Carnival de Resistance, Indonesian dance, and more to do this weekend

Start your weekend early with some stirring performance and food for thought on Thursday night at the African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP), in conjunction with the Philly Pigeon and AAMP’s current exhibition, Collective Conscious. The open mic and poetry showcase, Disruption, asks how poetry can “disrupt normative notions of identity,” especially since Philly’s black poets have always been at the forefront of activist movements.

Doors are at 7pm and an open mic on the themes of activism, intersectionality, and community starts at 7:30, followed by a performance showcase from three featured poets. Kai Davis (Philly Pigeon co-founder and poetry editor for Apiary magazine) has brought her voice to outlets like CNN, BET, and NPR. Enoch the Poet addresses black mental health, the black social condition, and how they intersect. Afaq Mahmoud (whom you’ll see more of later this year at Philadelphia Photo Arts Center’s Women’s Mobile Museum) is a young Philly-based artist, activist, and educator with Yemeni and Sudanese roots, “a global citizen of her own country.” Tickets are $7 in advance and $10 at the door.

Carnival de Resistance

On Friday night, check out Carnival de Resistance, landing at Center City’s Arch Street United Methodist Church for the first of two weekends of games, performances, and community jams. Now in its seventh year of residencies in cities around the country, it’s “a traveling carnival, village, and school for social change, bridging the worlds of art, activism, and faith.”

Things begin at 5pm with a two-hour interactive Carnival Midway, featuring tons of local partners for games, sideshows, roving performers, and interactive art installations. At 7pm on Friday, Bethlehem the Vocussionist takes the stage, with her signature resonant, full-bodied style — like no other in town. Rooted Wind (an interdisciplinary music, dance, storytelling, and circus-arts performance) starts at 8pm. The midway returns on Saturday night, followed by two new performances. Each night ends with a live drum and dance party, and it’s all free (donations welcome).

Dance at FDR

Saturday night has a cool opportunity in South Philly for those who like to get outside and move. Modero Dance, Philly’s own community-based Indonesian-fusion dance company, invites locals to FDR Park to meet our Indonesian community and learn the social circle dance that gives the company its name. (It’s part of the city’s Performances in Public Spaces summer season.)

Modero members will also perform nine dances from Bali, Java, and Sulawesi: their biggest public showcase yet. Bring blankets, chairs, and snacks (Modero will have some water and snacks on hand, too). It’s starting at 6pm at FDR Park’s area #8 (in the car, it’s on your left after you enter the park and pass the museum, boat house, and playground). It’s free and open to the public.

Celebration of Black Arts

One of America’s oldest African-American literary and arts events has been running throughout July at Art Sanctuary (on 16th Street just south of South), and this weekend marks the close of the 34th Celebration of Black Arts Festival (CBA). CBA events engage people of all backgrounds, and this weekend is your last chance to catch the centerpiece of the fest: Do You Hear What I See, an exhibition of rarely seen photographs of black music icons by C. Ron St. Clair, including legends like Harry Belafonte, Duke Ellington, and Patti LaBelle.

On Friday from 3 to 9pm, AAMP hosts a special film screening and panel discussion event featuring works by students and alumni of historically black colleges and universities. And on Saturday, a block party will take over outside Art Sanctuary starting at 3pm, closing out CBA 2018 and marking Art Sanctuary’s 20th anniversary. There’ll be mural dedications, eclectic live performances, and food. Both events are free, with donations accepted.

Watch ‘13th’ with your neighbors

On Sunday afternoon, South Camden Theatre Company hosts a special screening of Ava DuVernay’s excellent, harrowing feature documentary, 13th. The film reveals how the injustices of slavery and Jim Crow persist in contemporary America’s racially skewed prison industrial complex. A panel discussion follows, including leaders from the Underground Railroad Museum and the National Constitution Center. Doors are at 12:30pm and the film starts at 1pm. The event is free and seats are first come, first served.