Imani visits the Blackstar film festival to see “Mr. Soul!,” a new documentary about late-1960s television broadcaster, Ellis Haizlip and his pioneering Black arts variety show Soul!. Here she speaks with the film’s cinematographer Hans Charles about his approach to documentary filmmaking and his new role as a producer.
Read MoreImani attends the first of three screenings at Lightbox of archival footage from NEWSREEL, an activist film collective that operated during the late 1960s and early ‘70s. Against the inescapable backdrop of America’s current moral crisis, this series takes a sobering look at the social and political upheavals of 50 years ago and the independent journalists who documented them.
Read MoreA new book highlighting the career of performer, artist and experimental musician Laurie Anderson is out now from Rizzoli Publishing. “All the Things I Lost in the Flood: Essays on Pictures, Language and Code” follows in the footsteps of Anderson’s 2015 experimental film “The Heart of a Dog,” drawing inspiration from the great losses of life.
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 MoreIn Part Two of our 2-part coverage of the new documentary, Imani gives her take on how Sara Driver’s film about Basquiat’s early years both fits and breaks the mold. Boom For Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat is now playing at Ritz at the Bourse. See Roberta’s review from last Friday for even more to chew on.
Read MoreImani talks to Trenton Doyle Hancock about “Moundverse Infants” his new installation of collected and commissioned “dolls” at Temple Contemporary through July 27th. Inspired in part by the Clark Doll Test, as well as by Hancock’s desire to take play seriously, the exhibition includes both new work created in collaboration with Tim Rusterholz of Tyler School of Art’s sculpture lab, and highlights from The Philadelphia Doll Museum’s collection of 20th century black dolls.
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 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 MoreImani is still thinking about her trip to Volta last month. In particular, she reflects on “The Aesthetics of Matter” — this year’s curated section by Mickalene Thomas and Racquel Chevremont, which featured artists Tomashi Jackson, Troy Michie, Devin N. Morris, Christie Neptune, Kameelah Janan Rasheed, David Shrobe, Didier William, and Kennedy Yanko. While their work mines the political potential of collage across a variety of media, the surrounding context of the fair raises important questions about the political labor that African American artists and curators perform in the global contemporary art market. Volta NY 2018 was on view March 7th-11th at Pier 90 in Manhattan, NY.
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 MoreThough still in her early-30s, local renaissance woman Lauren NeFesha has already lived many lives. Now this former fashion student (and nationally-ranked boxing champion) is making a name for herself as a songwriter and mosaic artist. She chats with Artblog’s Imani Roach about speaking up for the most marginalized among us and allowing curiosity to be her guide without judgement. What do a mosaic and a boxing match have in common? Listen to find out. Imani interviewed Lauren at Moore College of Art and Design’s TGMR radio station on March 16th, 2018; the podcast is 33 minutes long.
Read MoreImani Roach ponders “Went Looking for Beauty: Refashioning Self,” an exhibition of photographs by Deborah Willis currently at the African American Museum in Philadelphia. On view through April 29th 2018, this partial retrospective shows thematic highlights from Willis’s decades-long journey documenting the richness of black aesthetic and cultural practices, and demonstrates her continuing evolution as an artist.
Read MoreKara Springer works at the intersection of sculpture, photography and language to activate bodies in space. Born in Barbados and raised in Ontario, Canada, this former industrial designer grounds her minimalist aesthetic with careful attention to history and geography. Springer speaks with Artblog’s Imani Roach about diaspora, legibility and her current installation at The Galleries at Moore — Ten Days Before Freedom, a Hymnal. What can perilous landscapes teach us about the nature of built space? Listen to find out. Imani interviewed Kara at Moore College of Art and Design’s TGMR radio station on February 26th, 2018; the podcast is 34 minutes long.
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