Matt Kalasky speaks with artist Li Sumpter and educators Charlie McGeehan and Sam Reed about “Survival Guide for the Future” — an emergency preparedness, Afrofuturist and post-apocalyptic inspired curriculum conducted this spring at the U School High School in collaboration with The Galleries at Moore College of Art & Design. Culminating in both a student-created zine and an exhibition at The Galleries at Moore (opening tomorrow, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018), this project gave students a platform to reflect on their current lives and imagine a vibrant teen-centric Philadelphia of the future.
Read MoreThis week on Artblog Radio we’re featuring audio from the Blue Note Salon, an April 21st panel curated by Black Quantum Futurism at the Icebox Project Space. This interactive discussion covers a wide range of topics from the role of jazz musicians and jazz culture in paving the way for the Civil Rights Movement to current efforts by local artists to connect their work to social change movements addressing gentrification, displacement and cultural heritage preservation.
Read MoreImani Roach visits local artist Frances Beaver at her Fishtown studio to chat about her recent video project, Sex of the Earth, and her evolving relationship to narrative and performance.
Read MoreThe Women’s Mobile Museum is a year-long project by the Philadelphia Photo Arts Center which brings renowned South African Photographer, Zanele Muholi to Philadelphia to engage with a group of ten local women who are interested in media arts and museum studies but have not had significant access to formal training in these areas. Imani sat down with Muholi and two of the program’s apprentices, Shasta Bady and “Muffy” Ashley Torres, to discuss their hopes for the project and their journey thus far.
Read More“Activist Songbook,” a collection of 53 contemporary protest songs derived from community interviews, launches Thursday May 3rd at Asian Arts. Composer Byron Au Yong and Lyricist Aaron Jafferis speak with Imani Roach about collective action and how Asian American narratives complicate the American racial landscape.
Read MoreSueyeun Juliette Lee speaks with Imani Roach about her site-specific installation and performance piece, Piece Light, which premieres on Thursday May 3rd as a part of the Asian Arts Initiative’s 25th anniversary celebration weekend. They talk collaboration, the future of the Korean peninsula, and the boundless imagination that peace requires.
Read MoreFor years, multidisciplinary performer Martha Stuckey has commanded stages in a brightly-colored wig and stilettos as the lead singer of Red 40 and the Last Groovement, Philadelphia’s premier clown-funk-cabaret band. Now she is preparing to strike a more personal note in her upcoming commissioned show, Due to Sensitive Nature, on view April 12th-14th at the Kimmel Center’s SEI Innovation Studio. She speaks with Imani Roach about taking risks, growing up singing in Lutheran church, and what it means to be a woman in charge. How did kettle corn and Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit help to shape her performance trajectory? Listen to find out. Imani interviewed Martha at Moore College of Art and Design’s TGMR radio station on April 3rd, 2018; the podcast is 51 minutes long.
Read MoreWhen multi-media artists Lucia Alber and Katie Rauth first met as interns at Vox Populi Gallery, they recognized in each other a shared interest in the performance of gender and an attraction to similar forms and materials. Since their earliest collaborations in 2016, they have continued to build a powerful friendship both inside and outside of the studio — a friendship which served as an important source of support during Lucia’s recent experience being stalked by a man who serviced her car at a local Jiffy Lube. Here they speak with Matt Kalasky, about Leave Worry Behind, the body of work that emerged from that harrowing experience, on display at Practice Gallery beginning Friday, April 6th. This work, created by Alber and curated by Rauth, uses French boudoir aesthetics to examine the sexual politics of car culture. What is a “sulking room” and how much self-care is too much self care? Listen to find out. Matt interviewed Lucia and Katie at Moore College of Art and Design’s TGMR radio station on April 4th, 2018; the podcast is 20 minutes long.
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