On Saturday, Aug. 15, a sizable crowd gathered at Malcolm X Park to see Theatre in the X‘s interpretation of Shakespeare’s Othello (see photos below). We enjoyed it a lot. If you missed this show there’s another chance – next Saturday (Aug. 22) at 6 p.m. (read more about Theatre in the X and their all-Black cast production of Othello here). Please bring your chair and a few bucks to support the local artists collective and their amazing work (they also have some cool T-shirts for sale).

From left: Fannie Lou Hamer, Victoria Jackson Gray and Annie Devine in Washington in 1965. Devine is featured in the documentary Standing on My Sisters’ Shoulders, which will be shown in Clark Park on Saturday evening at 8 p.m. (Photo from The New York Times)

Here’s a chance to see a film that will help put the Black Lives Matter movement, particularly the role of women, in some historical context. The International Action Center is hosting a free outdoor screening of the award-winning documentary “Standing on My Sisters’ Shoulders” on Saturday evening in Clark Park.

The film shows the Civil Rights Movement through the eyes and deeds of women from Mississippi, including a sharecropper who went on to become the state’s first black female mayor.  It also recounts the remarkable stories of Fannie Lou Hamer, Victoria Gray Adams and Annie Devine, who were the first black women to be seated on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The film is a celebration of the role of strong women in the Civil Rights Movement, which in many ways has continued in Black Lives Matter.  Continue Reading

Branford Marsalis Jazz Quartet (from left: Joey Calderazzo (piano), Eric Revis (bass), Branford Marsalis (saxophone), and Justin Faulkner (drums)).

Internationally acclaimed jazz musicians will be guests at the 2nd annual Community Unity Music Festival at Clark Park (43rd and Chester). Saxophone legend Branford Marsalis and his band, The Branford Marsalis Jazz Quartet, will again headline the festival, which will be held on Saturday, Aug. 15, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. This year’s festival, which promotes nonviolence and unity in the Philadelphia community, is called “A Day to Remember.” In addition to live music performances, the festival program includes inspirational speeches from city and state dignitaries, food, games and other activities for kids.

The festival is organized with the help of Justin Faulkner, the drummer of the Marsalis Quartet, who grew up in West Philadelphia. One of the main goals of the festival is to show young community members that “creativity enriches the soul” (the festival’s motto is “Put down the guns and pick up an instrument”). To help local artistic youth, the festival organizers created “The Each One Teach One” coalition, which gives scholarships to five deserving students for private music lessons with one of the festival’s partners, the Clef Club for Jazz and the Performing Arts.

For more information about the Community Unity Music Festival and people behind it, click here.

Photo courtesy Scribe Video Center

This month, Scribe Video Center is bringing back its Street Movies! program, with free outdoor film screenings and live performances taking place across Philadelphia neighborhoods. The program features independent films from around the world that spark discussions of issues relevant to the community. Each screening is hosted by a community organization and is followed by a moderated discussion. Two screenings will be held in West Philly this weekend, both at 7:45 p.m. – at Clark Park on Friday and at Malcolm X Park on Saturday. Details are below (for more info, visit scribe.org/news/streetmovies).

• Friday, Aug 7, 7:45 p.m.

The Bowl @ Clark Park (45th Street and Kingsessing Avenue)
Host: Jubilee School
Event Emcee: 900AM WURD’s Stephanie Renée
Opening live performance: the Jubilites of Jubilee School

The program includes the following film screenings:

Tengo Talento: Jennyselt Galata of Yoruba Andabo & Sailen (Afro Cuban Folklore)
dir. Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi

Jennyselt is a dancer of Afro Cuban Folklore, with great prestige within Cuba and internationally and currently dances with the group Yoruba Andabo. She seeks her successor to keep the legacy of Afro-Cuban culture, dance and religion alive. Who will she choose to keep the legacy alive? (Cuba, 2014, 10:21 min, Spanish w/English Subtitles)  Continue Reading

Local artists are invited to be a part of a new project on 52nd Street. The Enterprise Center Community Development Corporation (TEC-CDC) is seeking experienced artists to paint 56 parking meters on the 52nd Street commercial corridor between Arch and Walnut streets.

The designs will be created with community input and according to a coordinated branding scheme for the corridor. Beginning in September, the selected artists will work with local schools, community groups and businesses on the initial design of the parking meter art. The painting project will begin in October, and is expected to be completed by mid-November.

The project, which will help fight blight in the form of aging parking meters, is part of the ongoing 52nd Street commercial corridor revitalization efforts spearheaded by TEC-CDC. The project is funded by Philadelphia LISC.

This is a paid opportunity for artists or creative groups (up to 10 artists can be selected to participate in the project), and TEC-CDC will cover all the supply costs. Application deadline is 5 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 10. More information about the project, application details and forms are available here. If you have questions, please contact Akeem J. Dixon at 215-895-4021 or ADixon@theenterprisecenter.com

Theatre in the X presents all-Black cast Othello at Malcolm X Park on Aug. 8, 15 & 22. (Photo from Theatre in the X’s Facebook page).

The Winter’s Tale production in Clark Park is over, but more outdoor Shakespeare productions are coming to West Philly this summer. “Theatre in the X“, an artists’ collective that staged No Child… at Malcolm X Park in 2013, is presenting three free performances of Othello with an all-Black cast in the park starting Saturday, Aug. 8. The collective’s core is local theater artists Carlo Campbell, who plays Othello, Walter DeShields (Cassio) and LaNeshe Miller-White (Emilia). The play is directed by well-known director Ozzie Jones.

The play in this production is set in the criminal underworld. Campbell “is like the ‘muscle’ of the Duke of Venice’s crew,” according to Jones, while love interest Desdemona (played by Nastassja Baset) is envisioned as an underboss’ daughter. “In the language, it’s not so much race,” said Campbell, comparing the dynamic of this particular production to Will Smith visiting his wealthy uncle in California on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. “It’s this person who has this audacity to think that, from their station in life, they can be privy to rewards.”

Theatre in the X was created to provide free and accessible theater to the community, as well as provide local African American artists with acting and directing opportunities. The 2015 presentation is part of the City of Philadelphia’s Performances in Public Spaces program managed by the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy and is supported by the Leeway Foundation’s Art and Change grants. Public donations are essential, too, so if you want to chip in, please visit this page.

Performances are on three upcoming Saturdays – Aug. 8 at 5 p.m. and on Aug. 15 & 22 at 6 p.m.