Jonathan and Leigh Slingluff are the proud owners of the Slingluff Gallery, located at 11 West Girard Avenue. For the past two years, the gallery won Philly Hot List’s “Best Art Gallery” award. They moved the gallery to Fishtown three years ago. Originally, they were located between 27th and 28th on Girard. “It’s much livelier here as far as the amount of people walking by our doors and with any business that’s what you need,” Jonathan said.

Not only does their gallery showcase some of the most unique art work in the city, but this month they will hold a show for more charitable purposes with a local angle. For the month of January, the Slingluff Gallery will start the year with a group show to benefit Penn Treaty Park. “For Penn Treaty” opened on Saturday, January 7 and will hang all month. A percentage of every sale will benefit The Friends of Penn Treaty Park to help maintain its clean and fun environment for all to enjoy. The Friends of Penn Treaty Park is a community organization dedicated to preserving and enhancing the beauty and usefulness of historic Penn Treaty Park.

The Friends group initially started by overseeing refurbishments of park monuments, as well as the addition of new benches and playground equipment. The Friends have replaced the Treaty tree and decorative fencing around it. Currently, they are working on funding future improvements, such as lighting and enhancements to the children’s area.

As the Fairmount Park Commission receives fewer funds than it has in previous years, Penn Treaty Park’s support will also suffer. In order to continue to improve Penn Treaty Park in keep the grounds in good shape, the Friends group needs continued support through membership contributions and fundraisers like this art show.

When asked why the park is such a valuable landmark, Jonathan Slingluff responded, “Penn Treaty Park is a quick walk from most locations in Fishtown, and it offers the community a little escape from rowhouses. You can enjoy a breeze off of the Delaware, partake in all of the activities that they have year round, and it’s in our backyard. There aren’t too many areas in Philadelphia that have that available to them.”

Jonathan and Leigh thought hosting a benefit show for the park was a “no brainer”.  “We’ve taken advantage of the music nights, fireworks and other fun activities,” Jonathan stated, “so we wanted to give back. It’s really the least we can do.”

The show is quite eclectic, containing work from more than 30 local and national artists displaying a wide variety of work. “With so many personalities involved, we have a wide range of types of art from skateboards to paintings to photography,“ Slingluff explained, “Opening night, that was apparent too with the wide variety of people that came through the door.”

Jonathan went on to say, “It was nice to be able to offer our walls to many local artists. Some have never had a gallery show before, and others like Jim Houser and NoseGo are making a living off of their art. With 31 different artists, it’s pretty amazing how cohesive the show looks on the walls. We did groupings – photos with photos – paintings with paintings etc, so it actually makes sense when you’re looking at them together.”

The opening reception was well attended. The event was sponsored by Art in the Age (distillers of Root, Snap, and Rhuby liquors) and East Girard Gastropub (located at 200 East Girard Avenue). “It was nice to have this benefit for Penn Treaty Park because we met neighbors that we might not have otherwise.”

You can view and purchase work from the “For Penn Treaty” show all month long at Slingluff Gallery. They are open from Thursday through Saturday from 12 Noon until 8 PM, and Sunday from Noon until 4 PM. For more information, visit http://www.slingluffgallery.com or call the gallery at: (215) 307-1550. You can learn more about the Friends of Penn Treaty Park by visiting their website: www.penntreatypark.org.