The Bigger Picture presents a free virtual Artist Statement Workshop featuring Kalina Harrison

​This workshop is designed to help artists craft a compelling and professional artist statement. Whether you're a seasoned artist or just starting out, this workshop will provide you with the tools and guidance to effectively communicate your artistic vision and purpose. So, come along and let's create some magic together!Registration is FREE and required in order to receive the Zoom link. Please register HERE

Ronnie’s Lovers Ball is a romantic day dance party dedicated to exploring the vast landscapes of Black queer loving (romantic, platonic, you name it!), enfolding all into sonic bliss coming February 14th at 7pm to the Rotunda.Elevate your valentine’s, transforming the saccharine into resonant sweetness and intimacy amongst community we call our own! Join us for special performances revisiting our exploration of the low and slow (word to Downtempo’s Lovers Ball) with a special focus on the lovers (and loving), romance, and storytelling to sweep you off your feet.Our activation will feature a photo booth, a conversation pit, a hot drink bar (teas n thangs) and more! This event is a dry space. Masks are required at all times folks aren’t drinking.

Admission is $15-40. Please purchase tickets HERE

People's Music Supply presents * 9 x 9 Nine Sets, each Nine Minutes Long. Each group loving crafted and curated by Aaron Pond. Expect an eclectic mix of electronics and acoustics. True joy.In 9 minutes- all worlds are possible, little crystals which float before and into our ears. That's the goal, the lingering gleam of consciousness which lasts long after the light. Or maybe its a tasting menu, modeled after the high falutin restaurants where a $150 gets you precious moments of "perfect bites." But this is better than a series of seconds, a marble of flavor once rolled through the organs of gratification. This change, this is who we are, this is a cascading series of togetherness. And importantly, it's much cheaper than fine dining.

Musicians drawn from the venerable People's Music Supply and all over our city's many scenes collide. Notable (non-supply) improvisors include the famed 4th and Market saxophonist David Puryear, the rip roaring drummer/electronicist Julius Masri, new music ace Tessa Ellis, professor Walter Gershon, ambient queen Alyssa Almeida.

Doors 7:30 pm Show 8pm

Sliding Scale $5 to $20

Walter Gershon- drums and saxophones 

Bert Harris- Contrabass

Ihba Baskette- Reeds and Drums 

RJ McGhee- Trombone and Electronics 

Julius Masri- Electronics and Drums

Melinda Rice- Violin/Viola/Voice

Tessa Ellis- Trumpet 

Mattie McDonnell- accordion

Abram Mamet- Horn

Alyssa Almeida- Cello/ electronics

David Puryear- Alto Saxophone

Ann Adachi- Flute

Aaron Pond- Horn/Melodica

Bowerbird is pleased to present a special screening of Guns of the Trees by filmmaker Jonas Mekas and original musical score by Lucia Dlugoszewski.

Jonas Mekas’s first feature—which he wrote, produced, directed, co-photographed and edited—is an entrancing snapshot of the counterculture in the early 1960s and a work of beatnik existentialism concerning the fine line between generational hope and despair. Past and present intertwine as a young woman (Frances Stillman) searches for a reason to go on living amid a bout of paralyzing depression; she encounters a succession of characters (including a cynical intellectual, played by Mekas’s brother and frequent collaborator, Adolfas) who seem to represent some chance at salvation, but the dark cloud overhead refuses to dissipate. In Mekas’s own words, his scrappy yet ambitious and above all lyrical film “deals with the thoughts, feelings, and anguished strivings of my generation, faced with the moral perplexity of our times.”

Guns of the Trees | Jonas Mekas | 1962 | 35mm (digitized) | 75 minutes

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Jonas Mekas was born in 1922 in the farming village of Semeniškiai, Lithuania. In 1944, he and his brother Adolfas were taken by the Nazis to a forced labor camp in Elmshorn, Germany. After the War he studied philosophy at the University of Mainz. At the end of 1949 the UN Refugee Organization brought both brothers to New York City, where they settled down in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Two months after his arrival in New York he borrowed money to buy his first Bolex camera and began to record brief moments of his life. He soon got deeply involved in the American Avant-Garde film movement. In 1954, together with his brother, he started Film Culture magazine, which soon became the most important film publication in the US. In 1958 he began his legendary Movie Journal column in the Village Voice. In 1962 he founded the Film-Makers’ Cooperative, and in 1964 the Film-Makers’ Cinematheque, which eventually grew into Anthology Film Archives, one of the world’s largest and most important repositories of avant-garde cinema, and a screening venue.

During all this time he continued writing poetry and making films. To this date he has published more than 25 books of prose and poetry, which have been translated into over a dozen languages. His Lithuanian poetry is now part of Lithuanian classic literature and his films can be found in leading museums around the world. He is largely credited for developing the diaristic forms of cinema. Mekas has also been active as an academic, teaching at the New School for Social Research, the International Center for Photography, Cooper Union, New York University, and MIT.

Mekas’ film The Brig was awarded the Grand Prize at the Venice Film Festival in 1963. Other films include Walden (1969), Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania (1972), Lost Lost Lost (1975), Scenes from the Life of Andy Warhol (1990), Scenes from the Life of George Maciunas (1992), As I was Moving Ahead I saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000), Letter from Greenpoint (2005), Sleepless Nights Stories (2011) and Out-takes from the Life of a Happy Man. In 2007, he completed a series of 365 short films released on the internet — one film every day — and from then continued to share new work on his website.

From 2000, Mekas expanded his work into the area of film installations, exhibiting at the Serpentine Gallery, the Centre Pompidou, Musée d’Art moderne de la Ville de Paris, the Moderna Museet (Stockholm), PS1 Contemporary Art Center MoMA, Documenta of Kassel, the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, and the Venice Biennale.

On January 23, 2019, Mekas passed away at the age of 96 at his home in Brooklyn.

Admission is FREE

The year 2025 will be the 100th anniversary of Malcolm X's birth, and We Charge Colonialism will be hosting a program in commemoration. The program will be a significant event that will explore the life and legacy of one of the most influential leaders and organizers in history. It will also shed light on Malcolm's speech, "The Last Message," given days before his assassination. 

This interactive program is designed to foster open dialogue, critical discussions, and profound reflections on Malcolm X's enduring impact on the Black Power Movement, social justice frameworks, and the Black community in America and beyond. We encourage your active participation in this event.

Our program, unique in its diverse participation and comprehensive exploration, will bring together scholars, activists, community members, and individuals passionate about promoting human rights and organizational unity. It will feature panel discussions, artists, and a keynote address, all contributing to a multifaceted understanding of Malcolm X's life and philosophy, from his days as a 'street hustler' to his role as Minister Malcolm, the organizer.

This program is a unique opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of Malcolm X's historical significance and to appreciate his legacy as a catalyst for social development. By examining his life's work, we aim to foster an engaging dialogue that brings together diverse perspectives, fostering a united front in the ongoing struggle for human rights and dignity. The program will also offer networking opportunities to stay connected in ongoing community organizing efforts.

Admission is FREE. Please RSVP HERE

The Bigger Picturepresents a free virtual Artist Bio Workshop featuring Kalina Harrison

Registration is FREE and required in order to receive the Zoom link. Please register HERE