Musical Performances, Readings and Film Screenings to Take Place Against Backdrop of Sculpture Show

Jesse Krimes' Deus ex Machina exhibition will be on display at the Leonard Pearlstein Gallery through March 13. Photo credit: Sarah Bloom.

The Leonard Pearlstein Gallery in the URBN Annex (3401 Filbert St.) of Drexel University’s Westphal College of Media Arts & Design has become a hub for exhibitions and arts-related events of all kinds. This winter is no exception, with events ranging from musical and dance performances to readings and film screenings – most of which are free and open to the public – alongside the current exhibition of works by Jesse Krimes, the Philadelphia artist’s first solo show since returning from prison, which is on display until March 13.

Upcoming events include:

Mad Dragon Battlefest Music Performance
Wednesday, February 24 at 7:30 p.m.
$5 donation with light refreshments provided
MAD Dragon Records & MAD Dragon Media will host Mad Dragon Music Group’s critically acclaimed music series BATTLEFEST, a concert based on the famous British TV music series Later…With Jools Holland. BATTLEFEST presents bands in a semicircle formation to play one song each clockwise then repeat until they’ve all performed a full set. Bands include: Cold Fronts, EDELWEISS and more to be announced. For more information, click here.

Reading, Q+A and Book Signing with Baz Dreisinger
From her new book “Incarceration Nations: A Journey in Prisons Around the World”
Friday, February 26 at 1:30 p.m
Free and open to the public
Baz Dreisinger will read selections from her new book “Incarceration Nations: A Journey to Justice in Prisons Around the World, followed by Q+A and book signing. A professor in the English department at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, Dreisinger is the founder and academic director of the prison-to-college pipeline program. The program offers college courses and reentry planning to incarcerated men throughout New York State, and broadly works to increase access to higher education for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals. Her book “Incarceration Nations: A Journey to Justice in Prisons Around the World” (February 2016) is a first-person odyssey through prisons in nine countries, beginning in Africa and concluding in Europe. It offers a poignant window into a world most can never see, and offers a radical rethinking of one of America's most devastating exports and national experiments: the modern prison system. This event is co-presented by the Leonard Pearlstein Gallery and Drexel's PEN Society. 

"Canvases of Courage:" A Screening and Discussion on Art in Social Justice
Tuesday, March 8 at 6 p.m.
Free and open to the public
URBN Annex Screening Room
In conjunction with the current exhibition of work by criminal justice activist and artist Jesse Krimes, the gallery will screen the short-documentary “Canvases of Courage,” directed by Gerard Bush & Christopher Renz, and produced by creative director of Art for Amnesty Marvin Bing. The documentary follows the journey of celebrated artists, including Krimes, from around the world, who created works of art in an effort to raise the visibility of unique, global stories of human courage in the face of persecution and intolerance. Set in Post-Katrina New Orleans this documentary profiles world-renowned artists, humanitarians, human rights activists and prisoners of conscience including Albert Woodfox (the last remaining incarcerated member of “The Angola-3”) Douglass Miles, Jerome Lagarrigue, Katie Yamasaki, Sophia Dawson, Hebru Brantley and others.

A panel discussion with a Q+A session will follow the screening. The panel will be introduced by founder and executive director of Mural Arts Jane Golden and moderated by director of the Kal and Lucille Rudman Institute for Entertainment Industry Studies Karen Curry. The discussion will feature professional artists and activists involved with the “Canvases of Courage” project: creative director of Arts for Amnesty and executive producer of “Canvases of Courage” Marvin Bing, director of “Canvases of Courage” Gerard Bush and three artists included in the documentary, Sophia Dawson, Jesse Krimes and Jerome Lagarrigue. 

Fragment/Frame: Dance Performance and Discussion
Saturday, March 12 & Sunday, March 13 from 7 – 8 p.m.
Free and open to the public
The Leonard Pearlstein Gallery will present Fragment/Frame, a student performance experiment followed by discussion and conversation. The performance is directed by the talented Tania Isaac, assistant teaching professor of performing arts. The dancers will be performing in the gallery, drawing inspiration from the work in the current exhibition, Jesse Krimes: Deus ex Machina. The event is free and light refreshments will be included.