From mk at Trapdoor Projects to Black Mountain Radio out of Las Vegas—our top five arts and culture picks for the next five days.
Sometimes I just listen to the birds sing
Trapdoor Projects / Albuquerque
May 7, May 14, and June 4, 6-9 pm MDT
An installation by artist mk following a recent fire that burned the majority of mk’s previously planned exhibition as well as the gallery itself. Mk explores the relationship of this event to their own family histories and complex trauma. With the use of audio and mk’s family archives, viewers are invited to listen, look, and experience this installation from the outside looking in.
Voice-Over: Zineb Sedira
SMoCA / Scottsdale
On view May 8, 2021-January 30, 2022
In Voice-Over, Zineb Sedira will create a new iteration of Standing Here Wondering Which Way to Go. Voice-Over is inspired by the 1969 Pan-African Festival of Algiers—a key historical event that marked Algeria’s role in various liberation movements in Africa. For those not in Scottsdale, Sedira will present a virtual artist talk on Thursday, May 6, 7 pm MDT.
Virtual Workshop: Writing through Grief
MCA Denver and Lighthouse Writers Workshop / Denver
Wednesday, May 12-19, 6 pm MDT
Reflecting on the events of 2020, poet Carolina Ebeid and artist Maia Ruth Lee present a two-part workshop that explores the idea of asemic writing, which is text that is visually seen but exists without context—writing that one cannot read.
Specters of Noon
Menil Collection / Houston
On view through June 20, 2021
Early Christian texts describe acedia as a demon that besieges the soul at noon. In this exhibition, seven sculptural works by the artists Allora & Calzadilla revolve around this concept, serving as a manifestation of noon’s hold over humankind and as a metaphor for the uncertainties defining our time.
Black Mountain Radio
Black Mountain Institute / Las Vegas
Airing Sundays through May 9
Black Mountain Radio is an artist-driven, community-focused audio project showcasing intimate conversations, original performances, and oral histories from the Mojave Desert in Southern Nevada, with guest appearances from literary magazine The Believer. All episodes from this season are available to stream online.
