James Baldwin Centennial+ Celebration Festival 2024-2025
The Brothers’ Network began its James Baldwin Cenntenial celebration in February of 2024 starting with a book signing and book talk by essayist and author Keith Boykin and Professor James Peterson. Peterson took note of the importance of Baldwin in his article about TBN’s curated 18 month celebration of James Baldwin. TBN produced curated, and promoted programs, events, and a world-class theatre premiere as its capstone to conclude the 2024-2025 James Baldwin Cenntenial celebration.
Below you will find snapshots of our festival offerings to the larger community across race, gender and class in the greater Philadelphia region and beyond. Our festival brought together over 20,000+ people in celebration of philosopher James Baldwin.
30) ‘Giovanni’s Room’ World Premiere Play
The Brothers’ Network Night on June 12th is at capacity, so a second TBN Night has been added! Join us on Wednesday, June 25th. To save $15, call 267-334-4897 to reserve your tickets. Do NOT call the box office!
Giovanni’s Room, a novel, written by James Baldwin to be produced live at Quintessence Theatre, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 7137 Germantown Ave., (Mt. Airy) Philadelphia, PA 19119
The evening will include a pre-performance reception with a special guest Paul Oakley Stovall and a post-show talk-back with the cast of the play.
In the groundbreaking 1956 novel, a beautiful young American travels to Paris with his girlfriend to deliberate their future marriage. In the city of light, David discovers a vibrant queer community.
Pre-performance reception with a special guest Paul Oakley Stovall
Post-show talk-back with the cast of the ‘Giovanni’s Room’
29) ‘Glitter in the Glass’
Associate Producer: The Brothers Network
Written by R. Eric Thomas
May 29, 2025 — June 15, 2025 Directed By: Ontaria Kim Wilson
Opening Night: June 5, 2025
Theatre Exile, 1340 S. 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147 120 minutes including 15 minute intermission
Please purchase your tickets here!
Post show interview with ‘Glitter in the Glass’ Director, R. Eric Thomas
Award-Winning Playwright R. Eric Thomas
Chelle, a Black mid-career artist, has written a check that she's not sure her talent can cash. When the city of Baltimore takes down the Confederate monument in the park across the street from her childhood home, she has an idea. She'll apply for a grant to create a piece to replace it. Caught between the past, the present, and the future, Chelle, portrayed by Jennifer Kidwell, is catapulted into a journey that takes her back before the Middle Passage and out beyond the bounds of this planet.
28) The Brothers’ Network Spring Donor Appreciation Concert
27) Roderick Williams, baritone et. al.
Wednesday, February 12, 2025 - 7:30 P.M.
Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center
About The Performance
British baritone Roderick Williams’s “rich, burnished” voice imbues “myriad colorful nuances” (New York Times) in this recital with peerless collaborative pianist Julius Drake. Enhancing the duo’s performance of Brahms’s song cycle Die schöne Magelone are drawings by Amsterdam-based illustrator Cristina Garcia Martin and narration by internationally acclaimed storyteller Charlotte Blake Alston.
Beethoven: An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98
Brahms: Die schöne Magelone, Op. 33
26) Raphaël Feuillâtre, Guitar
November 21, 2024, 7:30 PM
Purchase Your TBN Discount Tickets by calling 267.334.4897
TBN Discount Tickets $20
Regular price ticket $30
About This Performance
One of the most exciting classical guitarists of his generation, Raphaël Feuillâtre has been praised for “his amazing sensitivity to his music and ability to create varied and beautiful soundscapes with his instrument” (Herald Tribune). The French guitarist’s PCMS debut offers an inspiring range of repertoire, spanning from Johann Sebastian Bach to the 20th century.
