NEWS
Maori Karmael Holmes, Founder, CEO and Artistic Director of BlackStar Film Festival named one of “The Next 50” by the Kennedy Center. Congratulations!
Maori is a curator, filmmaker and writer. She founded BlackStar Film Festival in 2012 and serves as its CEO and Artistic Director. She has organized programs in film at a myriad of organizations including Anthology Film Archives, Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles), The Underground Museum, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. As a director, her works have screened internationally including her feature documentary Scene Not Heard: Women in Philadelphia Hip-Hop (2006). She has also directed and produced works for Colorlines.com, Visit Philadelphia, India.Arie, and Mike Africa, Jr. Her writing has most recently appeared in Seen, Documentary Magazine, The Believer, Film Quarterly, Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good, How We Fight White Supremacy: A Field Guide to Black Resistance, and the forthcoming Collective Wisdom: Co-Creating Media Within Communities Across Disciplines and Algorithms. Maori received her MFA in Film & Media Arts from Temple University and her BA in History from American University. She currently serves on the board of American Documentary (POV), Asian Arts Initiative, the advisory boards of Ulises, Vidiots, and Lightbox Film Center; and is a member of Brown Girls Doc Mafia, The Community Board, and Programmers of Color Collective. Maori was a 2019-2020 Soros Equality Fellow and serves as Mediamaker-in-Residence at the Annenberg School for Communication at University of Pennsylvania, Curator-at-Large at Penn Live Arts, and a Creative Executive with Blackbird.
Harriett’s Bookshop goes silent in February, announces Sisterhood Sit-In Trolley Tours of Black-owned businesses.
From the Harriett’s Bookshop recent newsletter:
“Year 2! Two years ago, when we opened our doors, we did so with what we believe was a strong urging from Harriett Tubman. Somehow she knew that the swift winds of change were on the horizon. And for two years, under her guiding light and that of Ida Bell Wells, we’ve poured proudly into our communities.
However, beginning this day, Freedom Day, our 2nd anniversary, we feel called to step back. Something deep inside is saying to close our mouths and observe this month from a distance. To place space between ourselves and what this month has become. And to listen for what it gets to be next. …
We WILL be taking a vow of silence.
We WILL be reading, writing, slowing down and listening from sunup to sundown. We WILL continue our mission in the bookshops and you may even see us around. But please respect our boundaries. When we come out of silence, in the evenings, we will do our best to meet the most pressing needs of the business, but the silly stuff will be ignored—and that’s for the best.
All this said, we are continuing the work of the last Sisterhood Sit-In with a trolley tour unlike anything you’ve done before.
Sisterhood Sit-In Trolley Tours: $50,ticket, Starting in February, 2022, on Saturdays; Tour these businesses in February (with expansion to more businesses in March)
Plan to spend 15 minutes at each location.
Harriett’s Bookshop
Franny Lou’s Porch
Freedom Apothecary
Marsh & Mane
Yowie
Stanek Gallery announces “Last First Friday in Old City,” will go virtual
From their recent Newsletter:
Stanek Gallery has proudly presented thousands of artworks by hundreds of artists from Philadelphia and around the world. We have given you the opportunity to acquire highly collectable modern masters and intriguing new works by emerging talent…We accomplished all this, and much more, in just 6 short years through insurmountable challenges because we know that Art Is Essential and we recognize the importance of growth and change in the artists we present and how we represent them.
With the continued concerns associated with crowded public spaces, Stanek Gallery will be shifting its focus and efforts towards a more personalized art experience, Stanek In Situ. In March 2022, Stanek In Situ will begin with a series of virtual exhibitions designed to share with you a wide range of works by different artists. As we move toward a new personalized exhibition program, we will be moving out of our Old City Philadelphia location and into your home. We look forward to the opportunity to present you with quality artworks that possess the engaging creativity and depth of content that you are accustomed to experiencing with Stanek Gallery.
Sincerely,Katherine Stanek
Owner and Director
Stanek Gallery
First Friday, Feb. 4, 2022
TRENDSPOTTING – Museum Collaborations
- Duchamp Research Portal launches – Philadelphia Museum of Art plus the Centre Pompidou plus the Marcel Duchamp Association
- Yayoi Kusama Mirror Room jointly purchased by the Hirshhorn Museum and Albrecht-Knox Museum.
ICYMI – CultureType rounded up 69 changes that bettered the the art world in 2021
People of color advance in new positions of authority in museums, foundations and other arts organizations! Four with Philadelphia connections include Damon Reaves, Head of Education, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Meg Onli, Director and Curator, The Underground Museum, Los Angeles; James Claiborne, Curator of Public Programs, The Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia; Eric Pryor, President, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia.
OPPORTUNITIES
Preferred Deadline March 2, 2022; Final Deadline April 1, 2022 – BlackStar Film Festival opens 2022 submissions for Films by Black, Brown, Indigenous Filmmakers.
More information and submission here.
Tuesday, February 8, 2022, 6pm EST – Printed Matter organizes discussion about equitable zine fairs:
This conversation between Hyperlink Press (Taehee Whang and Jeong Lee) and Yellow Pearls Zine (Samantha Skinner) discusses strategies and tactics for organizing equitable zine fairs, and how these decisions can help define community and care. Learn more.
REGISTER for the event here.
