by Grace Chinowsky
(This article was originally published on Real Change and has been reprinted under an agreement.)
Frida Kahlo never let turbulence and tragedy stifle her artistic voice.
Continue reading ‘Frida Kahlo and the Bravest Girl in the World’ Bolsters Inclusivity and Immortalizes Painterby Danielle Hayden
Seattle Opera debuted its world premiere of A Thousand Splendid Suns on Feb. 25. Based on the critically acclaimed novel by The New York Times bestselling author Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns unfolds the complex story of Mariam and Laila, two women in Afghanistan who are generations apart but whose fates collide due to circumstance, pain, and tragedy. They become united under the same household against their common enemies — the Taliban that oppresses outside their walls, and the abusive husband who oppresses within them.
Continue reading Seattle Opera Debuts ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns,’ based on the Khaled Hosseini NovelThe Morning Update Show — hosted by Trae Holiday and The Big O (Omari Salisbury) — is the only weekday news and information livestream that delivers culturally relevant content to the Pacific Northwest’s urban audience. Omari and Trae analyze the day’s local and national headlines as well as melanin magic in our community. Watch live every weekday at 11 a.m. on any of the following channels, hosted by Converge Media: YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, Periscope, and whereweconverge.com.
We also post the Morning Update Show here on the Emerald each day after it airs, so you can catch up any time of day while you peruse our latest posts.
LIVE — Vivian Phillips of STG’s DOORS | Norman Garrett of the Seattle Opera | Supreme Court Might Overturn Roe v. Wade | $10.6M to Help Those Transitioning Out of Foster Care | Black Business Renaissance
Continue reading The Morning Update Show — 5/3by Jasmine J. Mahmoud
Stage left: A towering three-story glass window frames a humble apartment. With dark grille lines that form a grid within, the window slopes inward and lets in iridescent rays of orange, yellow, and blue from the outside. Inside, we are in the attic apartment of four roommates: visual artist Marcello, poet Rodolfo, philosopher Colline, and musician Schaunard. Their apartment is sparse, with accouterments of art — music stand, easel, books — and of survival: a fire. Art and fire interact when we first meet Marcello and Rodolfo, who lament over the incessant cold and burn some of Rodolfo’s writing to keep warm.
Continue reading Seattle Opera Plans to Address Racial Inequity On and Off Stage With ‘RESI’ Proposalby Mark Van Streefkerk
It’s easy to feel helpless or overwhelmed in the face of looming and large-scale crises — like a pandemic, climate change, and systemic inequities, for starters — but there’s one thing you can do that’s free, relatively quick and easy, always in demand, and directly saves lives: donating blood.
Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs a blood transfusion, which can be essential for cancer patients, trauma victims, premature babies, very ill COVID-19 patients, and more. One pint of donated blood can be used for live-saving treatment for three people.
Continue reading We Can Be Heroes: The Summer Blood Shortage and Why It’s Vital for BIPOC to Donateby Mark Van Streefkerk
For over 400 years, opera has been an art form that encompasses vocal and orchestral music, storytelling, and visual art to explore the human condition — and in its beginnings, that meant the white, European human condition. Opera has since been written, performed, and loved by people around the world from many diverse cultures and ethnicities. In the 21st century, audiences and performers alike are increasingly acknowledging the historical racism, exoticism, and misogyny of opera’s traditional works and opening up doors for conversations about how to approach and interpret them.
As part of Seattle Opera’s ongoing Community Conversations, last week the company presented a virtual panel discussion, The View From the Pit: Maestros on Race and Gender in Opera. The public webinar was moderated by Seattle Opera’s Director of Programs and Partnerships Alejandra Valarino Boyer, and featured maestros Kazem Abdullah, Viswa Subbaraman, and Judith Yan, conductors who have all worked with the Seattle Opera and internationally. The discussion covered a wide range of topics like representing marginalized people, finding liberatory spaces in opera, advice for other BIPOC artists, and how the conductors would like companies and audiences to approach challenging works. The discussion will soon be uploaded for viewing on Seattle Opera’s Community Conversations page.
Continue reading Seattle Opera Maestros of Color Explore Race and Gender in ‘View From the Pit’curated by Emerald Staff
From the host (Olu Productions): The event was designed to feature companies created by young people of African Descent, as well as showcase entertainment by young Black performers. It is our belief that as these young Black entrepreneurs grow and mature and their businesses grow and mature they can potentially be in the position to hire Black employees as well as contribute to a variety of socioeconomic justice and community building efforts. Those businesses can then create and pass on multi-generational Black assets and wealth. Black wealth that remains with Black people can lead to the building of a community that has a sound economic base and infrastructure. We also encourage parents, caregivers, and adults in the Black community to support Black youth entrepreneurship believing that we are building a future legacy of cooperative economics, interdependence, and self-reliance within the Black population.
Continue reading WEEKLY NEWS GLEAMS: It’s Never 2 Early 2 Create & Innovate, Fellowships for “Future Arts Leaders of Color,” and More …