Bach: Prelude in C Major, BWV 846, from Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I
Couperin: Les barricades mystérieuses
Duphly: Médée
Royer: L’aimable
Bach: Concerto in D Major, BWV 972 (after Vivaldi)
Scarlatti: Sonata in A Major, K. 208
Soles: Two Catalan Folk Songs
Arcas: Fantasia on themes from La Traviata
Albéniz: Suite española, Op. 47, No. 5, Asturias (Leyenda)
Tarrega: Three Preludes
Mangoré: La Catedral
Piazzolla: Adiós Nonino
Dyens: Triaela: Clown Down (Sel)
Raphaël Feuillâtre has received support from the Savarez string company and plays on Creation Cantiga Premium strings.
25) ‘American Moor’ Philadelphia Premiere
Associate Producer, The Brothers’ Network
Playwright Keith Hamilton Cobb Directed by Kash Goins
Opening November 13, 2024, through December 15, 2024
Lantern Theater Company, at St. Stephen’s Theatre 923 Ludlow Street, Philadelphia, PA
Please Purchase Your Tickets HERE using TBN Discount Code TBN5 and BALDWIN35 for $35 tickets on Black Theatre Night, Saturday, November 30, 2024 @8 PM
Playwright Keith Hamilton Cobb
Synopsis: American Moor
An actor auditions for the title role in Othello. From this simple scenario springs a rich and penetrating exploration of Shakespeare in a story told with wit, passion, and linguistic brilliance. The conflicting views of the actor and the director shine a revealing light on race and art in modern America, and bring a refreshing new perspective on the enduring power of Shakespeare's work.
Director Kash Goins
24) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
StoryCorps ‘Brightness in Black’ Launch
Saturday, September 14, 2024, Noon - 4 PM
Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
300 S Broad Street, Philadelphia, Pa, 19102
StoryCorps is committed to the idea that everyone has an important story to tell and that everyone’s story matters. Our mission: to help us believe in each other by illuminating the humanity and possibility in us all — one story at a time. Since our founding in 2003, we’ve helped nearly 700,000 people across the country have meaningful conversations about their lives. These recordings are collected in the U.S. Library of Congress and in our online archive which is now the largest single collection of human voices ever gathered.
“Just as James Baldwin wrote, 'Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced,' we are now facing the monolithic narrative that has for too long constrained the perception of Black life. Through The Brothers' Network, you've been chipping away at this edifice of ignorance, revealing the intricate tapestry of Black male excellence.
Now, with Brightness in Black, we have the opportunity to throw open the doors of perception, to flood the American consciousness with the light of our multifaceted truths.”
The Brothers' Network, founded in 2007, is thrilled to announce our partnership with StoryCorps' ‘Brightness in Black’ initiative. The initiative collaborates with broad communities to collect and amplify cultural stories that are joyous and bold. This initiative and partnership recalibrates authentic and transformative countering harmful narratives about the experiences of being Black in America.
Our collaboration perfectly aligns with the overall mission, vision, and values of The Brothers’ Network to solidify the brilliance of Black men in America through history, heritage, culture, and the arts.
September 14, 2024, Noon-4 p.m. live at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, 300 S Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19102.
RSVP: www.StoryCorps.org/org/bib-launch
This experience will feature powerful discussions, live performances, and a chance to record your own story. Gregory Walker, Global Creative Executive Director, will be a panelist in the conversation on the importance of ‘Brightness in Black’.
Let's work together to ensure the voices, stories, and authentic narratives of Black men are included and amplified in StoryCorps’ ‘Brightness in Black’.
Reserve Now: https://storycorps.org/discover/brightness-in-black/events/brightness-in-black-philadelphia-launch/
To ensure a broad representation, please share this opportunity with your friends, family, coworkers, colleagues, and fellow college students. Everyone is invited to participate!
Here is an example of some of the stories: https://storycorps.org/discover/brightness-in-black/
23) Gallery Tour and Talk with Dr. Gwendolyn Dubois Shawl Hosted by The Brothers’ Network
Friday August 9, 2024
“David C. Driskell and Friends: Creativity, Collaboration, and Friendship”
Talk and tour with Dr. Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw, Faculty Director of the Arthur Ross Gallery and Class of 1940 Bicentennial Term Professor in the Department of Art History in the School of Arts & Sciences.
