Celebrating film as an important source material for artists, Studio Screenpresents exhibition-related screenings and conversations that engage the complex intersections of film and contemporary art.
The Studio Museum in Harlem is proud to partner with caribBEING—a non-profit organization that builds community through the lens of Caribbean cinema, culture and art—to present this Studio Screen. The program, which will be followed by the first Uptown Fridays! dance party of the season, is presented on the occasion of Ebony G. Patterson: … when they grow up …, an immersive, site-specific installation that highlights the systemic issue of ephehiphobia, or fear and loathing of children. Taking inspiration from Patterson's interest in urban youth culture and teenagers' ability to self-organize despite mounting odds, this program's selection of shorts focuses on Caribbean youth as they struggle with tough decisions, and confront their own innocence in the face of societal pressures that prescribe adult responses from them.
The screening will be followed by a public dialogue and Q&A with the featured filmmakers moderated by Shelley Worrell, co-founder of caribBeing, and Nico Wheadon, Director of Public Programs + Community Engagement at The Studio Museum in Harlem. Participants are then invited to a special Caribbean themed Uptown Fridays!, the Museum's summer series that transforms the courtyard and galleries into a vibrant social hub, featuring the sounds of Libation's DJ Ian Friday with Manchildblack and Afro Mosaic Soul, and signature cocktails.
This program is free with Museum admission, which is a suggested donation of $7 for adults and $3 for students and seniors. To pre-register for this event, please click here. All seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
The films include:
No Soca, No Life (Kevin Adams, 2012, 30 mins.)
Olivia is a teenage girl from an impoverished community with a fabulous singing voice, honed in the church choir. When she decides to use her talent to sing soca, however, Olivia must face many hurdles, not least of all stiff opposition from her mother.
Missing Melodie (Monique Campbell, 2008, 7 mins.)
A young woman emigrates from Jamaica, looking forward to the reunion with her mother, but is sadly disappointed by the bitter reality.
Making History (Karen D. McKinnon & Caecilia Tripp, 2008, 9 mins.)
Two friends, acclaimed Carribean writer Edouard Glissant and poet Linton Kwesi Johnson, meet on a summer day and discuss issues of cultural identity. Analogously, a young woman traverses a metropolis alone.
Raft of Medusa (Alexis Peskine, 2016, 10 mins.)
Illustrating Theodore Gericault's 200-year-old shipwreck painting The Raft of Medusa(1818–19), this poetic video depicts youthful migrants of African descent immigrating to the Western World from countries that were long colonized and exploited. The film explores the power and richness of these once colonized places, and speaks to the strength and vivacity of the youth uprising in these freshly independent nations, whilst also exposing the obstacles they face in the new world.