Roberta speaks with Mark Thomas Gibson, a new arrival in Philadelphia, about his powerful show of Sumi ink drawings and collages at Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, University of the Arts. Among other things, the artist, who is an Assistant Professor, Tenure-Track, at Tyler School of Art, talks about his ability to use narratives from American history channeled in old masters’ paintings to subvert the story telling and tell tales from our times. His works are filled with humor and passion tinged with anger. Mark talks about Philadelphia and is very happy to be in our community. He’s a great speaker with a lot of big thoughts about history, contemporary art, teaching art and more. Take a listen. Mark’s show at Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery is up through March 8, 2019. The podcast was recorded on Friday, Feb. 8, 2019. Thanks to Morgan Nitz for the great audio editing!
Read MoreIn one of her last podcast interviews for Artblog Radio, Imani Roach speaks with Yolanda Wisher, poet, educator, community advocate and Curator of Spoken Word at Philadelphia Contemporary (PC). Wisher talks about her beginnings as a writer, fueled by a mother who was a voracious reader and forceful advocate for her as a writer when she was in elementary school. The wide-ranging conversation explores why Wisher has a studio at Cherry St. Pier; how she figured out that poetry could be used for social change; her (not widely known) work as a singer and her upcoming podcast series for PC, which will enlist Philadelphia poets and DJs and include poetry recitation and music, and not so much conversation. This great conversation was recorded at Moore College of Art and Design’s TGMR Radio, and is 38 minutes long.
Read MoreNew contributor and friend of Artblog, Wit López speaks with multi-disciplinary artist Heather Raquel Phillips about documenting people of color in the leather community and turning the camera on herself.
Read MoreImani speaks with Philly-bred, Baltimore-based artist Rosa Leff about her chosen medium of cut paper and her affinity for the urban landscape.
Read MoreMatt Kalasky speaks with artist Jerry Kaba about his Arts Wrestling Federation Urban League (AWFUL Wrestling). What started as a joke between friends has become a genuine cultural phenomenon, taking Philadelphia’s DIY arts scene by nostalgic storm.
Read MoreListen to this great podcast captured from WURD radio and appearing here with permission. WURD talk show host Stephanie Renee speaks with Imani Roach about the Artblog Art Writing Contest in this peppy ten-minute audio. Then click the links in the post for information on how to apply and get details about the cash prizes! C’mon, apply! Contest ends at Midnight, Oct. 31, 2018.
Read MoreImani speaks with emerging artist, curator and poet Malachi Lily about shape-shifting, leadership and making space for nuanced representations of blackness.
Read MoreFounded in 2017, YallaPunk is an intersectional, trans-affirming performance festival and conference which celebrates the creative achievements of Middle Eastern and North African people in Philly and beyond. Here Imani Roach chats with YallaPunk’s founder, DJ and journalist Rana Fayez, about what to expect from this year’s festival (August 31 – September 2).
Read MoreMatt 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.
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Support for Artblog has been provided by The Philadelphia Cultural Fund.