Friday, August 9, 2024 @ 10 A.M. EST
Arthur Ross Gallery 220 South 34th Street Philadelphia, PA, 19104
Text 26.334.4897 To RSVP
22) 2024 The Brothers’ Network Celebrates James Baldwin and the 100th Year of his Birth.
Our Centennial celebration will include theatre, jazz, cinema, lecture, salon, and a host of programs and experiences that amplify the importance of a literary and cultural giant like James Baldwin.
James Baldwin was a profound American writer and social critic whose works continue to resonate with audiences today. Born in Harlem in 1924, Baldwin's experiences as a Black man in America served as the foundation for his powerful and provocative writing. His unflinching exploration of themes like racial injustice, sexuality, and identity marked a new era in American literature. Baldwin's notable works include "Go Tell It on the Mountain," "Notes of a Native Son," and "The Fire Next Time." With his sharp intellect and eloquent prose, Baldwin fearlessly tackled systemic racism and discrimination, challenging readers to confront the uncomfortable truths of the human condition. Through his contributions to literature and activism, James Baldwin left an indelible mark on the civil rights movement and continues to inspire generations seeking social justice and equality.
The Brothers’ Network is founded on the teachings, readings, writing, and intellectual discourse of James Baldwin.
The Brothers’ Network and Saturday Free School Celebrate The Centennial of James Baldwin
Photograph by Ted Thai/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty
St. Paul de Vence, France, 1976. (photo by Dmitri Kasterine)
21) James Arthur Baldwin, God's Revolutionary Voice
August 2, 2024
In Celebration of the One Hundredth Anniversary of His Birth
THIS year is the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of JAMES ARTHUR BALDWIN (August 2, 1924 - December 1, 1987). The YEAR OF JAMES BALDWIN is a celebration of him and of his literary, philosophical, cultural, artistic, and ideological genius and his contributions to the revolutionary remaking of world humanity. Baldwin was arguably America’s greatest novelist and perhaps the greatest essayist in the history of the English language. He spoke through the language of the Old Testaments and the Gospels of the Bible, and the language of the modern world’s search for meaning. Speaking through the Book of Revelations, the last book of the New Testament, he declared as a warning to America, “God gave Noah the rainbow sign. No more water, the fire next time.” This unique intersection produced a creative way to explain America. He probed the complexities of the American mind—his principal concern—through the lenses of the aspirations and struggles of the African American working people. He was a teacher. For him, knowing carried with it the responsibility to teach, and teaching was a way of changing peoples’ consciousness, allowing them to become agents in the transformation of the world. Hence, in its deepest sense, his life’s work was the moral, spiritual, and political education of the people. He believed in people, and he believed in ideas. As such, he believed in human possibility. He believed that ideas when embraced by the people, are, perhaps, the most beautiful and powerful weapon of the people. Few have gone as far and deep as Baldwin in exploring human possibilities and probing the rich inner lives of people. He examined the contradictions, paradoxes and complexities of the modern situation. Through it all, he remained an optimist, believing in the revolutionary and emancipatory potentialities of human beings.
20) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
James* by Percival Everett Book Discussion
Hosted by Sterling Johnson and his son, Shane Johnson
Sunday, July 28, 2024 @ 4 P.M.
NEW Location: Bower Cafe 1213
1213 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19107
To RSVP Please Text: 267-334-4897
19) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Ramayana
From the epic by Valmiki
Created with Papermoon Puppet Theatre of Java & Kalanari Theatre Movement of Bali
June 12-16, 2024
The Navy Yard, 5000 S 11th St, Philadelphia, PA 19112
June 12, 2024 - June 16, 2024
To RSVP Please Contact: gregorytwalker@gmail.com or Call 267-334-4897
More than 28 years in the making, EgoPo presents the world-premiere re-telling of the ancient Hindu epic in collaboration with two of Indonesia’s vanguards in the performing arts. This performance will take place in The Navy Yard, under a giant open air tent. The staging integrates the puppetry, dance, theater and music expertise of the three companies to tell one of the world’s oldest stories about the unbreakable power of the human spirit. Performances will be surrounded by Rama’s Fest, a week-long celebration of Indonesian food and culture.
