Originally filmed on October 25, 2022
Englander Studio, Granoff Center for the Creative Arts

Brown Arts Institute at Brown University and FirstWorks co-host a Creative Conversation exploring the humanist themes of Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company’s “What Problem?” as one of a constellation of events surrounding the live performance of the work in Providence, Rhode Island by the company and 26 local community members.

Facilitated by Avery Willis Hoffman, Artistic Director of the Brown Arts Institute and Kathleen Pletcher, Executive Artistic Director of FirstWorks; panelists include Lisa Biggs, Assistant Professor of Africana Studies/Rites and Reason Theatre, Brown University; David Henry, former Bill T. Jones Director of Performing Arts at the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston; and Stéphanie Larrieux, Associate Director of the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity (CSREA) in America at Brown University.

This conversation was made possible in part by a grant from Rhode Island Council for the Humanities.

Woven from young refugees’ accounts of their journeys, CARTOGRAPHY combines simple storytelling with interactive video technology to recount experiences of modern-day migration from a youth perspective. Developed by theater director Kaneza Schaal and author/illustrator Christopher Myers, CARTOGRAPHY empowers viewers young and old to share their experiences of searching for home: What journeys have you taken? What maps have you made for yourself along the way?

“About Face” is a six-minute narrated video and the first installment in a short film trilogy that puts a different spin on the school-to-prison pipeline, and the role of fathers of black and brown children in the disruption of that paradigm. Based on the evening-length work for stage, “The Just and The Blind.” Collaborators: Marc Bamuthi Joseph, DBR, Drew Dollaz, Yak Films and Yoram Savion.

“Our Country,” originally commissioned and filmed by FirstWorks, premiered at FirstWorks Urban Carnevale on December 30, 2020. This collaborative work combines DBR’s reinterpretation of “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” as the score to Dollaz’ choreography and performance in this work that addresses police brutality.

Join FirstWorks, the creators of the multimedia performance CARTOGRAPHY, and esteemed members of our cultural community as we examine how the arts represent migration and immigrant narratives. We’ll consider how Rhode Islanders tell their own stories of migration, and how those stories evolve in a global crisis. How has COVID-19 affected the experiences of recent immigrants to the United States and our nation’s concept of immigration? How can the arts serve as a connector as we anticipate the fallout of COVID-19 on immigrant and refugee communities, locally and globally?

CONTRA-TIEMPO Artistic Director Ana Maria Alvarez talks one-on-one with fierce creators about how they work as activists and artists in this world.

Providence-based interdisciplinary artist, cultural strategist, and arts administrator Shey Rivera Ríos takes their place at the table for the FirstWorks installment of this weekly series.

Founded and directed by Ana Maria Alvarez CONTRA-TIEMPO has been dedicated to transforming the world through dance for over 15 years. Through their unique and dynamic dance-theater work, both on and off stage, CONTRA-TIEMPO builds community, facilitates dialogue, and moves us to imagine what is possible in the world.

“About Face” (Watch here) is a six-minute narrated video and the first installment in a short film trilogy that puts a different spin on the school-to-prison pipeline, and the role of fathers of black and brown children in the disruption of that paradigm. Based on the evening-length work for stage, “The Just and The Blind.” Collaborators: Marc Bamuthi Joseph, DBR, Drew Dollaz, Yak Films and Yoram Savion.

“Our Country,” originally commissioned and filmed by FirstWorks, premiered at FirstWorks Urban Carnevale on December 30, 2020. This collaborative work combines DBR’s reinterpretation of “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” as the score to Dollaz’ choreography and performance in this work that addresses police brutality.

Part I of III: Tony Award winner Bill T. Jones in conversation with Kathleen Pletcher, Executive Artistic Director of FirstWorks. Interview recorded at Walker Art Center, February 17, 2012. Videography by Matthew Berg. FirstWorks presented the New England Premiere of Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company in “Story/Time” at the VETS in Providence on March 10, 2012.

Part II of III: Tony Award winner Bill T. Jones in conversation with Kathleen Pletcher, Executive Artistic Director of FirstWorks. Interview recorded at Walker Art Center, February 17, 2012. Videography by Matthew Berg. FirstWorks presented the New England Premiere of Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company in “Story/Time” at the VETS in Providence on March 10, 2012.

Part III of III: Tony Award winner Bill T. Jones in conversation with Kathleen Pletcher, Executive Artistic Director of FirstWorks. Interview recorded at Walker Art Center, February 17, 2012. Videography by Matthew Berg. FirstWorks presented the New England Premiere of Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company in “Story/Time” at the VETS in Providence on March 10, 2012.