The Pen & Pencil Club, founded in 1892, is one of the oldest surviving press clubs in the US. I've enjoyed events at its creaky, unassuming Latimer Street bar over the years alongside my journalism colleagues. Last week, I was honored to learn that I'm nominated for Editor of the Year in P&P's Philly News Awards, and core BSR critic Cameron Kelsall is nominated for Arts Journalism of the Year.
It's good to see our work recognized alongside outlets like Philly Mag, the Inquirer, Kensington Voice, Technical.ly, ArtBlog, and WHYY. The outlook for arts journalists and cultural critics nationwide has been particularly tough over the last several months, but as our dedicated readers know, we at BSR believe in what we do, and how important it is to Philly.
As always, we're grateful to our donors, who power our work every day (even with gifts as "small" as $5/month, which is NOT small to us). Thanks for believing in our work. We hope these Philly News Awards nominations feel validating to you, too.
On to this week's stories! We have reviews of the latest at the Barnes (featuring a famous art director at Harper's Bazaar with Philly connections), the North American tour of Bob Dylan and Conor McPherson's Girl from the North Country, which critic Josh Herren calls a new kind of jukebox musical, a look at the Philadelphia Flower Show, which runs through Sunday, and more.
Alaina Johns
BSR editor-in-chief
