This weekend in the arts: Kelsey Brookes at Quint, drag artist Jaye Piper Rosewell, a City Heights music festival, Javier Arreguin Villegas, and outdoor music at The Old Globe.
Quint Gallery Reception: Kelsey Brookes and Nicholas Galanin
Visual Art
Quint Gallery — and the nearby Quint ONE — have been open for a while, but they haven't held any sort of opening reception since the pandemic began. But they're back! Even though Kelsey Brookes' solo exhibition has been on view since late May, this is the gallery's first chance to throw a public party about it.
Brookes' work is as brainy and psychedelic as it is popular — and one of my favorite things about this exhibition is that it pulls from a bunch of different series spanning 12 years, so there's a ton of variety and lots of detail to take in. You can read more in our 5 Works Of Art To See In June roundup.
At Quint ONE, just a half block away, new work by Nicholas Galanin will be on view next week. "White Noise, American Prayer Rug" is a huge, abstract tapestry, a variation on the piece that Galanin showed in a recent Whitney Biennial. It looks like snowy static on a TV set, and speaks to power, media, intolerance and hate rampant in American political landscapes. Galanin is an indigenous Tlingit artist based in Alaska, and you may have seen his "Never Forget" (sometimes referred to as "INDIAN LAND") installation in Desert X, modeled after the HOLLYWOOD sign in Los Angeles. "Never Forget" is still on view through the summer, so it's exciting that we will have a chance to see two of his pieces in Southern California.
Details: Saturday, June 26 from 6-8 p.m. at Quint Gallery (7655 Girard Ave., La Jolla) and Quint ONE (7722 Girard Ave.). Free.
Word Up! Live: Pride Edition
Theater, Music
A great example of a pandemic-era-event-turned-IRL is Word Up, the Old Globe's mad libs-style masterclass discussion and performance series. The project just switched to in-person audiences two weeks ago, marking the first live audience at The Globe since early 2020. There's a small outdoor stage set up in the plaza out front, near the pub, and audiences are seated at the outdoor patio tables. Seating is first-come, first-served.
This Friday, the theme is drag music. They'll kick off the evening at 5 p.m. with a DJ set from Miki Vale, and then host Laura Zablit will begin the program, which features drag artist, actor and singer-songwriter Jaye Piper Rosewell. Rosewell joined Word Up back in the virtual days about a year ago, and it was a fantastic show.
Details: Friday, June 25, 2021 at 5:30 (doors at 5 p.m.), plus a virtual simulcast. 1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park. Free.
Music En La Calle
Music, Dance
Bodhi Tree Concerts is producing a free live music and dance festival in City Heights, at the Centerline Lot.
There's a full schedule of performances — all outdoors — from noon until 6 p.m. You can catch performances from Danza Mexi-Cayotl, Mariachi Victoria, and Tamba Fallah, a rapper from Liberia. There'll be Ledong Huang, a Chinese opera, plus the Paloma Centro de Arte flamenco dancers, Fern Street Circus, Irving Flores' Afro-Cuban Jazz Quintet, the Japanese drum group Naruwan Taiko and more.
There'll be book giveaways and crafts for kids, plus international foods and arts vendors.
Details: Saturday, June 26 from noon to 6 p.m. University Ave. and 41st St., City Heights. Free.
Javier Arreguin Villegas: 'Anticuado' Opening Reception
Visual Art, Music
Opening this weekend is a solo show of new works by artist Javier Arreguin Villegas at Hill Street Country Club. His work is powerful, telling stories of fatherhood, brotherhood, immigration, love and identity through his unique and wide-ranging visual art styles.
Saturday will be a two-part opening reception. Part one is virtual, at 1 p.m., hosted by The Front Arte and Cultura gallery director Francisco Morales. Register here.
If you're ready for in-person events, HSCC is hosting a gallery reception on-site, Saturday night with live music by Kurtis Ray. Ray will perform instrumental music informed by and in conversation with Arreguin Villegas' art.
Details: Saturday, June 26, 2021 at 1 p.m. (virtual) or 5-9 p.m. (on-site). 530 S. Coast Highway, Oceanside. Free.
More visual art: 'Convene' is a Black LGBTQ+ arts showcase, commemorating both Juneteenth and the anniversary of the Stonewall riots. It's hosted by the Broken's Building Art Gallery Board — which moved into what appears to be the old Helmuth Projects space in Banker's HIll in early 2020. There'll be a vigil, workshop, open mic as well as art on view. Saturday from 6-9 p.m. Free.
'An Evening With Carmen Cusack'
Theater, Music
One more exciting use of The Old Globe's outdoor spaces: cabaret-style performances by one of their stars from previous shows. Carmen Cusack was nominated for a Tony Award for her role in "Bright Star," by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell. The bluegrass musical premiered at The Globe in 2019 before hitting Broadway.
Performing on the Lowell Davies Festival Stage, Cusack is also known for her role as Elphaeba in a North American tour of "Wicked" and the forthcoming Broadway show "Flying Over Sunset." Expect a wide variety of tunes custom-picked for fans of theater.
Details: Friday-Sunday at 8 p.m. 1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park. $29-65.
For more arts events, visit the KPBS/Arts calendar, and be sure to sign up for the weekly KPBS/Arts newsletter here. What are your plans this weekend? Share them with other local arts and culture fans in the KPBS/Arts Facebook group.