Performance Dates
6/12/2024 - 7:30PM
6/13/2024 - 7:30PM
6/14/2024 - 7:30PM
6/15/2024 - 2:00PM
6/15/2024 - 7:30PM
6/16/2024 - 7:30PM
18) Music for a While
West Coast Premiere, TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, Hollywood, California June 28 @ 5 pm
Directed and Written by Kelvin Z. Phillips
Wandering through busy New York City streets, a solitary figure's quiet desolation is lifted by the serenade of a saxophonist's solo. Answering its call, he transforms the urban scene into a beautiful street performance...if only for a while.
Kelvin Z. Phillips, a multi-award-winning screenwriter, director, and producer, has had films showcased at numerous festivals and on platforms such as HBO, Prime, Cinemax, Tubi, and BET. His creativity has earned him grants from notable organizations, including the Jerome Foundation, Art Matters, Inc., the Brooklyn Arts and Cultural Association, and Apparatus Productions, co-founded by renowned figures Christine Vachon and Todd Haynes.
In addition, Kelvin has garnered numerous awards for his screenwriting. He is the recipient of the Laurel Productions and the Herbert Beigel Screenwriting Awards, and is a distinguished alumnus of the Guy Hanks/Marvin Miller Screenwriting Fellowship.
Kelvin holds a BA in film directing from Howard University, where he was mentored by the renowned Ethiopian filmmaker Haile Gerima. He also earned an MFA in Dramatic Writing from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.
Outside the sphere of creative arts, Kelvin applies his project management and executive leadership skills in program management, creative operations, and executive producing within the digital media and advertising industry.
17) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Donors Only Event
Orchestra 2001 Presents
ENGOMA ENTEERA:
Classical Music from Uganda
In appreciation of your donation, this program is complimentary to you!
To RSVP Please Contact: gregorytwalker@gmail.com or Call 267-334-4897
Friday, June 14, 2024; 7:30 pm
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul |
1723 Race St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19103 (18th & Ben Franklin Pkwy/ east side of Logan Circle)
Justinian Tamusuza, Composer
Na'Zir McFadden, Conductor
16) The Crisis of Knowledge and the American University:
James Baldwin and the Struggle for a Human Future
June 1-2, 2024
America today stands at the crossroads of history. The impoverished, war-weary, and despairing masses are rising in rebellion against the most corrupt and inhuman ruling elite the world has ever seen. The American State's unabashed financial, military, and ideological support for Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has further deepened this crisis of legitimacy, fundamentally upending the political calculus of one of the most consequential elections in this country’s history. On one hand, this is a moment of shared outrage and disbelief at the barbarity of the “civilized” West. Equally, this is a moment of reckoning that calls for ideological clarity and moral courage.
At the heart of this reckoning is the crisis of the American University, precipitated by the brave and moral stand taken by students all over the country against the genocide in Gaza. The brutal repression of these protests exposes the unparalleled Zionist influence over America’s elite universities, and their inseparable ties to the war agenda of an imperialist State. Neither is such repression without historical precedent, but our time presents new questions that need new answers.
15) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Quintessence Theatre Presents, ‘Father Comes Home From The Wars Parts 1, 2, & 3’
Written by Suzan-Lori Parks
Directed by Raelle Myrick-Hodges
Quintessence Theatre 7137 Germantown Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19119
June 1, 2024- June 23, 2024
Hero, an enslaved Texan, is offered a deal - to join his master in the Confederate army with the promise of emancipation if he survives — or to remain with his true love Penny and work the plantation. Creating a new Black American history cycle, Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks changes our perspective on the American Civil War and dramatizes the events leading up to Juneteenth.
14) Opera Singer Peter Brathwaite: Rediscovering Black Portraiture
May 18, 2024 — January 2025
The Higgins Bedford, United Kingdom
An opera singer says an exhibition that shows him reimagining historical black portraits is giving the people shown as "commodities" a voice.
