The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, January 9-15, 2025

Chevalier film screening
Thursday, January 9, 7pm
Philadelphia Film Center, 1412 Walnut Street

Opera Philadelphia is screening Chevalier, the 2022 feature film that tells the story of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, the first Black classical composer known to history. Following the life of the composer in 18th-century Paris, the film explores Bologne’s struggle to gain acceptance in the elite circles of French society. “A violin duel with Mozart, an ill-fated love affair, and a falling out with Marie Antoinette and her court,” as the description reads, sounds like quite the narrative.

Lady Laughs Philly
January 10, 5:30-9:30pm
The Painted Mug Cafe, 1527 Jackson Street

We gave Lady Laughs a shout out last month, and they’re back with more shows in January. Philly’s only monthly comedy show that features all women and queer comics hosts an open mic every second Friday and shows every third Friday. This week, open mic starts at 6pm—sign up in advance or at the door, and all are welcome (though prioritizing women and queer comics)—and a performance by comedian Natasha Vaynblat rounds out the night at 8:30pm.

Pop Up Studio with Doriana Diaz
Friday, January 10, 5-8pm
Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway

Philadelphia based visual image maker Doriana Diaz leads a pop-up collage-making workshop using themes and elements from The TIme is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure exhibition at the PMA. Materials will be provided, no experience is necessary, and all ages are welcome.

Love Notes 4 Philly
Saturday, January 11, 7:30pm
Society Hill Dance Academy, 1919 East Passyunk Avenue

East Passyunk Opera Project presents its fourth and final concert in its Love Notes 4 Philly series this weekend. Celebrating the power of community and shining a spotlight on the work of mutual aid organizations, the performance brings together opera, live performance, visual art, and much more, honoring more than just the music.

The Opera will also present Bologne’s only surviving opera, The Anonymous Lover, later this month.

Apple Picking with Eve
Sunday, January 12, 2:30-4:30pm
Philadelphia Ethical Society, 1906 Rittenhouse Square

The Philadelphia Ethical Society will host a public screening of Apple Picking with Eve, the latest poem video in the WeWomen series. WeWomen is an ongoing series by author and poet Patricia Moss-Vreeland about the relationship between memory, emotion, gender, and identity in drawings, paintings, mixed media, and poetry. Apple Picking with Eve started as a poem ten years ago before becoming a multimedia film. It explores how personal and collective identities are shaped, recorded, and reimagined. The event is free and open to the public, with an RSVP required before attendance.