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LIVE MUSIC
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You might know Philly native Lizzy McAlpine from her breakthrough hit single “Ceilings,” which went viral on TikTok in spring 2022. (The song sparked a trend in which users lip-synced to the song while running through the rain or snow as the cathartic chorus crescendoes in the background.) But the introspective indie pop singer-songwriter is more than a social media phenomenon—she’s proven herself to have a knack for poignant, vulnerable lyrics and an expressive, resonant voice, appearing on duet versions of the dark-night-of-the-soul ballad “Call Your Mom” with folk pop star Noah Kahan and the clever torch song “You Could Start a Cult” with former One Direction member Niall Horan. I’ve watched her YouTube cover of the Wheatus classic “Teenage Dirtbag” so many times that it’s supplanted the original in my head. She’ll stop through Portland on her second headline tour, promoting her third studio album Older. JB
(Theater of the Clouds, Lloyd District)
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Thirty-five years into their career, Glasgow-based luminaries Teenage Fanclub are still churning out gloriously catchy, charming, and slightly sad indie rock songs. Last year, the band released their twelfth album Nothing Lasts Forever, which takes cues from ’60s rock bands like the Byrds for rich harmonies, warm guitars, and a slight country twang. Welsh folk singer Sweet Baboo will open. AV
(Mississippi Studios, Boise)
FILM
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I can think of few better ways to celebrate the coming of spring than with the films of Jacques Demy, who largely shirked the French New Wave’s stylish black-and-white ambiguity in favor of whimsy and color. This free screening of his French fairy tale adaptation Donkey Skin is a perfect example of what makes Demy (and star Catherine Deneuve) so memorable—the film is satirical, kitschy, and palatial, Deneuve dons a donkey head, and Delphine Seyrig is the world’s most fashionable fairy godmother. LC
(Clinton Street Theater, Hosford-Abernethy)
LIVE MUSIC
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LCD Soundsystem has not released an album since 2017, but don’t be mistaken—they are booked and busy. I am not even a fan of theirs but I’ve seen them live three times on the music festival circuit… Which is why I was surprised to hear that they haven’t played in Seattle proper in 17 years. Don’t miss the infectious electro-rock project on a rare US tour (or as they’ve dubbed it, a “kinda tour”) with a stop in Bend. AV
(Hayden Homes Amphitheater, Bend)
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After a six-year hiatus, California indie-rockers Warpaint returned in 2022 with Radiate Like This, an album that showed an evolution of maturity in their songwriting while never shying away from playful themes (such as asking your lover for naked photos on “Send Nudes.”) Now, they’re back to celebrate their 20th bandiversary by playing debut EP, Exquisite Corpse, in its entirety. I, for one, am looking forward to swaying along to their ethereal smash “Billie Holiday,” which I first heard back in 2011 at an Anthropologie. LA-based art punk band Sego will open. AV
(Revolution Hall, Buckman)
LIVE MUSIC
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Ah, an anniversary tour: how elder millennials and Gen Xers measure time now. Long before the Washington-based, Ben Gibbard-fronted bands the Postal Service and Death Cab For Cutie announced a Portland date for the 20th-anniversary tour of Give Up and Transatlanticism, respectively, I snagged tickets for the Seattle show. I never miss a chance to see my lord and savior, Jenny Lewis, after all. Among a sea of flannel and bearded folks, Ben pulled double duty and turned out a rollercoaster of emotions across the two albums, played in their entirety back-to-back. There could be nothing better. JW
(Moda Center, Lloyd District)
READINGS & TALKS
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Plants don’t just hear sounds, store memories, trick animals, and recognize kin, although I’ll admit it, I’m shocked by those discoveries. They also have social lives (I’m imagining a plant rager right now), and their keen communication skills are why they’re still kicking around after all these years. Zoë Schlanger has the scoop—the Atlantic staff writer’s book The Light Eaters looks closely at the intelligent botanical life that’s busy in survival mode. For this conversation, Schlanger will be joined by Ferris Jabr, author of Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life. LC
(Powell’s City of Books, Pearl District)
COMEDY
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Over 30 of Portland’s best improvisers will gather again for this who’s who of Rose City comedy. Each Secret Aardvark event features an extra-special mystery guest (past guests have run the gamut from David Lynch to random high school theater students), and the show’s so spicy that it’s named after the organizers’ fave local hot sauce, so it should warm your chilly bones. LC
