Boston-based performers bring social justice-themed shows to Martha’s Vineyard
OAK BLUFFS — A racially diverse group of performance artists hopes to engage Martha's Vineyard audiences this week with two arts events dedicated to the cause of social justice and fighting racism.
Beheard.world, a Boston-based collective of performing artists and filmmakers founded in 2014 by Anna Myer and Jay Paris, will present the award-winning documentary "Invisible Imprints" Thursday at the Tabernacle, then on Saturday, the cast of the film will put on a performance called "Suite Talk" at the Union Chapel.
The events address and hope to start conversations about racism and how each person experiences and defines the word in their own way. The collective of dancers, singers, poets and instrumentalists has created their own specific ways to express their ideas on racism, their experiences, the past and the future.
“We try our best to take these performances into Black communities so that they can feel heard,” said Myer. “Our focus is also specifically on white communities; they need to hear and join the conversation as well.”
The Beheard.world website describes the group as a “creative exchange for social change,” with members “forging critical conversations about racial justice through the arts.” The group has been working to do that through performances, film, workshops and youth programs largely in the Boston area. Their reach now extends to the Vineyard.
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“The Union Chapel is a beautiful venue, it has a real history of Black and white communities thriving together and we are hoping to get a mixed audience for both our events,” said Myer, who also choreographed the performance.
A former dancer with Boston Ballet, she founded Anna Myer and Dancers in 2001 then she and Paris, her husband and a filmmaker, co-founded Beheard.world in 2014 to focus on creating mixed-genre pieces about social justice themes for stages and public spaces.
The 'Suite Talk' performance art
As a group of 12 performers and a saxophonist take their turns on stage, “Suite Talk” brings together a variety of creative genres. Poets reflect on the history of slavery and racism; singers express how they envision the world and the harsh reality of the present; and dancers express pain and hurt but also hope and dreams of a better world through movements on stage.
The racially diverse performers’ aim is to establish the idea that racism can only be solved through love, unity and by walking together through every challenge. Racism is not an issue only one group of people can solve, Myers said, "We bleed the same blood, we breathe the same air and we all share the same world."
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“This is really about taking people from different walks of life and seeing what can happen,” she said. The performance piece “portrays the meeting of all our differences but highlights that, when we come together, look what we can make together. It is about a shared love and definitive experience.”
The show will be followed by a discussion with the audience.
The 'Invisible Imprints' film
The new hour-long feature film that will be shown Thursday portrays the emotional journey 12 performers went through when they toured their show “Invisible: Imprints of Racism” from Jackson, Mississippi, to Chicago, along what’s considered the Great Migration Trail for millions of African Americans in the 20th century. In filmmaker Paris’ words, “History through the eyes of the performers.”
During the tour of these historic areas, the troupe members met civil rights leaders, visited civil rights sites and performed in front of people who lived through history.
“I was documenting the impact these learnings had on the performers,” said Paris, a former magazine writer, editor and author who now produces and directs documentary films. “As their eyes were opening up to the unknown facts of history, the performance was getting more and more emotional and moving.”
Although the film is about understanding history better, Paris said it is also about starting conversations with audiences to let everyone share their own experiences.
“Whenever people hear the word 'racism,’ they tend to avoid the conversation, but these conversations need to take place and we encourage that space in our performances," he said.
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The film premiered early this year and won an award at the LA Sun Film Fest 2022, won the “best short of the season” at the IndieX Film Fest in Los Angeles, and was an official selection for the Miami Indie Film Awards and SR Socially Relevant Film Festival New York.
Myers said the most fascinating aspect of these arts events for her is how several people stay afterward to meet the cast and crew and join in on the shared experiences. Those conversations serve as a powerful inspiration for their work, she says.
“I think art has the power to open up your heart. When it does, people feel vulnerable and safe to speak and share,” she says.
To experience what Beheard.world has to say
What: “Invisible Imprints” film screening and “Suite Talk” multi-genre performance
When: film at 8 p.m. Thursday, July 7; show at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 9
Where: Oak Bluffs; film at The Tabernacle, 80 Trinity Park; show at Union Chapel, 55 Narragansett Ave.
Admission: Free
Information: https://beheard-world.webflow.io/
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: BeHeard social-racial justice performers take art to Martha's Vineyard
