Have you ever gone into someone’s house and seen reprints of Picasso, Basquiat, Mondrian, and Rothko, and wonder where the hell the 21st century is? Better yet, have you ever heard someone ramble on and on about their favorite artists from the 20th century, but have absolutely no idea about any contemporary artists? Let’s take it a step further – how many artists do you know in your own community, and are you willing to have their work on your wall to show?

You might not know the answer to that. After all, we all have different tastes – some like abstract art, some prefer the rigid formality of realism, still others – myself included – love graphic novels and other quirky cartoon-like art with catchy resonate phrases. My own endeavors into the world of fanzines and book-writing have put me in contact with countless artists across our great city. These are people worth patronizing, worth displaying, and worth airing. When people go into the turtle shell (where PLR Podcast records), they see Marius and Vic from Providence, Still.Hear from Mansfield, and Chris Hickman from Attleboro. It’s not that I don’t like the classics, it’s just that if we endeavour to build a strong community built on mutuality, comradeship, and intersectional support, then a minimum one can do is patronize the arts in your own area, particularly art coming from working class artists who literally undervalue their work and yet put their all into it. At the Art Revolt at Revival Brewery on July 24th, we’re putting on an all-day event (3-12pm) to showcase the art of our community. Come and add to your collection.

Visual art is not the only thing offered at the event. For FREE, you’ll also have the opportunity to show support for music from our area. In an effort to celebrate all the music that our community has to offer, we’ve created a masterful bill of bands and performers from a number of generations, races, and genres. Whether you like sludgy metal or post-punk, d-beat, or hip-hop, there’s a set for you. The art gallery will be set up literally on the dance floor for you to peruse as you listen, drink, and mingle. Do dance if you want to.

If music and a pop-up gallery don’t convince you, then maybe over 15 vendors and food trucks will. Vendors include everything from original clothing, to bone jewelry, and mutual aid organizations. There will be a sliding-scale book sale to raise money for a community library, and pastries provided by everyone’s favorite vegan bakery, Blush.

In other words, there are a LOT of artists, vendors, and musicians vying for your attention. These people don’t have the money and fame of Shepard Fairey, but I guarantee you they have more drive, more spirit, and pay more attention to detail. After July 24th at Revival Brewery, I hope that the next time you have friends over, instead of looking at just another reprint of Van Gogh, Monet, or Pollock, they’ll be looking at Derek Raymond, Wormo, Gost God, Doodleinyourhead, DopesickSF, or Anobelisk.

We can’t mandate that you wear a mask, but please be respectful of high-risk attendees. 

Come out and patron local working class art and say hi to the PLR Podcast table. 

See you at the revolt!