(Kickstand Comedy, Ladd’s Addition)
PERFORMANCE
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Live Wire’s spring offerings will continue with another edition of the honest and funny conversational show hosted by Luke Burbank. This time around, featured guests will include Harlem-born stand-up Zainab Johnson, whose hilarious, Portland-critical comedy style was shaped by her upbringing as one of 13 siblings in a Muslim family. She’ll head to the stage with lauded photojournalist Ivan McClellan, whose trek across the US resulted in the photo book project Eight Seconds: Black Rodeo Culture, and alt-rock legend Kristin Hersh. LC
(Patricia Reser Center for the Arts, Beaverton)
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If there were ever a celebrity podcast I’d actually listen to, it would be Paul Giamatti’s. Think about it: Don’t you kinda want to know what he thinks about, well, anything and everything? Luckily for us, he DOES have a podcast, and he talks to a philosophy professor (Stephen T. Asma, who’s also the author of 10 books) on it. Chinwag “may or may not dive really, really, really deep into the edge of the known [and] topics like aliens, science fiction, and imagination.” Okay, I’m on board. Giamatti and Asma will drop by town, hopefully to tell me whether or not we’re living in a simulation. LC
(Revolution Hall, Buckman)
COMEDY
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You might know Celeste Barber from her frank, funny celebrity photo parodies, which have attracted over 8.1 million followers to the comic’s Instagram account. The Aussie “Queen of Comedy” recently shot the Netflix comedy series Wellmania, based on the novel Wellmania: Misadventures in the Search for Wellness. She’ll stop by Portland, hopefully with more jokes about hot people. LC
(Newmark Theatre, South Park Blocks)
LIVE MUSIC
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Locally based quintet Blitzen Trapper will support their new album, 100’s of 1000’s, Millions of Billions, an abstract exploration that makes peace with the world’s unknowns. The night promises exquisite storytelling, sharp imagery, and the band’s signature eclectic country-folk-rock sound. Arrive in time to catch an opening set from local indie rock band Small Paul. AV
(Aladdin Theater, Brooklyn)
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Laraaji has opened for Solange, performed with plants at South by Southwest, and created hazy albums with fellow experimenters Sun Araw and Blues Control. Make no mistake: he’s “out there,” but also a true New Yorker grounded in his vision, creating everything from guided meditation and reiki albums to force-of-nature instrumentals that have helped shape the New Age and ambient music landscapes for decades. His process is compact and portable. Using modified autoharps, electrified kalimbas, an array of pedals, and improvisational trance states, Laraaji channels an ambrosial, lilting sound that’s positioned him as something of a do-good sonic alchemist in musical history. He’ll perform an improvisational set alongside Sam Prekop of the Sea & Cake at this visionary show. LC
(First Congregational Church, South Park Blocks)
AANHPI HERITAGE MONTH
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Lan Su’s Cultural Immersion Days will pepper AANHPI Heritage Month with opportunities to learn more about AANHPI traditions. The series continues this week with a focus on the Pacific Islands, followed by South Asian cultures on May 25. Local cultural organizations will use the gardens as a backdrop for performances, talks, workshops, and family-friendly activities. The events are all free with garden admission, and you can grab a treat from the tranquil, newly renamed Yun Shui Teahouse while you’re there. LC
(Lan Su Chinese Garden, Old Town-Chinatown)
FILM
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Multi-talented artist Saul Williams’s punky sci-fi vision comes to life in Neptune Frost, a turbulent, Afrofuturist thrill ride. The musical film blends thoughts that William explored in his 2016 album MartyrLoserKing with input from co-director Anisia Uzeyman, a Rwandan-born artist. The flick follows a gaggle of miners-turned-computer hackers in the Burundi hilltops, and sends a powerful message of technology’s capacity for progression and radical change. We’re enamored by the cool character names, like “Tekno” and “Psychology,” but the film’s quirks and artistic displays of bravura aren’t just for show—Neptune Frost is grounded in anticolonialism, anticapitalism, and liberation. It’s important that films like this exist, so go show your support. LC
(Hollywood Theatre, Hollywood District)
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If you’re big into Midsommar and The Witch, please don’t hurt my folk horror-loving heart by skipping out on The Wicker Man (the original one, sans freaked-out Nicolas Cage). In the ’73 film, you’ll visit a remote Scottish island that’s jam-packed with sacrifice-obsessed pagans and wanton lust, which is never a good combination. Since the film’s spell-casting release, we’ve seen a proliferation of creepy cults and psychedelic hysteria pop on screen. I recommend checking out the flick that started it all—The Wicker Man stars an especially off-kilter Christopher Lee. LC
