Stay in the Loop
BSR publishes on a weekly schedule, with an email newsletter every Wednesday and Thursday morning. There’s no paywall, and subscribing is always free.
Celebrating MLK Day and more this week
The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, January 16-22, 2025
Kyle V. Hiller
Martin Luther King Day is here with a variety of offerings happening in and around the city this weekend. The African American Museum of Philadelphia, Girard College, Eastern State, and others are hosting many events each day. Discussions and panels, performances, readings, and the like are what you can find to help celebrate and honor his legacy.
We've also got theater performances happening at Plays & Players and the Arden, soundscaping at the Rotunda and at Icebox, new art exhibits, and more throughout the week.
Celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr
MLK Weekend at the MoAR
January 18-20
Museum of the American Revolution, 101 South Third Street
The MoAR celebrates MLK Day this year with a theatrical performance of Meet Elizabeth Freeman, a first-person performance recounting the true story of Elizabeth Freeman, a Massachusetts woman who sued for her freedom from enslavement and won. Also, a historical interpreter will visit onsite on Sunday to explore Hannah Archer Till and Ona Judge, two women of African descent connected to the Revolutionary era and George Washington. There’s plenty more, too, so be sure to check out the full roster online.
Voices of Liberation: Dr. King’s Legacy of Writing and Speaking in Confinement
January 18-20
Eastern State Penitentiary, 2027 Fairmount Avenue
Streaming online
Eastern State hosts MLK programs every year, and this weekend gives visitors a chance to explore his Letter from Birmingham Jail through discussions and activities. An artist talk and public tour, a discussion on Malcolm X, and a musical performance decorate the weekend events. All discussions and performances will also be livestreamed.
The 35th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Tribute Concert
January 20, 3pm
Girard College Chapel, 2101 South College Avenue
The annual concert from the Philadelphia Orchestra is free and open to the public at Girard College. The performance includes works by Black composers, and the performance is supplemented by the Choir of the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts and the Girard COllege High School Choir. If you can’t make it out, turn on your radio and tune in on WRTI 90.1 FM.
MLK Day of Service at DelArt
Monday, January 20, 10am-2pm
Delaware Art Museum, 2301 Kentmere Parkway, Wilmington, DE
Join the folks over at Delaware Art Museum for a morning of reflection, education, and action in honor of MLK Jr. Music and performances, poster creation, a school supply drive, a keynote address, a free tour of the museum’s Jazz Age Illustration exhibit, and more are in tow.
MLK Weekend at AAMP
January 17-20
The African American Museum in Philadelphia, 701 Arch Street
AAMP’s programming this year features reduced admission to the museum, a brunch celebrating the legacy of the Black Panthers’ free breakfast program, and more. It’s a great chance to check out their exhibitions Shared Vision: Portraits from the CCH Pounder-Koné Collection and Shaheed Rucker: (re)Covering the Iconic.
More events this week
Queer Pasts/Queer Futures: 19th Annual Juried Art Exhibition
January 16-February 20
William Way LGBT Community Center, 1315 Spruce Street
This year’s Juried Art from William Way features 38 LGBTQ artists from the Philly area. The opening reception is on Thursday, January 16 from 6-9pm, and it’s free and open to the public. Check out the list of artists on their Instagram.
Euphoria Makes A Sound
Thursday, January 16, 7pm
Icebox Project Space, 1400 North American Street
Lé Lalin, a queer non-binary first generation Haitian artist, visits Icebox for a sonic exploration of the reclamation of self using trance-like melodies with layers of guitar, piano, and lush harmonies.
Holy Grail of Memphis
January 16-February 23
Arden Theatre, 40 North 2nd Street
The Arden hosts the world premiere of Michael Hollinger’s play, which tells the story of Newton Stover II when he discovers the long-lost recordings of a legendary bluesman in the basement of his grandfather’s rundown music studio, he resolves to rebuild his life and legacy. But time and money are running out fast, and the ghosts of the past, and an unexpected stranger, keep showing up. The comedy runs through February, with a variety of special performances featuring open captioning, ASL, student matinee, teen night, audio description, and more.
In the Continuum
January 16-18, 7:30pm
Plays & Players, 1714 Delancey Place
In the Continuum puts a human face on the impact of AIDS in Africa and America through the lives of two women living worlds apart—one in South Central L.A. and the other in Zimbabwe—experiencing a kaleidoscopic weekend of life-changing revelations.
ICA Opening Celebration Winter 2025
Starting January 17, 7pm
Institute of Contemporary Art, 118 South 36th Street
The ICA at the University of Pennsylvania opens its new exhibition Carl Cheng: Nature Never Loses this weekend. Starting with an opening night on Friday, this retrospective exhibit features the experimental and genre-defying art of Carl Cheng and his six-decade career. Food from Dim Sum House, music from DJ Yolo Ono, and more will help shape the night—which is free to attend (be sure to register!) and will also have ASL interpretation for the program. The exhibition officially opens on Saturday, January 18, which will also feature an artist talk and is also free.
Authors in Conversation: Telling the Stories They Don't Want You to Tell
Friday, January 17, 6pm
The Athenæum of Philadelphia, 219 South 6th Street
Come out for a reading and conversation around Annie Liontas’ new memoir Sex with a Brain Injury: On Concussion and Recovery. Led by a panel of Philly authors Emma Copley Eisenberg, Hasanthika Sirisena, and Piyali Bhattacharya, Liontas and friends will discuss how they tell the stories “they don’t want you to tell.” The event is free and open to the public—you don’t have to be a member of the Athenæum to attend.
Laraaji
Friday, January 17, 8pm
The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street
Philly-born and New Jersey-raised Laraaji, a defining figure in new age and ambient music whose work is shaped by Eastern philosophies and transcendental research in Harlem, comes to the Rotunda for a performance this weekend. Laraaji uses hand-crafted sounds over synthesizers to make soundscapes “rich with moments of tension and dissonance, bringing depth to his trance-inducing explorations” for over four decades.
beg. barter. steal.
January 18-February 22
Chimaera Gallery, 3502 Scotts Lane #2113
Vox Populi’s artist members come together to play with the literal and symbolic meanings of begging, bartering, and stealing in capitalism from meditations on exchange of time, labor, and environment to mythological theft in fairy tales, trickster archetypes, and the magical origins of money. The opening reception is on Saturday, January 18 at 6-9pm—register for free online ahead of time.
Sign up for our newsletter
All of the week's new articles, all in one place. Sign up for the free weekly BSR newsletters, and don't miss a conversation.
