San Diego Virtual Weekend Events: Seaport Sessions, Drive-Up Art and Experimental Music
Speaker 1: 00:00 Well. Some local businesses and spaces may be getting the all clear to open up this Memorial day weekend. It feels like the art and music world has finally found its stride with virtual offerings and social distance experiences. This holiday weekend. There's plenty to do without having a brave any crowds with a pop up festival drive up art and a finely curated collection of experimental music. Joining me with the details is KPBS art producer and editor Julia Dickson Evans and welcome Julia. Speaker 2: 00:31 Hi, Maureen. Speaker 1: 00:32 Well, first up, tonight's return of the monthly seaports sessions. What can we expect there? Speaker 2: 00:39 Yeah. Every third Thursday pop-up music and arts festival takes over Seaport village and it's hosted by 91 ex lad speakers, Tim piles. This month. They'll be trying a virtual version again featuring some of the artists who have studio space that the bread and salt Seaport studios. That's a partnership that gives access to artists of temporarily vacant restaurants or storefronts in between. Nieces and the eccentric and creative max daily will participate with his Oslo sardine bar as well as Jessica link Findlay. She's a visual artist who does a lot of STEM focused art, but kind of a cute twist on it, like her glamour shots style, glamorous Marine protected area photography. The new children's museum will also represent, so bring the whole family around the live stream Speaker 1: 01:32 and will we get to experience some live music? Speaker 2: 01:36 Yes, there are two musical acts in the lineup, pal Jenkins as the legendary San Diego bands like black heart procession and three mile pilot will perform and steadfast San Diego greats. The donkeys will do a set to their latest album just came out last year. Speaker 1: 01:54 Well, let's listen to, we are all so young by the donkeys. Speaker 3: 02:18 [inaudible] [inaudible] Speaker 1: 02:22 that was, we are also young by the donkeys this month. Seaport sessions will be tonight from six to 8:00 PM and you can join in on the Seaport village Facebook feed now, local artists, Michelle Muncho, his latest exhibition at Lux is closing this weekend, but the entire run of the exhibition has been during the shelter in place order. How can we experience it before it's gone forever? Speaker 2: 02:48 Yeah. So Montoya was installing borrow pit, which is a very site specific immersive textile installation, right when our shelter in place orders to cold. And she said she really envisioned having people be able to touch the works, small them and all of that. But for the entirety of the exhibition, no audiences have been able to go in that you can view it from outside. It's visible to the galleries. Windows and Lex art Institute has been leaving the lights on in the space at night so you can get a good look at it. It's definitely worth a drive in style visit. Speaker 1: 03:24 Now this work, the borrow pit is a large scale fiber art installation. Tell us about Michelle Mancini's work. Speaker 2: 03:33 So she gathered clothing and fabrics from people in her community and tore them into strips to make her own yarn and then constructed these massive hand net sculptures out of them shapes and things hanging from the ceiling. And it's all built in that spot. But evocative of the way trees are interconnected even when they don't touch. So it's kind of um, telling of our time right now. And it also looks like a kittens dream playground. And when I interviewed her last month about ways she could engage audiences with these installations online, she joked that she really wanted to let a kitten loose in there and she just did. You can find videos of Otis the kitten. Ah, Michelle's exhibition on kpbs.org or on Michelle's Instagram. And they're dismantling the installation this weekend. So Saturday will be your last chance to peek in. You can check it out from the main parking lot of Lex in Encinitas. Speaker 1: 04:33 And finally, a local project has created an on-demand experience for experimental art and music from around the world. Tell us about project blank and their quarantine programming. Speaker 2: 04:46 Yes. The latest installation of project blanks, sofas sessions, which are their quarantine offerings is really well curated and gorgeous. I'm not sure how long it's been of these ramshackle recordings and poorly lit living room performances, but it was so refreshing to see this world-class collection of works. Experimental music and performance art can sometimes feel a bit inaccessible. Like maybe I'm not patient enough really, I get it. But being able to interact with these things. Um, mostly videos, but some audio productions too, at my own pace. Kind of reading the statements slowly and being able to rewind and listen to things. That's really fantastic. Speaker 1: 05:30 Who are some of the performance involved? Speaker 2: 05:34 So they feature acts from around the world, including San Diego. So there's Finland, New York, Iceland, Boulder, LA, and more experimental artists like Judith Hammond, Joe Cantrell, mayor, taco ghost, Yvette, Janine Jackson, and local Jonathan Piper. Among others, there's radio, opera, poetry, absurdist dance parties, origin stories, Speaker 1: 05:58 sound meditation, and so much more. Now here is improvisation by Jonathan Piper, tuba, Alto horn and electronics recorded at San Diego space for art Speaker 3: 06:20 [inaudible]. Speaker 1: 06:21 The experimentalists is available to stream now through May 28th on a pay. What you can donation model for more San Diego arts and culture events and happenings. You can sign up for the weekly KPBS arts newsletter@kpbs.org slash arts and I've been speaking with KPBS arts producer and editor, Julia Dixon Evans. Julia, thanks so much. Thanks Maureen.
