Politics & Performance

nora chipaumire, a Black African woman takes the stage in 100% POP with her collaborator, Shamar Watt, a Black Jamaican man in a black Adidas tracksuit and red-green-yellow, Zimbabwe-flag-colored Nike shoes. As he runs through the frame upstage, backgrounded by a grungy, urban wall, chipaumire captures the camera’s focus as she jumps into the air, one knee tucked up to her chest, the other a foot off the ground. Wearing a ripped white shirt, black track pants, and all-white high tops, chipaumire gazes down at the ground while she leaps up, as if stomping her way back to Earth.
Photo: Ian Douglas
  • Interviews

The West Did Not Make Me

ankita

An Interview with nora chipaumire

Two human-shaped puppets seated side by side on a platform, their legs hanging over the edge and their arms extended forward as if gesturing outward. Both puppets feature detailed facial expressions with open mouths. The puppet on the left has curly hair and wears a cheetah-print robe layered over a red bra with black lace, while the puppet on the right appears bald with facial hair and is dressed in shorts and shoes. Puppeteers dressed in dark clothing are partially visible behind and around the figures, with their hands engaged in supporting and controlling the puppets. A dark background and focused lighting emphasize the puppets’ faces, clothing, and posture, creating strong contrast and directing attention to the figures.
Photo: Charlie Lyne
  • Reviews

Sex, Satire, and Puppets on Stage

Emily “Lady Em” Culbreath

A boldly funny and surprisingly tender puppet show uses candid confessions and surreal imagery to explore sex, aging, and human intimacy.

A crowd of predominantly white people wear white dresses, t-shirts, and gauze veils draped over their heads, faces visible. Most have painted their faces white with pink around their eyes and are wearing KN95 masks. They are walking forward toward the camera, a tall shadowed building, tree foliage, stop lights, and a square of blue sky behind them. Two people in the front open their mouths mid-song and scrunch their eyebrows together, maybe from the sun and maybe with concern. Deeper into the crowd, people hold a white banner with bold black letters, “WE ARE HAUNTED BY WHAT WE SEE IN GAZA.”
Photo: Rachael Warriner
  • Reviews, thINKpieces

There is a Shoah in Gaza

Xander Cobb

Philadelphian Jews dance and sing in protest of Mural Arts Holocaust Memorial Mural that excludes Arabic and Palestine.

Wen Hui, a Chinese woman dressed in a red striped shirt and black pants, looks down past her nose at Japanese counterpart, Eiko Otake, while reaching a claw-shaped hand out to Otake’s face. Otake wears a baggy white dress that hides her form. One of her hands meets Wen Hui’s upper arm, while the other pulls Wen Hui’s hand to her face.
Photo: Zhou Huiyini
  • Reviews

War is (in)human

ankita

We are all tangled. Do you understand?

A composite still from Pajarillo, Como No Voy A Llorar? (Little Birdy, How Could I Not Cry). Travieso stands naked on concrete in front of an abstract gray digital background. With eyes closed, she holds a large black satin fabric that billows out to her left. Covering her body is an image of a large bird-like creature fallen on the ground in a desert landscape, with a child and adult looking on.
Photo: Yara Travieso
  • Interviews

Inside/Out Protest: Embodied Liberation with Yara Travieso

ankita

Softening into tender resistance and honest disobedience with NYC-based Cuban-Venezuelan artist Yara Travieso.