(Clinton Street Theater, Hosford-Abernethy)
LIVE MUSIC
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Belle & Sebastian has one of the greatest band origin stories: Back in 1994, Stow College students Stuart Murdoch and Stuart David recorded a few demos for a school project with their music professor Alan Rankine (formerly of the Associates). After one of their singles was picked up by the college’s record label Electric Honey, the label offered to release their debut album, Tigermilk, which went on to shape the genre of indie pop as we know it. Eleven albums and nearly three decades later, Murdoch still fronts the legendary twee ensemble, bringing their delicate indie rock around the globe. Don’t miss the band as they play tracks from their 12th album, Late Developers, which sounds just as fresh as their debut (seriously, Murdoch’s voice has not aged). Canadian folk band the Weather Station will open. AV
(Revolution Hall, Buckman)
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Toronto-based vocalist Charlotte Day Wilson fuses her deep velvety vocals with sparse R&B instrumentation for sultry serenades about love, longing, and heartache. Expect to hear songs from her newest release, Cyan Blue, which features a collaboration with fellow R&B heavy Snoh Aalegra. AV
(Hawthorne Theatre, Hawthorne District)
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Stardew Valley is the latest gaming craze that all my friends are playing but that I still don’t understand (for the record, I’m still playing Candy Crush). From what I can tell, the game is in a similar vein and has the same relaxing vibe as Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon, or even Farmville. And, given the aesthetics of the whole thing, I’m sure that the music is just as cozy. This immersive concert will feature fresh arrangements of the game’s most cherished songs, performed live by a chamber orchestra. AV
(Aladdin Theater, Brooklyn)
FILM
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Few actors have elicited the immediate adoration that young Heather Matarazzo achieved—her blend of adolescent precociousness and clumsy self-consciousness would resonate with damn near anyone. Welcome to the Dollhouse is Matarazzo at her most blatantly loveable: She’s a teen outcast who is forced to live in New Jersey and pine after long-haired dudes. The ’95 black comedy also launched director Todd Solondz’s career, so if you’re a fan of Happiness or Life During Wartime, you owe it to yourself to see this, too. All proceeds from the screening will be donated to Stumptown Strays, a local dog rescue dedicated to “rescuing shelter dogs with treatable medical needs, providing lifesaving veterinary care, and aiding them on their path to their forever homes.” LC
(Hollywood Theatre, Hollywood District)
FOOD & DRINK
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In honor of AANHPI Heritage Month, Veganizer has gathered several participants from cultures across Asia in order to “celebrate the diversity of Asian restaurants in Portland and the intersection between Asian culture and vegan cuisine.” The eight-course tasting menu will feature Indian fare from Bhuna, Thai fare from Norah, Japanese fare from Obon Shokudo, Vietnamese fare from Friendship Kitchen, Palestinian fare from Jawaher, Sri Lankan fare from Mirista, Indonesian fare from Wajan and Pasar, Filipino-Chinese-Chamorro fare from Jade Rabbit, and Singaporean fare from Waz Wu of Veganizer. It’s a rare opportunity to sample plant-based dishes from some the most coveted names in Portland’s culinary scene in one place, and a portion of proceeds will benefit APANO’s mission to “build power, develop leaders, and advance equity through organizing, advocacy, community development and cultural work.” JB
(Mestizo, Richmond)
PERFORMANCE
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The transfeminine writer, performer, comedian, fashion icon, activist, and public speaker ALOK wears…a lot of hats. If you’re into the #DeGenderFashion movement or their book, Beyond the Gender Binary, you’re already well aware that ALOK is a boundary-pushing changemaker to watch. The multitalented creative has developed a unique blend of poetry, comedy, and vulnerability on stage, often touching on topics of trauma and belonging. Get into it at this performance, where they’ll appear alongside Portland-based “Swiss Army knife” comedian Mx. Dahlia Belle. LC
(Revolution Hall, Buckman)
COMEDY
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Curious Comedy’s Chroma Comedy Festival brings some much-needed melanin to the stage, elevating the voices of BIPOC comedians who have historically been underrepresented through improv, stand-up, and sketch sets. The fest brings together top talent and comical up-and-comers through an open submission process, so you’ll see a mix of familiar funnybones and (perhaps) new-to-you comics pick up the mic. LC
