• Article

    Borscht is back!

    Published December 18, 2014 by

    It's that time of year again when the boys (and girls) from the Borscht Film Festival, a Knight Arts grantee, come out to play (on the big screen) at the Arsht Center's Knight Concert Hall. It's also the time when the community comes together for a few rounds of machete...
  • Article

    Cultural exchange and craft at the McColl Center

    Published December 18, 2014 by

    “Encuentros/Encounters” at the McColl Center. The craft tradition is particularly strong in North Carolina, especially in the realm of ceramics. After all, the North Carolina pottery tradition from regions like Seagrove is world-renowned. Very few of us think about Mexican pottery traditions when we hear North...
  • Article

    Artists become others at Napoleon

    Published December 18, 2014 by

    A beige canvas rectangle on the floor topped with a human-size, plush stick figure of the same color greeted visitors to the second floor hallway of 319 North 11th Street on First Friday. Seeing that the hallway of this multiform art destination is a severely underutilized space, the regulars stopped...
  • Article

    Happy Craziest New Year

    Published December 17, 2014 by

    Production photo from Happy Craziest New Year. Courtesy of Dangerous Productions For the past three years, Dangerous Productions has produced a unique series of shows called Happy Minnesota. The project was created with a focus on fostering economic growth, play and community along St. Paul’s Central...
  • Article

    Blending of opera and cabaret gives pop soup of ‘Andy’ its flavor

    Published December 16, 2014 by

    Photo by Kate Raines. The work of Andy Warhol set the art world on its head, blurring the lines between high and low and the notions of what defined artistic and commercial work. It is only fitting then that “Andy: A Popera,” a show exploring Warhol’s life, work and legacy, started with pop-up performances of singing soup cans in a supermarket aisle, evolved into a cabaret show and is now becoming an adventurous, irreverent pop art-cabaret-opera mash-up scheduled to premiere in Philadelphia in September 2015. The piece is a collaboration between Opera Philadelphia and the experimental cabaret company the Bearded Ladies. The creative process and the intended result suggest a daring and ingenuity that truly celebrates the subject. Both organizations are previous Knight Arts Challenge winners, and “Andy: A Popera” is being developed with Knight Foundation support. Classical composer Dan Visconti, who recently completed a multi-year residency with opera companies, including Seattle Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, New York City Opera, the Glimmerglass Festival and the Metropolitan Opera, recently joined the “Andy” creative team and is charged with creating the unprecedented musical hybrid.
  • Article

    For the Love of black theater

    Published December 16, 2014 by

    By Quentin Talley, OnQ Productions Recently, OnQ wrapped up its first production of the season, For The Love of Harlem, to rave reviews from audiences and critics alike. This original musical, written by Jermaine Nakia Lee with musical direction by Tyrone Jefferson & A Sign of The Times of the...