Peter Brathwaite, from Bedford, has recreated famous paintings using household items and family heirlooms.
At first it was a bit of fun dress-up but "I realised there was a real appetite for learning about these images", he said.
Rediscovering Black Portraiture is on display at The Higgins Bedford, UK. —Courtesy of BBC
13) Awarding winner Producer and Professor Thomas Allen Harris presents House of Haizlip
A sampling of Thomas Allen Harris' 1980s black and white photography, held in tandem with The Radical Practice of Curation Symposium
APRIL 12, 6-8PM - PARK AVENUE ARMORY - 643 Park Ave, Company Room D
The first exhibition dedicated to the photography of filmmaker and scholar Thomas Allen Harris, House of Haizlip provides an exciting glimpse into the artist’s vast archive of 1980s black and white photography. Centering Black and queer identity, activism and spirituality, and community-building, the themes depicted in these images anticipate the core concepts of Harris’ later films, offering an opportunity to view Harris’ artistic coming-of-age.
Harris’ meditations on Ellis Haizlip—a close friend and mentor to Harris; the creator, producer, and host of SOUL!; and the subject of Melissa Haizlip’s 2018 NAACP Image Award-winning documentary, Mr. Soul—ground this show. This pop-up exhibit traces events programmed by Haizlip between 1986 and 1989 at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Enlisted by Haizlip as a photographer, Harris documented these events as well as moments in Haizlip’s personal life, producing a set of images that provide a lens to see, through Harris’ eyes, Haizlip’s curatorial work. Through these images, Harris connects Haizlip’s queer family-making practices to the Schomburg’s transition into a community-oriented institution, highlighting his ability to gather Black luminaries and foregrounding Haizlip’s queerness and expansive notions of love.
While capturing the spiritual and intimate weight enshrouding Haizlip’s diverse Afro-diasporic community, Harris develops a distinct visual vocabulary constituted of formal and informal congregations, tender embraces, and deep engagements. His photographs beckon the viewer to critically contemplate the disruptive power that Haizlip’s community wielded in a decade marred by the HIV/AIDs epidemic, Reagan’s neoliberalism, and the rise of the Moral Majority. By bringing Haizlip’s work at the Schomburg into the present, Harris queries his mentor’s enduring impact and speculates, more broadly, about the intimate collaborations, the solidarities, and the Black feminist and queer impulses that surround curatorial work. House of Haizlip prompts the viewer’s participation in thinking deeply about the significance of their own connections—across both space and time. We are asked: what sorts of creative trouble might these connections already cause?
Courtesy of Thomas Allen Harris and Sonnet Anya Carter
12) Demarre McGill, flute, Titus Underwood, oboe, Anthony McGill, clarinet & Bryan Young, bassoon and Pre-concert lecture (6:30) and Post-concert Talkback moderated by Dr. Rollo Dilworth
Wednesday, April 16, 2025 — 7:30 P.M.
Pre-Concert Lecture - 6:30 P.M.
Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
300 S Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19102
11) Winter in America: The SpeakEasy – Bold, Black & Brilliant: The Baldwin Edition’
April 3, 2024 at Joyce Gordon Gallery
Winter in America: in conjunction with traveling exhibition “Frontline Prophet: James Baldwin” works by Sabrina Nelson Curated by Ashara Ekundayo & Omo Misha MC’d by Oakland’s Poet Laureate with special performances by’ Tongo Eisen Martin, Darrius Simpson, Zourhair Mussa, & Tonya Foster. —Courtesy of joycegordongallery
10) ‘Wine, Words & Baldwin’ event with Oakland Poet Laureate Ayodele Nzinga and The Lower Bottom Playaz
March 30, 2024
In celebration of the 100th Birthday of #JamesBaldwin and In conjunction with the exhibition “Frontline Prophet: James Baldwin” – Works by @sabrinanelson67 curated by @asharaekundayogallery and @Omo Misha at @joycegordongallery
@bambdcdc and @artistasfirstresponder Co-present “Wine, Words & Baldwin” - Curated Sound & Film Bites of Baldwin Encounters + A moderated conversation on The Enduring Value of Baldwin to Evolving Black Narratives hosted by #poetlaureate @wordslanger & @blublakwomyn
Saturday, March 30 at 7 PM
at BAM House, 1540 Broadway Oakland 94612
9) Q + A: Sheldon Lloyd, City Fresh Foods
Mar 15, 2024
from EdibleBoston
by Nina Livingstone
Sheldon Lloyd describes his brother, Glynn, as a visionary—a man who believes a community-based business can serve the city’s neediest and not only survive, but thrive.
