“Spinning Home Movies: eryday. new mercy(s), Part 2 with avery r. young” will be presented live at Principle Barbers in North Lawndale, in collaboration with Night Gallery’s exhibition series, Wonderland. As a follow-up to the Sep 24 livestream program, interdisciplinary artist avery r. young along with musicians Corey J. Wilkes and Justin Dillard will create a live ekphrastic work in reaction to a home movie of the 1968 King Riots in the East Garfield neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago, from the South Side Home Movie Project’s Jean Patton Collection. The music will be improvised as the musicians encounter the footage together for the first time.

This event will present a “double feature”: a new video work by Ciera McKissick, Black Independence Day All Day, and the film screening + live performance by avery r. young. The presentation of the works will be followed by a short conversation moderated by Bobby Price of Principle Barbers. More details: https://www.thenight.gallery/2020_Ciera-Mckissick_Avery-Young

In consideration of the ongoing covid-19 pandemic, this event will take place outdoors with 6-foot social distancing; masks will be required at all events. Please RSVP so we can manage crowd sizes in public space.

Spinning Home Movies is produced and presented by Arts + Public Life (APL) and South Side Home Movie Project (SSHMP), with support from the Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture (CSRPC). Each episode features a 20-30 minute set of 8mm, Super 8mm or 16mm vintage home movie footage shot by South Side residents from the 1920s to 1980s, curated and soundtracked by Chicago DJs, musicians and performing artists.

About the Artist:
Interdisciplinary artist avery r. young is a 3Arts Award winning teaching-artist, composer and producer with work that spans the genres of music, performance, visual arts and literature. Examining and celebrating Black American history and culture, his work also focuses in the areas of social justice, equity, queer identity, misogyny and body consciousness. As a writer, this Cave Canem alum has work featured The Breakbeat Poets, Coon Bidness, to be left with the body and Make Magazine. He has also written curriculum and essay on arts education which appear in Teaching Artist Journal and A.I.M. Print. His new full-length release, “booker t. soltreyne: a race rekkid,” features songs and other sound designed created during his Arts + Public Life and Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture (APL/CSRPC) artist residency. It was during this residency that he worked worked on sound design and concrete poems called “cullud sign(s).” Through voice, sound, visual art and performance, young is constantly exploring the forms and spaces in which poetry can exist. Most recently, he is the vocalist on flutist Nicole Mitchell’s Mandorla Awakening (FPE Records) and his poetry is featured in photographer 3Arts Awardee, Cecil McDonald Jr.’s debut book, In the Company of Black (Candor Arts) and his first book neckbone (Northwestern University Press) was released in June 2019. He is currently one of four directors for the Floating Museum and touring with his band avery r. young & de deacon board.

Learn more about avery at averyryoung.com.