For neighbors who missed it, I’m still bubbling over from this wonderful event last Friday.

I had no idea why I was there, save that it was at Studio 34 on Baltimore Ave. and it cost only $5. Since the Great Recession smacked me upside the head in January, I don’t throw money around like I used to. But if you’re just two blocks and five bucks away, I’ll watch your paint dry as long as you provide a buffet.

It turned out to be a low-budget artsy fundraiser for stray cats, run by 20-something animal-lovers who believe in fun and beauty. “I may be a cat lady,” said one daintily-tattooed organizer, “but I’m a party animal as well.”

The evening was a silent auction of about 300 works of art, all clearly indigenous to the modern inner-city dweller. A quarter of them were about cats. So for cheap cat-art fans, this was a party.

The most-expensive item among the 300 artworks displayed was Kyle Cassidy’s large “Who Killed Amanda Palmer?” dream-portrait, which went for $83. This truly was a people’s auction. The West Philly arts world may not lead the world arts world, but it’s a lot of fun. It’s quite pretty and sophisticated, but it is created by imaginative people who don’t act like they’re rich … yet. Working together, they are intensely entertaining.

At any given time, 150 people were clustered into Studio 34 — a space which all agree, after a year in action, is the coolest-per-square-foot ever purchased in University City. A half-dozen small bands entertained the crowd that wandered about Studio 34′s diverse small gathering spaces.

When Stephen Fisher and his partners first founded Studio 34, neighbors responded with cautious goodwill. Now we are seeing a young institution that has already helped to remake its neighborhood, much like the Green Line did five years earlier.

You couldn’t have spent a better Friday night in UC!

– Tony West

By the way, here's our class schedule for June 2009

Art auction and benefit for City Kitties cat rescue

Friday, May 29, 7 to 10 p.m.

Come to the second annual evening of artistic fun to benefit local cat rescue group City Kitties!The silent auction will feature a variety of paintings, drawings, prints, photography, sculpture, and metalwork donated by established and emerging artists in our community, including Sibylla Benatova, RA Friedman, Haley Luna, and more. Local musicians Nicki Jaine and New Pony will perform at 8 p.m. The art being auctioned will be on display May 9-29. Your art could save the life of a stray cat and help provide it with a happy loving home. Contact Eli Green, eli@citykitties.org, with any questions! $5 suggested donation.

By the way, here's our class schedule for May 2009