Arts Nov 03 David Driskell’s art spotlighted Black life. It’s ‘about time’ America saw his work Artist David Driskell died last year of COVID-19 at age 88, but he's finally getting his due. For the first time, his paintings are the center of attention in a major way. Driskell was best known for his work as…
Arts Oct 29 New Netflix series on Kaepernick is a ‘springboard’ to conversations on race, privilege Acclaimed film director Ava Duvernay, whose projects include “The 13th," “When They See Us," and "Selma”, is behind a new Netflix series called "Colin in Black and White.” It is the coming of age story of Colin Kaepernick, years before…
Arts Oct 15 Lost to history, Questlove documentary brings iconic 1969 concert back to life In the summer of 1969 cameras captured a series of concerts in Harlem featuring artists who would go on to become musical legends, like Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone and Gladys Knight. But for decades no one was interested in the…
Arts Oct 08 How Bill T. Jones’ ‘Deep Blue Sea’ explores the collective ‘we’ of the American people Jeffrey Brown reports on a story of choreography and community, as renowned dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones explores who the “we” referred to in the Preamble to the United States Constitution represents. This segment on his "Deep Blue Sea"…
Arts Sep 29 The show must go on: Broadway hopes reopening boom will pay off debts worsened by pandemic There's no business like show business, but for 18 months during the pandemic, Broadway theaters had virtually no business at all. Jeffrey Brown recently visited the theater district's artisans who are making sure Broadway puts its best face forward and…
Arts Sep 27 Black experience, culture finds its way to the Met stage as opera vows more diversity History is being made Monday night at the Metropolitan Opera — one of the country’s most important cultural organizations — and for several of the artists involved. Jeffrey Brown has a preview for our arts and culture series, CANVAS.
Arts Sep 24 Artist Shahzia Sikander’s work explores a plethora of extraordinary realities Artist Shazia Sikander is straddling worlds and using her art to examine how we see the past and present, east and west. Jeffrey Brown has the story from New York for our art and culture series, CANVAS.
Arts Sep 17 An inside look at Ken Burns’ latest film ‘Muhammad Ali’ Ken Burns' latest four-part documentary “Muhammad Ali” will premiere Sunday on PBS for four nights. Jeffrey Brown visited Burns at his studio for a behind-the-scenes look at how he makes his films, and the larger context and conflicts in telling…
Arts Sep 15 Rita Dove’s ‘Playlist for the Apocalypse’ is her plea for unity, collective well-being Jeffrey Brown has the story of prominent poet Rita Dove confronting private pains and public strains; home and history. This report on her book, “Playlist for the Apocalypse,” is part of our arts and culture series, CANVAS.
Nation Sep 10 Smithsonian Institution pieces together 9/11 history through personal, poignant relics With memories of Sept. 11, 2001 fading for some, and images of that day unknown to a younger generation, the Smithsonian Institution is working at piecing together history object by object. William Brangham takes a behind-the-scenes look as part of…