Screening: Andrew Rossi and Okwui Okpokwasili, Bronx Gothic
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Okwui Okpokwasili in Andrew Rossi's Bronx Gothic
Courtesy of Grasshopper FilmJoin us for a screening of Bronx Gothic, Andrew Rossi's electrifying portrait of writer and performer Okwui Okpokwasili and her acclaimed solo show of the same title. The film gives insight into Okpokwasili's creative process and the complex social issues it embodies. Rooted in her childhood memories, she creates a mesmerizing space in which audiences engage with a story about two 12-year-old black girls coming of age in the 1980s.
After the screening, join Chicago artists Brendan Fernandes, Darrell Jones, and Amina Ross in a conversation about race and the process of making live performance.
Admission to Bronx Gothic is free with purchase of a ticket to Okwui Okpokwasili Poor People’s TV Room, which appears on the MCA Stage April 12–15, 2018.
Funding
Copresented by the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago
About the Artists
Brendan Fernandes is a Canadian artist of Kenyan and Indian descent. He earned his MFA from the University of Western Ontario (2005) and his BFA from York University (2002). He has exhibited internationally and nationally including at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, MoMA, Art in General, MAC Montreal, the National Gallery of Canada, the Brooklyn Museum, Mass MoCA and the Stedelijk Museum. He is currently artist-in-residence and a faculty member at Northwestern University in the Department of Art Theory & Practice, and is represented by Monique Meloche Gallery in Chicago.
Darrell Jones has performed in the United States and abroad with a variety of choreographers and dance companies such as Urban Bush Women and Min Tanaka. He has received choreographic fellowships from MANCC (Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography) and CDF (Chicago Dancemakers Forum), and has been a recipient of the Wesleyan University Creative Campus Fellow (2017) and Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation. Jones is presently a tenured faculty member at The Dance Center of Columbia College in Chicago where he teaches classes in physical practice, performance, and improvisational techniques.
Amina Ross is an undisciplined creator and educator. They work across mediums, shaping spaces that honor darkness and love through language, light-based video installations, sculpture, and curatorial engagements. Ross studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and has exhibited work at venues throughout Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia. Ross has spoken on panels and taught workshops at a wide range of events and venues including Wayne State University, the College Arts Association Conference, the Alphawood Foundation, and Women's Center for Creative Work.