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Pass Over, (Re)FOCUS, Cannonball CRASH, and the Lunar New Year
The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, February 8-14, 2024
Kyle V. Hiller
Coming up this week, the citywide celebration of a feminist arts movement from 50 years ago continues with the opening of an exhibit honoring decades of work by artist Arlene Love. Pass Over from Antoinette Nwandu comes to Resident Ensemble Players, and Cannonball’s CRASH series continues this weekend. Speak to the music with Butterfly Conversations from Opera Philadelphia, and open your senses to an evening of spoken word in Old City.
Be good, Philly!
Focusing on Arlene Love
Through Sunday, March 10, 2024
Opening reception: Friday, February 9, 4:30-8pm
Interactive Museum of Contemporary Art, 1230 South Broad Street, Philadelphia
Did you get a chance to read our preview of (Re)FOCUS 2024? Check it out, and also swing by the Interactive Museum of Contemporary Art for the opening reception of Arlene Love: Selections from Seven Decades. Arlene Love is an award-winning resin sculpture artist, painter, and photographer, and this exhibition will feature her feminist works in leather, figurative drawing, and more.
Pass Over
February 8-18, 2024
Resident Ensemble Players, 110 Orchard Road, Newark
The REP opens its run of Antoinette Nwandu’s Pass Over, a play billed as a mashup of Waiting for Godot and the biblical story of Exodus. The story focuses on two young Black men who stand on the street corner, as they do every day, dreaming of the promised land.
Cannonball CRASH
Friday, February 9, 6-10:30pm
FringeArts, 140 North Columbus Boulevard, Philadelphia
February’s edition of Cannonball CRASH is this weekend, and it includes a pre-Valentine’s Day buffet with an immersive encounter for up to two people at a time; an evening of two artistic explorations of the intersections between sexuality, sensuality, and Palestinian identity through the body, movement, dance, and food; and an after-hours cabaret featuring multidisciplinary responses to South Africa’s recent proceedings in the International Court of Justice in the form of dance, verse, clown, and more.
Butterfly Conversations
Saturday, February 10, 2pm
Philadelphia Ethical Society, 1906 South Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia
From February through May 2024, Opera Philadelphia will host a series that aims to foster open and inclusive conversations that contextualize Madame Butterfly—a new production coming this spring—and contribute to a broader dialogue on the role of opera in contemporary society. The first one is this weekend, featuring a discussion that focuses on contemporary Asian American perspectives in opera.
Lunar New Year at the Rail Park
Saturday, February 10, 1-3pm
Rail Park, 1300 Noble Street, Philadelphia
A free Lunar New Year celebration comes to the Rail Park with family-friendly activities, light refreshments, and a lion dance performance by the Philadelphia Suns.
Spoken Words at FRIEDA
Saturday, February 10, 4-5:30pm
320 Walnut Street, Philadelphia
Swing by FRIEDAcommunity this weekend for an evening of spoken word. Take in the words of art educator Anthony Latess, an artist and poet himself using photography and poetry inspired by personal experiences. Then, Philly-based queer and disabled writer Victoria Mier expresses her obsession with folklore and fantasy. Erin Moran, another Philly-based writer and author, loves stories about witches, postcards, and her cat Gelatoni. And Singaporean American author and poet Topaz Winters caps it off. Be sure to RSVP online.
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