In 1994, Glynn Lloyd started City Fresh Foods in a 500-square-foot building in Dudley Square (now known as Nubian Square) with two employees. Today, it is Sheldon who oversees the day-to-day operations of City Fresh Foods, which is housed in an 18,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art food production and distribution center. In 2022, City Fresh won the largest non-construction contract ever awarded to a minority-owned business in Boston to make meals for the kids at Boston Public Schools. With nearly 200 employees, the Roxbury-based business now serves 30,000 meals daily.
Here, Sheldon Lloyd shares the rise of City Fresh Foods and explains its niche in the community. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
We are a $30 million Black- and employee-owned company, making healthy, fresh, culturally relevant meals for tens of thousands of seniors, students and other vulnerable people in Eastern Massachusetts, most of whom are people of color living at or below the poverty line. We employ over 190 people in quality jobs that pay living wages, provide career path opportunities and support wealth-building through employee ownership. More than 95% of our employees are people of color, and 80% live in Roxbury, Mattapan, Dorchester, Jamaica Plain and other nearby communities. Most of our employees have a high school education or less, and many are immigrants. We proudly do business every day in three languages: English, Spanish and Cape Verde Creole. The majority of our board is people of color and includes an employee owner representative. Our management and executive team is diverse, and most of our management team is made up of people who have been promoted from within.
-Sheldon Lloyd
8) The Timeless Brilliance of Black Jazz
Exploring the Rich Tapestry of Black Jazz Music
Brett & Kate McKay • March 13, 2024
Black jazz music stands as an undeniable cornerstone of musical history, woven with the threads of African rhythms, blues influences, and vibrant expressions of the human experience. From the smoky jazz clubs of New Orleans to the bustling streets of Harlem, the genre has evolved and adapted, reflecting the diverse voices and experiences within the Black community.
Innovators such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Nina Simone pushed the boundaries of conventional music, creating sounds that continue to resonate across generations. Their music transcends mere notes on a page; it tells stories of struggle, joy, resilience, and triumph.
Today, contemporary artists such as Kamasi Washington, Esperanza Spalding, and Robert Glasper carry the torch forward, infusing traditional jazz elements with modern influences to create a fusion that is both fresh and timeless.
Black jazz music is not just a genre – it's a testament to the enduring spirit of a people who have turned pain into poetry, oppression into liberation, and heartache into hope. Let the melodies of Black jazz music envelop you, transporting you to a world where each note is a powerful reminder of strength and creativity.
Art of Manliness Podcast #974: The 3 Musical Geniuses Behind the Most Popular Jazz Album of All Time
Brett & Kate McKay • March 13, 2024
Even if you’re not very into jazz, you probably know Kind of Blue, the jazz album that’s sold more copies than any other and is widely considered one of the greatest albums ever, in any genre.
Among the sextet of musicians who played on the album, three stand out as true jazz geniuses: Miles Davis, Bill Evans, and John Coltrane. Today on the show, James Kaplan, author of 3 Shades of Blue: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, and the Lost Empire of Cool, unpacks the stories behind these towering figures. We discuss their background, their demons, their passion for musical greatness, and what they contributed to the evolving world of jazz. And we discuss why, when they got together to record Kind of Blue, the result was the most timeless and beloved jazz album in history.
