ASFA's Dorothy Jemison Day Theater premieres video series Jan. 29
The Dorothy Jemison Day Theater at the Alabama School of Fine Arts downtown is premiering a unique series of new performance works captured on video beginning today, Friday, Jan. 29, according to a release from the venue.
The three works will premiere on three consecutive Fridays, including Feb. 3 and Feb. 12.
The series is called ArtWorks@TheDJD and is available on the ASFA website for free.
- The first in a series of three premieres on consecutive Fridays is “Suite for Solo Celle-Alabama Climbs” by Hellen Weberpal, premiering today and on view through Feb. 5. Weberpal is a cellist with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and Cahaba River Strings. The cello piece has five movements and is composed with corresponding rock climbs done by the musician. The work is described as an intersection of the rhythm of music and the human body as they meet and explore Alabama nature.
- The Feb. 5 premiere will be “Vanderwaal's Journey” by Jahman Ariel Hill. It will be available to view through Feb. 12. A playwright, poet and professor, Hill is also a popular slam poet whose videos have garnered millions of views online. A Black sci-fi short merging poetry, dance and music, “Vanderwaal's Journey” explores themes of safety, race and health, according to the release. After finding the cure for COVID-19, an African-American man in the South is forced to battle white supremacists, monsters and aliens to get the cure to those he feels need it the most — the oppressed.
- The Feb. 12 premiere will be “Graffica” by Yogi Dada, and will be on view through Feb. 19. Yogi Dada is a visual artist, speaker, poet, and musician. “Graffica” is a docufilm about a little Black girl on the journey to becoming an artist and the journey back to freedom.
The three professional local artists in ArtWorks@TheDJD were chosen from a large pool of applicants through an open call offering grants to commission timely, relevant, original works.
Each artist partnered with the DJD Theater production team, DJD General Manager John Manzelli and filmmaker Myles Cain to create a short film of his or her work.
The series is ASFA’s “way of supporting the community by using our facilities and resources to create commissioned virtual works of art that will be accessible to everyone in the state of Alabama, free of charge,” Manzelli said in the release.