By: Lorelei Wilkens and Hudson Howey
“The message is driven by the artist.” – Renny Molenaar
Most artists in Philadelphia travel to City Center to display their art at major venues, leaving many neighborhoods without a platform to recognize their local artists. In response to this issue, Molenaar and Cabello founded the Imperfect Art Gallery to unite their local community of artists, and to celebrate their efforts. In her interview with the WHYY Summer Camp Journalism Students, Cabello stated, “If you don’t have a place to put that speaker, nobody gets to hear it.”
The Imperfect Art Gallery allows other talents and events to borrow their space temporarily. This includes plants sales, potlucks, and rumbas. They also host many events for fledgeling artists and help promote them to the Germantown community. When Cabello and Molenaar moved to Germantown, their neighborhood inspired them to make a change in their community. Their most recent art exhibit is on the perspective of immigrant artists, called Abolish Ice.
Rocio Cabello and Renny Molenaar have been interested in art since their childhoods. After emigrating from Peru to New York City when she was fifteen, Cabello worked in a commercial art studio with her uncle and older sister. Molenaar had a complicated journey of finding his profession, and eventually settling on art. Cabello and Molenaar met at his previous art gallery, Black and White in Color, and formed a relationship after both having left their previous partners. They then started a family in New York City.
Due to their jobs as artists, Molenaar and Cabello had to travel to Philadelphia for different art venues. When they had their first child, they realized their home in New York was too small for three people. Searching for somewhere that they could afford property on a single salary and raise a child, they set their sights on Philadelphia. They eventually settled on Germantown for its schooling, community, and greenery. According to Cabello, “The magnetism of the people,” drew them to the area. Molenaar and Cabello went on to establish the Imperfect Art Gallery.
The Imperfect Art Gallery is a rebellion against both artistic and societal norms, while simultaneously celebrating artists of different backgrounds. The gallery is a staple of culture in the Germantown community, and will continue to inspire artists for years to come.
Sources:
The Imperfect Art Gallery By Lorelei Wilkens and Hudson Howey
Artblog. “Imperfect Gallery Founders Discuss Road to Germantown.” WHYY, WHYY, 4 Feb. 2014, whyy.org/articles/imperfect-gallery-founders-discuss-road-to-germantown/.
@imperfectgallery
Interviews with the founders