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Object Memory, up-and-comers in Philly music, and more
The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, February 20-26, 2025
Kyle V. Hiller
A variety of solo theater performances, classical music from young composers, and multidisciplinary art exhibits are coming up this week in Philly. Filmmaker Thomas Allen Harris hosts a provocative, decades-in-the-making pop-up exhibition at Scribe, and an exhibit in Lansdowne showcases the tangible pieces that make up our memories. Plays & Players puts on a min-winter festival of shows from Philly artists, the Film Society screens hits from 2024, and music from Liberty City Arts and Philadelphia Music Alliance for Youth bring new music to the stage.
A Queer Black Body: Thomas Allen Harris
February 17-24
Scribe Video Center, 3908 Lancaster Avenue
Multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker Thomas Allen Harris Jr., who also goes by Tahj, will have his body of work on display at Scribe in West Philly. Harris has used video, photography, installations, film, and performance to examine the nuances of Black and queer identity and subjectivity, and this week-long celebration will feature a series of videotapes derived from his archives from the 90s, his first feature documentary film, and his documentary series. The films will screen on Thursday, February 20 and the documentary series on February 21, with other screenings and displays in the pop-up exhibition throughout the week.
Game Night: Environmental board games at the Academy
Thursday, February 20, 6:30-9:30pm
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
The Academy is hosting its first ever game night, featuring nature-based games rolling into Dinosaur Hall. Beginners and seasoned players are welcome, and folks are encouraged to bring company. The event is billed as 18 and up.
Philly Flights: A Mid-Winter Mini Solo Fest
February 20-23
Plays & Players Theatre, 1714 Delancey Place
Ballerinas, cowboys, witches, clowns, oh my! This weekend, independent artists Chris Davis, Rachel O’Hanlon-Rodriguez, and Izzy Sazak come together to share their solo performances for a mini-festival at Plays & Players. The shows include Davis’ 40 Year Old Ballerino, a 50-minute comedy that shows you change is always possible no matter what your age; O’Hanlon Rodriguez’s She Was A Conquistawhore, a bawdy and poetic show examining cultural wounds as personal afflictions in a world where vaginas can grow up to be cowboys; and Sazak’s Tiny Witch, an original clown performance that is part anti-imperialist fantasy, part stand-up, and all queer witchy sass.
We covered Conquistawhore and Ballerino last summer, be sure to give a read if you’re feeling curious!
Philly Voices: Amplifying Philadelphia's Living Composers
Friday, February 21, 7pm
Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, 8000 St. Martin’s Lane, Philadelphia
Liberty City Arts hosts an evening of new vocal works by five Philly-based composers accompanied by an ensemble of Philly vocalists in Chestnut Hill. The performances promise to showcase the diversity of the city’s contemporary classical music scene. RSVP ahead of time, with tickets at a suggested $15 at the fully accessible venue.
Best Picture Weekend
February 21-23
Film Society Center, 1412 Chestnut Street
The Philadelphia FIlm Society celebrates the year in film with Best Picture Weekend. Now’s your chance to catch some of the best films of 2024 that you may have missed or want to see again on the silver screen. There’s only a weekend pass, but it gives you access to every film that’s screening.
PMAY Artists’ Initiative Showcase Concert
Saturday, February 22, 6pm
Settlement Music School, Mary Louise Curtis Branch, 416 Queen Street
The Philadelphia Music Alliance for Youth, a program supporting 5th-12th graders from communities that are historically excluded in classical music and may have hardships and barriers keeping them from practicing and performing music, hosts its showcase concert this weekend. The annual event is free and open to the public.
The Soul of the City
February 22, 3pm
Ethel L. Sayre Hall, 4 South Poplar Street, Wilmington, DE
February 23, 3pm
The First Presbyterian Church, 201 South 21st Street, Philadelphia
Lyric Fest’s season kicks off with a weekend run of The Soul of the City, a poetic program that looks to explore the energy and underbelly of life in the city.
Object Memory
February 22-April 23, 2025
20*20 House Gallery, 20 Lansdowne Court, Lansdowne, PA
The Lansdowne Economic Development Corporation’s LEDC’s Art Committee presents Object Memory, a visual art exhibition featuring the work of Philadelphia-based artists Jen Blazina and Ashley Catharine Smith. The show explores the fragility and myth-making of memory and how the objects we inherit shape our understanding of history, identity, and relationships. Cast glass, photography, found objects, and fibers make up the collaborative exhibit, and a free “visible mending” workshop is set for later on March 8. Smith’s work explores intimacy, gender roles, and interpersonal relationships through visual narratives. Blazina is a multidisciplinary artist and a professor of printmaking at Drexel, but also uses glass and ceramics in her work.
The Magic of Purim
Sunday, February 23, 10:30am-11:45am
Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, 101 South Independence Mall E
Swing by the Weitzman on Sunday morning for the Magic of Purim. A magic show, snacks, library stories, Purim crafts, and more are lined up for the family friendly event (though this is recommended as an event for the littlest ones).
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