(Curious Comedy Theater, King, Monday-Saturday)
EXHIBITS
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Discover traditional attire from AANHPI cultures (and grab a cup from the serene, newly renamed Yun Shui Teahouse) at Threading Together, Lan Su’s newest exhibition of traditional clothing. The show displays “7-10 outfits” that “narrate the stories of their diverse and rich cultural heritage.” It’s a solid way for the sartorially inclined to learn more about fashions from Thailand, Vietnam, China, India, Japan, Nepal, and other countries, just in time for AANHPI Heritage Month. LC
(Lan Su Chinese Garden, Old Town-Chinatown, Monday-Sunday)
FESTIVALS
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Vanport, the largest World War II federal housing project in the United States and once Oregon’s second-largest city, was destroyed by a flood in 1948 that left 18,000 people homeless and forced Portland’s white residents to reckon with their racist housing practices. In observance of the 76th anniversary of the flood, the 15-day festival of “memory activism” will commemorate the disaster with community-minded presentations, exhibits, documentary screenings, tours, and more. Check out this year’s program for a full rundown. LC
(Various locations, Saturday-Sunday)
FILM
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I’ve been a Harmony Korine fan (and apologist—looking at you, Trash Humpers) since I was a teen, believing wholly that Gummo and Kids were peak cinema. Korine has always seemed unconcerned with the line between experimental and wide-release film, and this typically works in his favor. Aggro Dr1ft seems hellbent on toeing that line again; the first project released under his EDGLRD banner (lol) was described as having “all the commerciality of penis cancer, looking like the ugliest fucking Playstation 1 game you’ve ever seen” by Indiewire. Here’s what I know: The film exclusively uses infrared photography, Travis Scott is in it, and there’s some sort of hitman-against-crime lord plot set against a psychedelic swirl of the Miami underworld. Um, sign me up, I think? LC
(Cinema 21, Nob Hill, Monday-Thursday)
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Italian auteur Luca Guadagnino’s latest follows Zendaya as Tashi, a prodigy tennis player-turned-coach whose training transformed her husband into a national champion. Things get weird and maybe horny when she forces him to play a pro-tournament “Challenger” event alongside her former boyfriend. Do I care about tennis? No, of course not!! But I don’t ask for much—Zendaya and a psychosexual plotline are enough for me. LC
(Cinema 21, Nob Hill, Monday-Thursday)
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Alex Garland’s latest, Civil War, is A24’s most expensive in-house production to date, following a group of military-embedded journos headed to DC “before rebel factions descend upon the White House.” Honestly, I’m wary of how he’ll handle this one, although Garland’s work does tend to thrive in dystopian settings. But Kirsten Dunst stars as a photojournalist, which is reason enough to watch. Also, Garland may or may not be retiring from directing (“I’m going to take a break for the foreseeable future,” he clarified recently), so if you’re a fan of the filmmaker behind Annihilation and Men, you should plan to let his new one marinate. LC
(Hollywood Theatre, Hollywood District, Monday-Thursday)
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Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s follow-up to the Murakami-inspired Oscar winner Drive My Car follows a father and daughter who spend their days gathering wild foods for a local udon restaurant. Their livelihood might be threatened when a city agency plans to create a bougie “glamping” site not far from their rustic hamlet. (Fuck glampers, am I right?) Evil Does Not Exist won the 2023 Venice Silver Lion; I’m intrigued by the film’s quiet, snowy cinematography and its naturalistic approach. LC
(Cinema 21, Nob Hill, Monday-Thursday)
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Nonbinary filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun’s first feature-length flick, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, was a creepy foray into the world of online horror gaming, following one teenager’s descent into an increasingly unsettling fantasy. It stirred up positive reviews at Sundance, and solidified Schoenbrun as a director to watch. Lo and behold, Schoenbrun landed an A24 flick with I Saw the TV Glow, which documents a teen’s investigations into an eerie, supernatural TV show. Fans of online wormholes and creepypasta shouldn’t miss it. LC
(Hollywood Theatre, Hollywood District, Thursday-Sunday)
FOOD & DRINK
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Oregon Wine Month and AAPI Heritage Month coincide in May, and this event combines the two with a seriously stacked lineup of 22 AAPI-owned restaurants and wineries, plus a mobile dry bar. Nosh on fare from local favorites like Magna Kubo, Hapa Pizza, Xiao Ye, Yaowarat, Kim Jong Grillin, and Frybaby while enjoying wine from CHO Wines, Et Fille, Hundred Suns, Kristof Farms, and more. Your ticket gets you a souvenir cup and a passport to taste 12 bites and 10 wines, plus two tastes from the dry bar. JB