—Courtesy of the Art of Manliness Podcast
7) The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society presents Demarre McGill, flute; Anthony McGill, clarinet; Charles Overton, harp; Catalyst Quartet
Thursday, March 28th, 2024 at 7:30pm
American Philosophical Society
Benjamin Franklin Hall, 427 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106
From Left to Right: Demarre McGill, Anthony McGill, and Charles Overton
Use The Brothers’ Network’s discount code “BRONET24” when purchasing tickets.
Brothers Anthony and Demarre McGill have achieved a phenomenal level of success in the classical music world. The only siblings ever to win the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, Anthony was appointed the principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic, and Demarre is the principal flutist of the Seattle Symphony. The Grammy Award winning Catalyst Quartet and harpist Charles Overton join these two outstanding wind musicians for a program that encompasses new works by Jeff Scott and Brian Raphael Nabors and Ravel’s dazzling Introduction et Allegro.
Saint-Saëns: Fantaisie for Flute and Harp, Op. 124
Scott: Sextet World Premiere/PCMS Co-Commission
Nabors: 7 Dances Philadelphia Premiere
Ravel: Introduction et Allegro
6) Frontline Prophet: James Baldwin works by Detroit-based artist Sabrina Nelson at Joyce Gordon Gallery in Oakland, CA.
March 1 — April 27, 2024
FRONTLINE PROPHET: JAMES BALDWIN is a year-long traveling exhibition featuring the artwork of Detroit-based creative, Sabrina Nelson (@sabrinanelson67). The exhibition consists of works on paper, canvas, sketchbooks, and more in celebration of Baldwin’s centennial birthday, and presents imagery and sonic pieces culled from the lectures, writings, and social-political themes James Baldwin professed in his work on critical culture, identity, race and sexuality. —Courtesy of asharaekundayogallery
5) New York
The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism
February 25th, 2024 through July 28th, 2024
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, New York, United States
The Picnic by Archibald Motley.
“The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism,” will include the works of more than 100 artists from the early 20th century — a time early in the Great Migration, when Black life and Black art was being transformed. It was an artistic revolution that, according to the Met, upended the international understanding of modern art and modern life and changed “the very fabric of early 20th-century modern art.”
Curator Denise Murrell, said the term “Harlem Renaissance” generally refers to a cohort of artists who were “committed to the idea of portraying the modern Black subject in a modern way,” reflecting the changing cultural reality and vibrancy of places like Harlem. She described the style as one that combines African aesthetics with more experimental and expressionistic forms of European modernism.
Denise Murrell, curator of the exhibit, speaking with our founder, Gregroy T. Walker.
4) National Portrait Gallery, London, England, The Time is Always Now
Artists Reframe the Black Figure
Formidable … Nanny of the Maroons’ Fifth Act of Mercy by Kimathi Donkor (2012). Photograph: Courtesy of the Artist and Niru Ratnam, London. Photo: Tim Bowditch
Exhibition Dates: February 22, 2024 - May 19, 2024, National Portrait Gallery St Martin’s Place London, England
Fault-lines and glitches … Father Stretch My Hands by Nathaniel Mary Quinn (2021). Photograph: © Nathaniel Mary Quinn. Photo: Rob McKeever. Courtesy Gagosian
She was learning to love moments, to love moments for themselves by Amy Sherald (2017) © Amy Sherald. Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth.
A major study of the Black figure – and its representation in contemporary art.
The exhibition, curated by writer Ekow Eshun, showcases the work of contemporary artists from the African diaspora, including Michael Armitage, Lubaina Himid, Kerry James Marshall, Toyin Ojih Odutola and Amy Sherald, and highlights the use of figures to illuminate the richness and complexity of Black life. As well as surveying the presence of the Black figure in Western art history, we examine its absence – and the story of representation told through these works, as well as the social, psychological, and cultural contexts in which they were produced. —National Portrait Gallery
3) The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society presents Aaron Diehl, piano
Wednesday, February 14th, 2024 at 7:30pm
In the Perelman Theater in the Kimmel Cultural Campus
300 S Broad Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102
Use The Brothers’ Network’s discount code “BRONET24” when purchasing tickets.
