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Dance Up Close, COTTON, Our Red Planet, and more
The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, February 23-March 1, 2023
Kyle V. Hiller
Coming up this week, we’ve got interdisciplinary works galore. It starts with a conversation around spoken word, poetry, and fashion with Taylor Townes, the return of Philadelphia Dance Projects’s Dance Up Close series, and a song cycle that weaves in poetry and photography from John Dowell and Lyric Fest. There’s also a live scoring of the silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc and a new exhibit over at the Delaware Art Museum highlighting a unique experience from a Ukrainian artist.
The Spoken Word with Taylor Townes
Thursday, February 23, 4pm
Streaming online
Blue Stoop invites Philadelphia-based poet, mixed media artist, and designer Taylor Townes for an afternoon of poetry, fashion, and custom clothing for this week’s Thursdays on the Stoop. The event is free and open to the public and will stream live on Zoom.
Dance Up Close: Lauren Putty White
Friday, February 24, and Saturday, February 25, 7pm
Christ Church Neighborhood House, 20 North American Street, Philadelphia
Philadelphia Dance Projects opens its Dance Up Close series this year with Glimpse, a premiere work from choreographer Lauren Putty White. Pairing original live music and dance, White’s performance is a reminder that “while memories can be captured in stillness, movement is eternal,” promising a journey of endearment and hope.
Live scoring of The Passion of Joan of Arc
Saturday, February 25, 7pm
Vox Populi, 319 North 11th Street, Philadelphia
Carl Theodor Dreyer’s epic 1928 silent film will be scored live utilizing analog and digital sound equipment and software, including modular synth, eurorack, internet radio, and artist-created instruments by John Moletress—also known as kratwitch, a multi-disciplinary artist and educator.
COTTON
Saturday, February 25, 7:30pm
Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral, 19 South 38th Street, Philadelphia
Tuesday, February 28, 7:30pm
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, 2700 F Street NW, Washington, DC
Lyric Fest brings a new song cycle that merges music, poetry, and photography through the lens of Philly artist John Dowell. After being called by his grandmother in a dream to travel to the cotton fields in South Carolina where his ancestors had likely been enslaved, Dowell produced a body of work that spans over 10 years of exploring the world of cotton. The Philadelphia premiere is this weekend, with a performance down in DC on Tuesday.
It Begins with Each of Us
Saturday, February 25, 1pm
Museum of the American Revolution, 101 South Third Street, Philadelphia
Streaming online
The MoAR hosts It Begins with Each of Us: Fostering Racial Understanding this weekend, a conversation that will focus on ensuring that full stories of American history are told thoroughly today, emphasizing the importance of the contributions of people of African descent. The panel includes editor-at-large for The 19th Errin Haines, author and Harvard professor Dr. Jesse McCarthy, and the MoAR’s director of education Adrienne G. Whaley. The event is hybrid—you can attend live or watch the stream online at home. Be sure to register either way. Admission to the museum’s galleries, including Black Founders (which we reviewed), is included with registration.
Our Red Planet: Anna Bogatin Ott
Through July 16, 2023
Delaware Art Museum, 2301 Kentmere Parkway, Wilmington
Ukrainian-born artist Anna Bogatin Ott is on display in this new exhibit at DelArt. The exhibition is informed by NASA images from Mars and Bogatin Ott’s meditations on the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, exploring the relationship between “nature, space, and humanity.” Bogatin Ott will be in attendance for a public gallery talk on Sunday, February 26.
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