

PASSYUNK  @#$%  PARKING  TIPS

If you’ve been to East Passyunk Avenue’s wildly popular restaurant row,  you know that parking is a headache at night.   What to do?

“Oh, the Places She’ll Go” by Ann Keech

Arrive by taxi,  Uber or Lyft.   Or take advantage of the handy valet service right across Passyunk Avenue from us  (at Tasker Street,  by the singing fountain plaza).  The cost is $16  (another incentive to carpool),  and they’re open until 9:30 or 10 pm.

You can also choose our preferred luxury option and arrive by the Broad Street subway (we are three blocks east of the Tasker-Morris exit – just stroll up Tasker to Passyunk) or take the 45 bus from Center City.  The 45 travels south on 12th Street to Tasker (Passyunk Avenue is one block east) and north on 11th Street from South Philadelphia (the Tasker Street northbound stop is visible from our house).

SEE  YOU  HERE  IN  OCTOBER…

…and bring a friend!

Former Philadelphian cdavid cottrill from the Divers’ West Coast annex.  And,  yes,  cdavid is flying in for opening night.   (No word about the bird….)

Kate & Dave