“Melodic precision, harmonic erudition, and elegant restraint” (New York Times) are hallmarks of Aaron Diehl’s playing. Praised for his “freedom and playfulness” (Philadelphia Inquirer), this celebrated musical polymath makes his PCMS debut with a program titled: An Evening of Ragtime and Harlem Stride. One of the most athletic forms of jazz piano from the early 20th century, “stride” features a characteristic leaping left hand and a heavy use of improvisation and syncopation. It was also highly competitive. Pianists would often have “cutting contests,” many times at Harlem rent parties, where performances occurred in homes to help the tenants and musicians make ends meet. Aaron Diehl’s Valentine’s Day recital connects that history to our current time with a concert featuring compositions by James P. Johnson, Thomas ‘Fats’ Waller, Willie ‘the Lion’ Smith, and other luminaries from the 1920’s.
An Evening of Ragtime and Harlem Stride
featuring works by Eubie Blake, Fats Waller, Jelly Roll Morton, Scott Joplin, and more
2) The Brothers’ Network: Dispatch from Rome, Italy
This Black History Month we are featuring the work of artists William Mistoufet and Griggs Kgole. Their work is currently on display at Temple University Rome as part of the What the Future Holds exhibition.
Feb. 6 - 23, 2024.
About the Artist: William Mistoufet
William Mistouflet (France, 1999). William will graduate from the Rome Academy of Fine Arts (RUFA) in 2026. An artist who works with both photography and printmaking, William Mistouflet’s work stems from different emotional responses inspired by expressionist characteristics; his photography focuses on urban scenes from his commutes, captured on a mobile camera. (Courtesy of Temple University Rome)
About the Artist: Griggs Kgole.
Giggs Kgole, known as Kgole, is a visionary artist whose creative journey transcends boundaries. From his roots in Kutupu Village, Limpopo, to international acclaim in Rome, Kgole's artistry reflects a rich tapestry of cultural, interpersonal, and psychological experiences. His unique use of Anaglyphs and diverse mediums, coupled with a commitment to social causes, sets him apart. Kgole's recent works, stemming from his emotional return to his village, evoke a powerful connection to his roots. The upcoming show at John Cabot University in Rome promises a captivating blend of visual and emotional narratives. As a Black artist, Kgole's pieces resonate with untold stories, capturing the essence of Black history and societal contributions. Uplifting his community is at the core of Kgole's mission. Working alongside his mother in Limpopo, he infuses personal experiences into his creations, fostering a profound connection with viewers. With recent exhibitions in LA and upcoming shows in Rome and Tuscany, Kgole's trajectory in the art industry is a compelling narrative worth following. Collecting Kgole's work means embracing a journey of cultural exploration, social consciousness, and artistic innovation. His creations serve as a beacon of inspiration for the youth, and supporting his story contributes to the flourishing legacy of a dynamic artist shaping the global creative landscape.
1) Keith Boykin in Conversation
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Friday, February 2, 2024
7:00 to 9:00 PM
At Theatre Exile 1340-48 S 13th St, Philadelphia, PA 19147
Keith Boykin is a prominent figure in the Black community, known for his unwavering advocacy and influential voice in the fight for equality and social justice. As an openly gay man, Boykin has used his platform to shed light on issues affecting marginalized communities, challenging societal norms, and advocating for change.
Boykin has authored several books, including "One More River to Cross: Black and Gay in America," offering poignant insights into the complexities of identity and the struggle for acceptance. His newest book, “Why Does Everything Have to Be About Race?” debunks common misconceptions about racial discourse in America. His literary contributions have not only provided solace to those grappling with similar challenges but have also served as educational tools, fostering empathy and understanding.
This program is a part of The Brothers’ Network celebration series bringing together members of the broader community to engage in a rich discourse with Mr. Boykin on where we are today, and how far we have to move in the future. This salon conversation is consistent with the program and experiences that amplify Brilliant Black Men like Keith Boykin. This event is a part of The Brothers’ Network’s 2024 James Baldwin Centennial Celebration.