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Philly Grit, Dear Philadelphia, and John Jarboe: The Rose Garden
The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, May 9-15, 2024
Kyle V. Hiller
This week in the Philly area is an abundance of exhibits and laughter. Da Vinci Art Alliance opens a pair of Philly-centric exhibits that explore the fabrics and threads that make up the city’s communities. One examines the “-isms” built into and hiding in the walls, while the other seeks perspective along the trolley tracks. Dear Philadelphia takes a tender photographic look at North Philly, and John Jarboe gets her roses in a new immersive exhibit. Then, head over to Bristol for a celebration of comedy.
Laugh a little, Philly. It heals.
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? and Rolling Resistance
May 2-19, 2024
Da Vinci Art Alliance, 704 Catharine Street, Philadelphia
Two new exhibits are open at DVAA. Won’t You Be My Neighbor? is a solo exhibition of mixed media paintings by DVAA member Rosalind Bloom that highlights the history of racism as it relates to the building of communities in Philadelphia. Then, Rolling Resistance looks at Philadelphia’s trolley lines as a means to explore the hidden narratives within the infrastructure of the city’s urban landscape.
Philly Grit: A Pirate, a School Girl & a Good Person
May 8-19, 2024
Theatre Exile, 1340 South 13th Street, Philadelphia
Theatre Exile presents a limited-run three-show comedy series that spotlights three women writers. Jenna Kuerzi’s Johnny Depp: a retrospective on late stage capitalism has us joining Johnny Depp for a retrospective on all of his films in order to ask, “What happened?” Then, Catholic Guilt by Kelly McCaughan asks you to get ready to “unpack losing our virginity in the most holy way, abortion, a bowling experience that leads to eternal damnation,” and more through audience participation, cringey personal recounts, stand-up performance, and more. Brett Ashley Robinson’s Good Person is a satire that asks who is really good and who gets to decide in the world of social justice, social media, and callout culture.
Dear Philadelphia
May 9-June 29, 2024
TILT Institute for the Contemporary Image, 1400 North American Street, Philadelphia
TILT hosts a new exhibit from British Nigerian photographer and film director Renee Maria Osubu in Dear Philadelphia. The ongoing photography series is a love letter to a North Philly neighborhood and its residents, documenting and normalizing the tenderness of Black families while maintaining a specific focus on fatherhood.
There will be an opening reception on Thursday, May 9, from 6 to 9pm, and a screening of the short film adapted from the series on Saturday, May 11, at 3pm.
John Jarboe: The Rose Garden
May 11-September 29, 2024
Fabric Workshop and Museum, 1214 Arch Street, Philadelphia
The Rose Garden is a new exhibit that explores one of Philly’s most recognized names in the art scene and her gender journey. Developed from a two-year residency and pulling from a prior multimedia stage performance, Rose: You Are Who You Eat, Jarboe’s first solo museum exhibition transforms the gallery into an immersive performance space with video, music, and objects exploring the complexities of trans identity and belonging.
Opening weekend kicks off this Saturday and Sunday, including a “birthday salon” and a Queer Mother’s Day event.
The Second City: Comedian Rhapsody
May 14-June 2, 2024
Bristol Riverside Theatre, 120 Radcliffe Street, Bristol
The Second City is a brand new revue featuring sketch comedy, songs, improv, and more from a new generation of comedians. Second City boasts alums like Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, Keegan-Michael Key, and many others.
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