Jun 28 Sunday
This exhibition will explore movement as an integral throughline in Kwame Brathwaite’s work—one that spans his deep engagement with social and political movements and his keen attention to the body in motion. Brathwaite’s images intimate the powerful and transformative ways that action can convey joy, beauty, strength, and hope, even in charged moments.
Brathwaite (1938-2023) is perhaps most recognized for photographs celebrating Black beauty and excellence in fashion, music, and athletics. His studio portraits and concert photography like his documentation of historic marches, the everyday life of residents in Harlem and The Bronx, and of athletes such as Muhammad Ali convey the power of the body as a symbol of cultural strength, resilience, and pan-African solidarity. Through a selection of original and new prints from archival negatives, the exhibition will offer an opportunity to experience the breadth of his work and its resonance today.
Curated in close partnership with Brathwaite’s son and daughter-in-law, Kwame and Robynn Brathwaite (Amherst College Class of 1996 and 1998, respectively), Revolutionary Movements will expand stories about the artist's work and its international circulation.
Kwame Brathwaite: Revolutionary Movements is made possible by Teiger Foundation.
Jun 29 Monday
JooYoung Choi is an astro-futurist artist whose expansive practice blends autobiography and invention. For over a decade, Choi's work has centered on developing narratives within a highly structured imaginary realm known as the Cosmic Womb.
Adventures of the Quantum Soup Surfer brings together early and recent paintings, a sculptural installation, and video works that chronicle one character's journey of self-discovery. Long known as Nina Blue, the Quantum Soup Surfer first appeared in the Cosmic Womb as a professional imaginary friend, contributing to the journeys of several legendary heroes of the Cosmic Womb.
The exhibition follows Nina Blue's passage from supporting character to protagonist. She emerges as the Quantum Soup Surfer--a celestial superhero and thoughtful navigator who channels the spiritual energy of water to brave uncharted territories and share her story of resilience.
Inspired by the Cosmic Womb's motto--"Have Faith for You have Always Been Loved"--this exhibition foregrounds imagination, curiosity, and art as tools for resilience that have been significant for Nina Blue's transformation into the Quantum Soup Surfer and the hero of this story.
Adventures of the Quantum Soup Surfer is made possible by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation.
To conclude the month-long exhibit “Jacob’s Pillow in Lee, Mass.,” hosted by the Lee Library, the Lee Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a closing reception with three speakers from Lee: Alex Heddinger, Vinny Vigilante, and Bill Yehle. They will lead a discussion on marketing, tourism, and business relations between Jacob’s Pillow and the Town of Lee.
Alex Heddinger is the Director of the Lee Chamber of Commerce and a past Jacob’s Pillow intern and staff member. Vinny Vigilante is Director of Facilities, Safety & Security at Jacob's Pillow, and Bill Yehle is a former Production Manager at Jacob's Pillow. They will be joined by Lee business leaders and staff from Lee Town Hall.
Each summer, the connection between Jacob’s Pillow and the town of Lee comes alive in ways both ordinary and extraordinary. Marketing interns walk up and down Main Street asking shop owners if they can hang posters. Vendors from Lee have provided a vast range of goods and services over the decades. Performers, students, and interns stop for coffee, a meal, or an ice cream cone. Local businesses advertise in the festival program, hoping to catch the attention of visitors who travel through Lee on their way to Becket. These everyday interactions, repeated year after year, have built a long and layered relationship between the Pillow and Lee. What began as a simple stop along the road to the festival has grown into a partnership that links art, commerce, and community.
The exhibit at the Lee Library was researched and curated by Joshua D. Bloom and is made possible, in part, through a grant from the Lee Cultural Council, a local agency funded by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
Jun 30 Tuesday
Jul 01 Wednesday
Jul 02 Thursday