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Rooted in African-American freedom struggles and Igbo cosmology, The Skeuomorph unfolds as a poetic meditation on technological agency and the myths we encode in our machines. At the center of the exhibition stands BLKBX (BB)—a sculptural object, a "smarter" speaker and a speculative AI entity trained on documents of African American and African Diasporic histories, biographies and philosophies of freedom. Through a multisensory installation featuring reimagined political speeches, archival fragments, and layered sonic environments, the exhibition invites visitors to consider how history reverberates in the present—shaping the voices we amplify, the ones we silence, and the futures we imagine. Co-sponsored by the Department of Visual Arts Visiting Speaker Series, this event includes panel discussion with Louis Chude-Sokei, Professor and George and Joyce Wein Chair of English and Director of the African American and Black Diaspora Studies Program at Boston University; in addition to recently publishing The Sound of Culture: Diaspora and Black Technopoetics (2015), Chude-Sokei collaborated with Berlin based electronic artists Mouse on Mars, with whom he produced the album Anarchic Artificial Intelligence (2021). Event moderated by Amy Alexander, Professor of Visual Arts and Gallery QI committee co-chair and Robert Twomey, Assistant Teaching Professor of Visual Arts and Committee Member of the Department of Visual Arts Visiting Speaker Series. Chude-Sokei and Mendi Obadike will participate via Zoom. Gallery QI on Facebook / Instagram

Celebrities with San Diego ties open up about identity, fame and personal growth in three powerful new memoirs.

This weekend in the arts in San Diego: Peter Dreher at Quint; a lucha libre exhibit at the Comic-Con Museum; Katori Hall's "The Mountaintop" at New Village Arts; San Diego Symphony does Mahler 3; SACRA/PROFANA perform Black American composers; Future Is Color's jazz night; Fringe continues; plus live music picks and more.

The new school year can be exciting, but also stressful. Kids may be feeling anxious. Parents may be juggling new responsibilities. Experts share tips on how to manage this season of change.

Julianna Zachariou is making music in a world where streams pay pennies, forcing independent artists to get creative just to stay in the game. From crowdfunding to pushing for new legislation, she's fighting for change in the industry.

Our inaugural Film Festival hosted in Seaport Village, downtown San Diego. Independent short films will be screened in the Lighthouse District courtyard, preceded by live music and interactive activities for all. Tickets are on sale now and are only $12.50! Reserve yours today and support the local arts and culture in San Diego! Visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/art-scene-west-film-festival-tickets-1286826595989?aff=oddtdtcreator

UNID@S is a performance that brings together artists from 3 states—California, Arizona, and Baja California, Mexico. The performance includes a fusion of M A L U’s violin sounds mixed with electronica; a call for equity, projections of Hugo Crosthwaite’s visual art with visual director Kijohote; a call for freedom from discrimination, Pita Zapot’s contemporary dance; a call for protection under law and the whispering voice of a poet, Zale; a call for equal rights. UNID@S will open in the silo courtyard with a multi-instrumentalist Maki & Delion performing saxophone, clarinet and voice, a second opener in the silo room by Medical Grade performing a hardcore-analog set and will close in the silo courtyard with Katja, a violist with electronica. The Silo Room on Instagram Visit: https://thesocietyofmastercraftsmen.com/index.html

At this time of year, the flor de izote blooms in Los Angeles. The Salvadoran-American chef Karla Tatiana Vasquez says the flowers are both a delicacy and a connection to her identity.

Kneebody is keyboardist Adam Benjamin, trumpeter Shane Endsley, saxophonist Ben Wendel and drummer/bassist Nate Wood. The band has no leader or rather, each member is the leader; they’ve developed their own musical language, inventing a unique cueing system that allows them each to change the tempo, key, style, and more in an instant. The group met in their late teens while at The Eastman School of Music and Cal Arts, became fast friends, and converged together as Kneebody amid the vibrant and eclectic music scene of Los Angeles in 2001. Since then, each band member has amassed an impressive list of credits and accomplishments over the years all while the band has continued to thrive and grow in reputation, solidifying a fan base around the world. The group’s first full-length album, Chapters, mixes deep grooves and deft melodies with a wide range of guests, including Becca Stevens, Gretchen Parlato, Michael Mayo, Gerald Clayton, and Josh Dion. Kneebody on Facebook / Instagram

This story originally ran in 2019. We're resurfacing it as a time capsule of standout cosplay and fan creativity (and because Dragpool still lives rent-free in our brains).