ICA, Penn Live Arts, and BlackStar Projects present Poetic Cinema, a new programmatic series this summer with films by renowned artist and filmmaker Isaac Julien

In conjunction with city-wide celebration of the Barnes Foundation’s centennial, Philadelphia cultural partners organize screenings and exhibitions of work by Isaac Julien through 2023

Philadelphia, PA

The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) at the University of Pennsylvania is pleased to present a new programmatic series, developed in concert with renowned artist and filmmaker Isaac Julien, from the Sankofa Film and Video Collective. Curated by the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Live Arts at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, and BlackStar Projects, this series is organized in conjunction with multiple cultural partners across Philadelphia on the occasion of the Barnes Foundation’s centennial. This series of three free screenings (June 13, July 11, and August 3) will take place at the Harold Prince and Harold L. Zellerbach Theaters at Penn Live Arts at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. Each event is preceded by a conversation between scholars, artists and filmmakers providing context and building on the works presented.

Programming kicks off Monday, June 13, at 6pm, with a screening of Isaac Julien’s landmark 1989 film Looking for Langston (1989, 46 minutes). Shot in sumptuous monochrome, this film is a lyrical exploration and recreation of the private world of poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist Langston Hughes (1902–1967) and his fellow Black artists and writers who formed the Harlem Renaissance during the 1920s.

To read the full press release, click here.