PHILADELPHIA, PA.- The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania and Bartram's Garden are excited to announce the arrival of William Pope.L's Black Factory in Philadelphia. Created by artist William Pope.L, the Black Factory (aka the BF) is an interactive art performance on wheels. Sailing off on its final voyage, the BF is traveling the continent, playfully opening up discussion on difference and democracy wherever it parks.

In late July, the Black Factory will stop at three locations over three days in Philadelphia. Over the four hour performance at each location, BF will stop people on the street, feed them, cajole them and provoke them all in the name of forging a new dialogue about race and community in America. This mobile social service experiment requires the participation of an audience to do its work. Everyone is encouraged to bring objects that personally represent blackness to get the conversation started!

Experience the Black Factory at...(1)The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Thursday, July 27, 1-5 p.m. 13th and Cherry Streets; (2) The Institute of Contemporary Art. Friday, July 28, 1-5 p.m. 118 S. 36th Street; (3) Bartram's Garden. Saturday, July 29, 1-5 p.m. 54th Street & Lindbergh Blvd.

William Pope L.'s Black Factory is hosted in Philadelphia by The Fabric Workshop and Museum and the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania.

The BF's national tour runs from June 17 through August 3, 2006, and includes stops in Portland, ME (Institute of Contemporary Art at MECA); Rochester, NY (Rochester Contemporary, SUNY-Brockport, Visual Studies Workshop); Ann Arbor, MI (XX Collective at the University of Michigan); Chicago, IL (Gallery 400, Hyde Park Art Center); St Louis, MO (Contemporary Art Museum St Louis); Cincinnati, OH (Contemporary Art Center); Newark, NJ (Aljira, City Without Walls, Newark Museum); Jersey City, NJ (Jersey City Museum); Philadelphia, PA (The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Institute of Contemporary Art, Bartram's Garden); and New York City (Vera List Center for Art and Politics, Sculpture Center).

The Institute of Contemporary Art and Bartrams Garden events are generously sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania Diversity Fund.

The programs of The Fabric Workshop and Museum are supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts; The Judith Rothschild Foundation; Pennsylvania Council on the Arts; National Endowment for the Arts; Miller-Plummer Foundation; LLWW Foundation; Institute of Museum and Library Services; The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; Nimoy Foundation; The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission; Agnes Gund and Daniel Shapiro; Independence Foundation; The Philadelphia Cultural Fund; PNC Bank Foundation; Claneil Foundation; Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation; Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation; Pennsylvania Humanities Council, the state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities; The Barra Foundation; Louis N. Cassett Foundation; Quaker Chemical Foundation; and the Board of Directors and members of The Fabric Workshop and Museum.