(Stoller Family Estate, Dayton, Saturday-Sunday)
LIVE MUSIC
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New York-based singer-songwriter Caroline Rose brings her shapeshifting blend of indie rock back through town to support her new album, The Art of Forgetting. The album reaches new heights by moving in an avant-folk direction, utilizing finger-picked guitars, textural percussion, and sound collage. She will take over the Wonder Ballroom for two nights alongside indie rock project IAN SWEET (night one, all ages) and alt-pop artist La Force (night two, 21+). AV
(Wonder Ballroom, Eliot, Thursday-Friday)
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Beloved local legend China Forbes—the glamorous voice of Pink Martini, Portland’s own world-famous “little orchestra”—is celebrating the release of her brand-new solo album The Road with a rare pair of solo concerts at Patricia Reser Center for the Arts (AKA the Reser)! Scheduled for global release on May 17, The Road features 11 original songs by Forbes, including the singles “Full Circle” (heard often in concert with Pink Martini) and previously released “Rise.” Accompanied by a small band that includes members of Pink Martini and Forbes on piano, these intimate concerts were initially only going to be one night, but the May 18 show sold so swiftly that the team added another on May 19. Right now, the shows are the only planned regional appearance of China’s new solo album, and an opportunity to hear the first live performances of much of The Road’s material. PORTLAND MERCURY CONTRIBUTOR JENNI MOORE
(Patricia Reser Center for the Arts, Beaverton, Saturday-Sunday)
PERFORMANCE
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Another dark fairytale hits the stage this spring, courtesy of one of Portland’s most exciting theater companies Shaking the Tree. Adapted from a short story by Alissa Nutting—which was itself an adaptation of Grimm’s Fairy Tale “The Juniper Tree”—The Brother and the Bird contains all the tabloid stuff of humanity found in stories like Cinderella and myths about Thyestes. You may have read Nutting’s story in the 2010 anthology My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me: Forty New Fairy Tales, but through the vision of the company’s artistic director, Samantha Van Der Merwe, the tale is about to get wilder, darker, and more human than before. PORTLAND MERCURY ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR SUZETTE SMITH
(Shaking the Tree Theatre, Hosford-Abernethy, Thursday–Saturday)
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Portland-based playwright, poet, and actor Ken Yoshikawa’s original production, From a Hole in the Ground, sounds like a total madhouse in the best possible way—it’s inspired by Irish folklore and “filled with ghosts, faeries, and even the Púca, a morally ambiguous trickster creature from Celtic lore.” The co-production between Corrib Theatre and the historic Alberta House follows a force that’s returned from the grave for a confrontation that’ll rattle the fairy folk and mortals alike. The Celts more or less invented Halloween, so I’m on board for this creepy-sounding mythical showdown. LC
(Alberta House, Concordia, Thursday-Sunday)
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Self-discovery! Not-so-subtle feminist themes! Pink! Try not to look so constipated at this musical interpretation of Legally Blonde, which follows our bouncy blonde queen as she conquers Harvard and her dreams. Promotional materials explain that the show is “action-packed and exploding with memorable songs and dynamic dance,” so I’m hoping that everyone on stage does the bend-and-snap. LC
(Winningstad Theatre, South Park Blocks, Monday-Sunday)
VISUAL ART
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Portland-based and apocalypse-interested artist Anthony Roberto will share a “multi-year body of 3D modeling work” in All We’ve Got Is Each Other, a solo exhibition of uncanny Blender-modeled, 3D-printed sculptures and sleek prints on aluminum. Object/Model, Figure/Form meditates on human experience by “using the stage as a space without place,” and gets curious about how identities engage and commingle. LC
(Well Well, Kenton, Saturday-Sunday)
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It’s AANHPI Heritage Month—why not make an effort to learn more about Chinatown artist Bong Wai Chen, whose bold, thoughtful calligraphy and ink-on-paper art practices made a profound impact on Oregonian artists?! Chen’s retrospective, BONG WAI CHEN: Reframing Tradition, is the third in a series organized by the Portland Chinatown Museum, which aims to spotlight the contributions of the city’s Chinese American artists. Get jazzed for the show with this cute photo of Chen at Reed in the ’60s. LC
(Portland Chinatown Museum, Old Town-Chinatown, Thursday–Sunday; opening)
