A weekend full of ‘Big Joy’
Three events celebrating the life and work of influential poet and filmmaker James Broughton will take place on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 11 and 12, at Vashon Center for the Arts.
The performances and events, spearheaded by islander Stephen Silha, will start at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 11, with a screening of the documentary film, “Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton,” followed by a question-and-answer session with Silha, who directed the film. The movie chronicles the life and times of Broughton, a Renaissance man called by some as the father of West Coast experimental film and described by Silha as a “gay, hippie version of Zelig.” Broughton, who lived from 1913 to 1999, made 23 experimental films and wrote 23 books of poetry.
Tickets to the film range from $10 to $15.
Another performance celebrating Broughton, “Ecstasy for Everyone,” will be performed by Jason Jenn at 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 11, at VCA. Jenn’s work often mixes humor with tragedy and is frequently infused with sociopolitical and/or queer empowered themes. Tickets for this show range from $10 to $20.
Screenings of four of Broughton’s experimental films, grouped under the banner of “In Bed with James Broughton,” will take place at 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 12, followed by a discussion with his friends. Tickets for this screening are $10 to $15.
Content of all the screenings and performances will include nudity. Find out more and purchase tickets at vashoncenterforthearts.org.
Vashon artists jump islands
Local artists Brian Fisher, Pam Ingalls and Susan Lowrey will have an exhibition, “The Vashon Island Connection,” at Roby King Gallery, on Bainbridge Island, with an opening reception set from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 3. The show will be up until Feb. 3. For more information visit robykinggallery.com.
Art history talk to explore Faith Ringgold
Rebecca Albiani will present her latest art history talk on Faith Ringgold at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 15, at Vashon Center for the Arts.
Still an active artist at 89, Ringgold was born in Depression-era Harlem. She supported her family by teaching art in the public schools as she honed her artistic vision, which dovetailed with her political philosophy during the Civil Rights movement. By the end of the 1960s, Ringgold was also deeply involved in the women’s movement, working to promote greater equality in the art world and society as a whole. In the 1970s, she began to make fabric wall hangings, masks and sculptures. In 1980, she completed the first of the quilts she has become best known for.
Albiani graduated with the highest honors in Italian and art history from UC Berkeley. For about the last 15 years, she given the monthly Art History Lecture Series at the Frye Art Museum, where her topics have ranged from ancient Egypt to Pop Art. Tickets to the talk range in price from $5 to $15 and can be purchased in advance at vashoncenterforthearts.org.
Concert for violin and piano coming up
“Virtuoso Masterworks for Violin and Piano,” a concert by David Riley and Jasper Wood, will take place at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 17, at Vashon Center for the Arts. The pair will play masterworks by Beethoven, Vitali, Fuerst and Gershwin, illustrating how these composers tested the limits of violin and piano instrumentation. Tickets, $15 to $32, can be purchased in advance at vashoncenterforthearts.org. A pre-concert talk will take place at 6:30 p.m., before the downbeat.
Theater kids get chance to shine
Vashon Youth and Family Services’ Vashon Kids will launch an after-school theater program for kids, on Jan. 22, at Chautauqua Elementary School. The 10-week program, for ages 5 to 12, will be offered from 3:35 to 5 p.m. Wednesdays and taught by local theater director Charlotte Tiencken. At the end of the course, parents and friends of the students will be invited to see the group perform on the stage at Chautauqua Elementary School. Tiencken first offered this theater class for kids last summer at the Vashon Kids Summer Camp, leading the production of “Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears,” an African folk tale.
The cost for the program is $225 for students who are not already enrolled in Vashon Kids. Vashon Kids is a before- and after-school enrichment care program. Find out more at vyfs.org/vashon-kids.
Also save the date to see “kindie” rock act Caspar Babypants, who will perform a free concert at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29, at the elementary school.
