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Shared Vision, Wild Indigo poetry, and five decades of contemporary photography
The BSR Weekly Arts and Culture Roundup, September 12-18, 2024
Kyle V. Hiller
After the city was taken over by the presidential debate, it’s fitting seeing what’s coming up in Philly this week. Resident Ensemble Players debuts a popular Broadway play that has the feel of perfect timing as we get closer to Election Day, a new exhibit from the African American Museum takes an intimate look at the African diaspora from a variety of perspectives, and a contemporary photography exhibit captures communities with a careful lens at Woodmere. Then, get the word from new monthly poetry series Wild Indigo, check out a block party debuting a new installation in Kensington, and play some Bingo while you’re at it.
What the Constitution Means to Me
September 13-22, 2024
Resident Ensemble Players, 110 Orchard Road, Newark
We’re certainly heading into the final pushes of election season. What better timing from REP to kick off its 17th season than now with Heidi Schreck’s What the Constitution Means to Me, a story about Schreck’s 15-year-old self as a Constitutional debater in 1989? The Broadway play was a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and was nominated for best play at the 73rd Tony Awards.
Shared Vision: Portraits from the CCH Pounder-Koné Collection
September 14, 2024-March 2, 2025
African American Museum in Philadelphia, 701 Arch Street, Philadelphia
AAMP’s newest exhibit features paintings collected by legendary actress CCH Pounder (The X-Files, Avatar, ER, and probably at least one other drama you’ve watched on TV). The collection serves as a wide, deep view of the African diaspora from the perspective of world-renowned and emerging artists alike. Pounder will be at AAMP on Saturday, September 14, at 3pm for a conversation, which is a free event open to the public.
In the Moment: The Art & Photography of Harvey Finkle
Saturday, September 14, 1-4pm
Woodmere Art Museum, 9201 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia
The Woodmere Art Museum’s exhibit In the Moment, a collection of photos by Philadelphian-born photographer and activist Harvey Finkle, will have its opening reception this Saturday afternoon. While you’re there, be sure to visit the exhibit itself, which features over 50 photographs taken by Finkle over the past half-decade, offering intimate views into the hardships, sacrifices, and joys experienced by the individuals and communities Finkle has engaged with.
We Here Block Party
Saturday, September 14, 12-2pm
Free Church of St. John, 3076 Emerald Street, Philadelphia
Mural Arts celebrates the installation by artist Robert Lugo this weekend with a block party featuring free food, music, art-making, and pottery demos for people of all ages. The sculpture, posited at the Free Church of St. John, serves as a nod to Kensington’s residents. We Here has been a two-year project from Mural Arts’s Porch Light program, the city’s Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services, which has been working to provide and broaden access to the arts in Kensington, where Lugo grew up.
Male Gazing
September 14-November 2, 2024
James Oliver Gallery, 723 Chestnut Street, 2nd Floor, Philadelphia
This new exhibit at the James Oliver Gallery by artist Matthew Borgen is a new body of work that appropriates and re-contextualizes images from 20th-century comic books, honing in on depictions of outmoded male stereotypes, to take a “critical, sardonic” look at the emotional and psychological underpinnings of toxic masculinity and white supremacy. The opening reception is on Saturday, September 14, at 6pm, with an artist talk on Friday, October 11.
Gradients of Growth
September 14-October 28, 2024
Chimaera Gallery, 3502 Scotts Lane, #2113, Philadelphia
The solo exhibition by Deirdre Murphy will host its opening reception this weekend, putting on view paintings and monoprints that dive into the impact of the Anthropocene climate on birds and other pollinators on our coast. Inspired by a residency at the Lower Merion Conservancy, Murphy’s paintings feature views of natural scenes, highlight the significance of herbariums, and more with hopes to raise awareness around climate change and environmental healing.
GayBINGO’s Beehive Bash
Saturday, September 14, 6-9:30pm
Congregation Rodeph Shalom, 615 North Broad Street, Philadelphia
Celebrate the “sky-high hair” of the 60s with an evening of musical numbers, drag queen antics, and prizes—all around a good, old-fashioned night of Bingo, as part of GayBINGO’s monthly series that’s been around for more than 20 years.
Wild Indigo poetry series
Sunday, September 15, 5-7pm, third Sunday of every month
Young American Cider, 6350 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia
A new monthly poetry series, curated by Raina León and Sarah Browning, debuts this weekend at the Germantown cidery Young American this weekend. This Sunday (and every third Sunday of the month), the series launches with poets Danice Frohman and Gabriel Ramirez, with Sonia Sanchez featured in October. The series hopes to build multiracial community through the power of poetry, with at least one Philly-area poet on the guest list each month.
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