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Carnation Contemporary members Quinha Faria, Pamela Hadley, Marcelo Fontana, and Michael Espinoza curated the gallery’s latest exhibition, which probes a layered question: How do you identify? Attempting to “mine the rich layers of identity to uncover how artists respond to the pressure to perform isolated aspects of whole selves,” Cuts Across: Artists Respond to Lived Intersections will also build community around intersecting identities, spotlight Oregon’s artistic diversity, and feature works by 22 artists, including Yuyang Zhang, Francis Dot, and Ahuva S. Zaslavsky. LC
(Carnation Contemporary, Kenton, Monday-Sunday)
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I first wrote about Francesca Capone’s work back in 2018—the artist’s show Think of Seashells was the subject of one of my first long-form reviews. While researching for my BFA thesis in fibers, I also turned to her textile pieces, so Capone’s tactile language has left a lasting impact on my occipital lobe. Perhaps you’ll develop the same attachment after seeing this exhibition: Capone’s latest, A Mother’s Discourse, explores the complexities of post-Roe v. Wade motherhood through soft weavings and an archive library of child-rearing literature. (For more art that traverses the complex terrain of maternity, check out Toni Pepe: Mothercraft at Blue Sky Gallery.) LC
(Nationale, Buckman, Monday/Thursday-Sunday)
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I’ve followed Heidi Schwegler’s art practice for years, and it’s not just because I used to be her catsitter. Schwegler alters and re-casts everyday objects to create eerie integrations and uncanny hybrid forms, prompting endless questions and curiosities. In Existential Action Thriller, the inquiries continue—a hand-braided cotton rug purchased on eBay melds with a strand of hair, a cat’s claw, remnants of a corn chip, and a splash of wine. It all sounds pretty typical within a domestic sphere, but don’t be fooled. “Our domestic objects absorb memory as the events that make up our lives are forever crystalized in their materiality,” says Schwegler. I believe it. LC
(PCC Sylvania Campus, Southwest Portland, Monday-Thursday; closing)
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Las Vegas Ikebana centers the cross-genre practices of Maren Hassinger and Senga Nengudi, whose artistic paths have been entwined since the pair met in 1977. They’ve developed an extensive body of time-based performance works informed by choreography, sculpture, and “conceptual correspondences” amid institutional neglect. In other words, they are perhaps the coolest best friends ever. The exhibition’s absurdist title is pulled from “Hassinger’s experience working in a flower shop in Los Angeles and Nengudi’s exploration of Japanese aesthetic forms,” and speaks to the duo’s interest in improvisation, pop culture, humor, and the natural world. Programming for Las Vegas Ikebana includes “Don’t be Scared”: A Talk on the Art of Collaboration by Maren Hassinger and Senga Nengudi, with thoughts from exhibition curator Allie Tepper, Dr. Leslie King Hammond, and Dr. Lowery Stokes Sims, and See-See Riders, a performance choreographed by Nengudi and danced by sidony o’neal and keyon gaskin. LC
(Cooley Gallery at Reed College, Reed, Thursday–Sunday; closing)
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Guest curated by University of Oregon associate professor Nina Amstutz and local social design artist Cleo Davis, Policing Justice probes Portland’s policing practices and their relationship to “longer local and national histories of oppression.” The exhibition centers Portland artists who have seen and documented police brutality, including the George Floyd protests, and includes commissioned installations by Don’t Shoot Portland, Michael Bernard Stevenson Jr., Cleo Davis, Kayin Talton Davis, and others. Works on loan by Alfredo Jaar, Sandy Rodriguez, and Carrie Mae Weems lend a wider scope to the exhibition, and Forensic Architecture’s video installation details an investigation into PPB’s use of tear gas during the 2020 protests. Show up for abolition and take part in one of the exhibition’s several accompanying programs, including a community conversation symposium, a series of film screenings at the Clinton Street Theater, and an ethical visual storytelling workshop. LC
(PICA, Eliot, Thursday–Sunday; closing)
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Far be it from me to shrug off a show called Weird Sports, which are, to be honest, the only sports I want to hear about. Sol Neelman celebrates sports-as-performance art in the solo exhibition, including surreal pastimes like beer tossing, barstool skiing, log riding, lightsaber fencing, and something called “live monster wrestling.” There’s a deeper reason for the curious collection of photographs, too—Neelman’s father died when he was two, and Weird Sports allows him to “witness—and document—the joy [he] always imagined [he’d] have with [his] father if he was still alive, whether going to a Cubs game or playing catch in the backyard.” LC
(Blue Sky Gallery, Pearl District, Wednesday–Saturday)
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