A new month brings us a couple of art openings this weekend, as regional artist Omar Pimienta takes over the Lux Art Institute Brandes gallery space and Cataphant installs a solo show at Swish Projects. The Old Globe kicks off actual on-site, in-person, live audience shows again, and — because some things are sold out thanks to our post-cooped up, feverish ticket buying (and limited capacity) — my music and dance recommendations are primarily virtual.
Plus, don't miss our feature stories this week for more arts events, like my roundup of 5 works of visual art to see around town in June, and Beth Accomando's preview of the San Diego Arab Film Festival. But first, here's my recommendations for this weekend.
'Sediment/o': Omar Pimienta At Lux Art Institute
Visual Art, Poetry
Cross-border interdisciplinary artist Omar Pimienta is the new regional artist at Lux Art Institute, opening his exhibition Saturday. His work studies deportation, citizenship, the environment and geography — particularly the politicized history and perception of the Tijuana river — bringing photography, mixed media collage, sculpture, tech and poetry together in "Sediment/o." The exhibition title is also the title of Pimienta's book of poetry, and he'll read from this book during Friday's opening reception.
The visual works are startling, many of which combine photography from the wild and varied landscapes of the Tijuana river region overlaid with cement-like lettering, phrases like "Time is foreign," or "Landscape is a social construct."
Details: Opens Friday, June 4, 2021 from 6-9 p.m. with a reception, artist talk and poetry performance. On view by appointment, Thursday through Saturday from 2-5 p.m., through Saturday, Aug. 7. 1550 S. El Camino Real, Encinitas. Free/donation-based.
Zlatomir Fung, Cello And Richard Fu, Piano Outdoor Concert
Music
Cello virtuoso Zlatomir Fung will join piano player Richard Fu for the La Jolla Music Society's outdoor concerts this weekend, performing a set of three works arranged for cello and piano. LJMS is offering Saturday in-person performances which are both unfortunately sold out. Fret not (cello joke!), there's a sell-out-proof livestream option on Sunday afternoon with slightly different musical selections. We'll hear American composer Arthur Berger's "Duo for Cello and Piano," which is a mysterious and tonal dance, Fauré's devastating "Sonata No. 1 for Cello and Piano in D-minor," and Beethoven's "Sonata No. 3 in A Major for Piano and Cello." Tune in early to catch a prelude performance by a local youth.
Details: Sunday, June 6 at 3 p.m., 2:30 for the pre-show. Virtual. $15.
Word Up — In Person! — At The Old Globe: Hip Hop And Freestyle Rap
Theater, Music
The Old Globe's Word Up project, which ran virtually throughout the entire pandemic, is finally going in-person at The Globe, in the Copley Plaza — they're using dramatic, sci-fi-esque terminology like "reactivation" of the plaza, which I will allow on account of it being June 2021. This week's program will feature Miki Vale, hip hop extraordinaire and founder of SoulKiss Theater, rapper Ric Scales, and a live audience. Vale will DJ a set for the audience to dance to (or to just sit and listen to while you wonder if you remember how to interact with other humans), then they'll follow it with a hip hop and freestyle rap session with Vale and Scales.
Details: Friday, June 4 from 5-6:30 p.m. 1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park. Free.
'All My Thoughts Multiply': Cataphant At Swish Projects
Visual Art
Read more about Cataphant and this exhibition in '5 Works Of Art To See In San Diego In June.'
The exhibition, "All My Thoughts Multiply," is Cataphant's (also known as Catalina Bellizzi-Itiola) exploration of her bipolar disorder — both her lived experience and her intensive study and research. It's a series of seven paintings paired with a song (using QR codes on your smartphone, so bring headphones). The paintings each reflect some component of her experience with bipolar disorder, including a set that covers the range of moods or states in a manic episode. Cataphant's work is bold and dizzying, full of color, texture and movement. This is her first solo exhibition — she was scheduled to open her actual first solo show at Weird Hues gallery in February 2020, but she postponed when her father passed away — and then the pandemic set in. Just over a year ago, grief-stricken in those early days of the pandemic, she spoke to KPBS about her diagnosis of bipolar disorder and PTSD, and how she channeled her illness into mask making.
Details: Opens Saturday, June 5 from 6-9 p.m. On view by appointment through June 27.
The Traditional Music And Dance Of Mindanao, Philippines
Dance, Music
The San Diego-based Center for World Music is bringing in scholars as well as performers for a look at the dance and folk music from the Maguindanao people of the Philippines, as well as why it's important to work to preserve these art forms in the United States. It's a combination of live discussion and pre-recorded performances. One of the discussion leaders is Kim Kalanduyan-Villanueva, who is a kulintang musician, which is a Mindanao instrument made of a series of tuned, horizontal metal drums or gong-like pieces. Kalanduyan-Villaneuva's grandfather, Danongan "Danny" Kalanduyan was a kulintang master and NEA National Heritage Fellow. Nicholas Delmundo-Benton is a folk dancer, and will also join the discussion.
Details: Sunday June 6, 2021 at 2 p.m. Virtual, via YouTube, but registration is required. Free.
Trolley Dances
Dance
Trolley Dances returns to the tracks this weekend, featuring site-specific choreography from favorites Monica Bill Barnes, Jody Oberfelder, Mary Ann Fernandez-Holding and the return of Jean Isaacs. It's a three-stop, four-performance tour this year, beginning at the 70th Street Trolley Station. (If you want to try your luck to just walk up and catch a peek (FYI, San Diego Dance Theater warns that there's limited room for walkups), the first performance is at 70th Street, then two dances at the SDSU station, then the fourth at Grantville.)
Details: Saturday and Sunday, June 5-6, with tours leaving at 10:30, 11:30, 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. each day. $15-25.
For more arts events or to submit your own, visit the KPBS/Arts calendar, and be sure to sign up for my weekly KPBS/Arts newsletter here.
