SCHEDULE: 

STOP 1: Kick-Off Party at The Liao Collection, 310 N 11th Street. 6 – 7:30 p.m. Mayor Nutter will accept the Design Champion Award at 6:30 p.m. Tickets to the Kick-Off Party are $50 and available for purchase online at www.designphiladelphia.ticketleap.com/vip.

STOP 2: Gallery Openings at Vox Populi, Grizzly Grizzly Gallery and The Action Mill, 319 North 11th Street. 7 – 9 p.m. Free and open to the public.

STOP 3: The Trestle Inn presents the Curlie Show – an interactive demonstration showcasing the flirtatious design of burlesque hairstyles by Richard Nicholas Hair Studio with members of the Peek-A-Boo Revue. Doors open at 7 p.m., Performance at 8 p.m., 339 North 11th Street. Free and open to the public.

INFO: 

On Thursday, October 13, the annual DesignPhiladelphia celebration will open with an evening of parties, design and performance under the Reading Viaduct in the rising Callowhill Loft District. The opening celebration includes an official Kick-Off Party at The Liao Collection, gallery openings at Vox Populi, Grizzly Grizzly Gallery and The Action Mill, with a special performance at The Trestle Inn.

DesignPhiladelphia, in partnership with the University of the Arts, kicks off its seventh year with11 days of non-stop programming championing design in more than 150 public events at unique venues and spaces across Philadelphia, October 13 – 23, 2011.

DesignPhiladelphia will present the inaugural Design Champion Awardto Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter at the official Kick-Off Party at The Liao Collection, an Asian antique emporium(6 – 7:30 p.m., 310 N 11th St). Mayor Nutter is being recognized for his continued advocacy of innovative design solutions aimed at improving and greening Philadelphia’s urban environment and for his extraordinary support of the creative community. Throughout his term in office, Mayor Nutter has been an outspoken supporter of DesignPhiladelphia’s work to showcase Philadelphia’s many cultural assets, highlighting the city as a vibrant, creative place in which to live, work and play.

“DesignPhiladelphia is thrilled to honor the achievements of Mayor Nutter,” said Hilary Jay, founding director of DesignPhiladelphia. “His efforts to reinstate and reinvigorate the City Department of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, including the creation of a cabinet level position for the department’s director, and his support of green design through the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability has been invaluable to our city.”

The executive committee of DesignPhiladelphia selects the winner of the Design Champion Award, which was created to recognize the lasting impact that one individual, or a collaborating group, can have in the Philadelphia through support of the creative community. 

DesignPhiladelphia’s opening night celebration will continue following the official party with gallery openings and a late night performance along N 11th Street, all free and open to the public.

From 7 – 9 p.m., the street scene will come alive with atmospheric projections by Klip Collective, food trucks and openings at three of Philadelphia’s most cutting-edge galleries – Vox Populi, Grizzly Grizzly Gallery and The Action Mill (319 N 11th St).

Closing out the evening, The Trestle Inn (339 N 11th St), a new bar opening under the Reading Viaduct, invites DesignPhiladelphia attendees for a sneak-peak of the establishment with a performance of the Curlie Show – an interactive demonstration showcasing the flirtatious design of burlesque hairstyles by Richard Nicholas Hair Studio (doors open at 7 p.m., styling and performance at 8 p.m.). Audiences are invited to join the fun and get styled.

DesignPhiladelphia’s forward thinking programming offers a look across design disciplines, from architecture and urban planning to industrial design, fashion, historic preservation, product design and more. Events include a diverse mix of exhibitions, lectures and panel discussions with both locally based and national renowned design visionaries, runway shows, book signings, parties, workshops and open studios set in boutiques, galleries, museums, universities, warehouses, public spaces and city streets. 

For additional information about DesignPhiladelphia visit www.designphiladelphia.org.

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