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We Have Gone As Far As We Can Together

FringeArts
We Have Gone As Far As We Can Together artists, work in process, October 2023. Photo by Malick Welli.
We Have Gone As Far As We Can Together artists, work in process, October 2023. Photo by Malick Welli.
We Have Gone As Far As We Can Together artists, work in process, October 2023. Photo by Malick Welli.
We Have Gone As Far As We Can Together artists, work in process, October 2023. Photo by Malick Welli.
We Have Gone As Far As We Can Together artists, work in process, October 2023. Photo by Malick Welli.
We Have Gone As Far As We Can Together artists, work in process, October 2023. Photo by Malick Welli.

A world-premiere performance revisits the origin story of Thespis, apocryphally the world's first actor, with the protagonist portrayed as a Black woman named Helga and the audience serving as a stand-in for the Greek chorus. The work moves through a series of mantras, sung first by a small choir of musicians embedded in the crowd and eventually by the full audience. Multidisciplinary artist Helga Davis conducts, composes, and writes with a team of collaborators that includes director Charlotte Brathwaite, dramaturg Sunder Ganglani, pianist Alexis Marcelo, and filmmaker and multimedia artist Cauleen Smith.

The total grant amount represents project funding plus an additional 20% in unrestricted general operating support.

Recipient
FringeArts

FringeArts

FringeArts commissions, develops, and presents a range of high-quality contemporary performing arts that challenge convention and inspire new ways of thinking. Works are staged during the annual Fringe Festival, and, since 2013, in a full-year schedule of performances by local, national, and international artists. 

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Explore Connections
Pew Fellows Candice Iloh and Armando Veve. Photos by Neal Santos.

Fellow to Fellow: Candice Iloh and Armando Veve Find Inspiration in Each Other’s Mediums
Interview Cross-Disciplinary Practices
Sonya Clark, The Descendants of Monticello, 2024, part of Declaration House, Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia, PA. Photo by Steve Weinik, courtesy of Monument Lab.
Fall Arts Preview: From the Personal to the Historic, 17 Events to Add to Your Calendar
Enrique Bostelmann, Portrait of Cora Flores, 1980, part of Mirages series.

Projects in Process: Discoveries in the Archives with Berman Museum and Japan America Society
Essay Legacy & Archives
Side-by-side portraits of Sumi Tonooka and Phillip B. Williams.

Fellow to Fellow: Sumi Tonooka and Phillip B. Williams on Expanding Their Artistic Identities 
Interview Practice & Process
Sinta Penyami Storms, 2022 Philadelphia's Cultural Treasures fellow.
Four Philadelphia’s Cultural Treasures Fellows on Care and Community Impact
EgoPo Classic Theater, rehearsal for Ramayana with Papermoon Puppet Theatre and Kalanari Theatre Movement, 2023, Java, Indonesia. Photo courtesy of EgoPo. 

Projects in Process: Wilma Theater and EgoPo on Creative Collaborations
Essay Co-Authorship & Collaboration
Shayla-Vie Jenkins, lead artist for Christ Church Preservation Trust’s On Buried Ground. Photo by Anna M. Maynard.
On Buried Ground
Project Grant Performance
Terence Nance, film still from Swimming in Your Skin Again, 2014. Courtesy of Terence Nance.
Artist Terence Nance on Presenting Film in a Gallery Space
Video Cross-Disciplinary Practices