On this week's Stage & Studio we hear two artists pushing boundaries of traditions and limitations. Dmae Roberts profiles musician/dancer Michelle Fujii and her new solo performance, Choking. And Producer Tali Singer presents a NEW story on Catherine J.H. Miller, who created "A Somewhat Secret Place: Disability and Art." This is a Pushing Boundaries special funded by the Regional Arts and Culture Council.
First up, Dmae Roberts presents a feature story on Michelle Fujii. She's a fourth generation Japanese-American and the artistic director of Portland Taiko, as well as a Japanese folk dancer, composer, and choreographer. Fujii is using all of those talents to push the boundaries of Japanese tradition with her solo show Choking.
The show tells the story both of Fujii's artistic journey and of her family history through a blending of the ancient and the modern--a mixture of taiko, dance, and video. Fujii also created a gallery installation that theatre-goers can check out before the show. The installation explores Fujii's Japanese-American identity, and the experience of her parents and grandparents being incarcerated during World War II. Click here to learn more about the performance, including ticket info and showtimes.
Next, Producer Tali Singer present a NEW piece about artist Catherine J.H. Miller, creator of an exhibition called "A Somewhat Secret Place: Disabilty and Art." Miller is a young artist who is legally blind, but she's been creating art her whole life. We hear about how Miller went from a doodling toddler to a graduate of the Pacific Northwest College of Art. And we visit the multidisciplinary exhibition on disability arts pride at PRESENTspace gallery.
A Somewhat Secret Place is about far more than the gallery, though. With this project, Miller is pushing the boundaries of how we think of limitations. And she's opening a conversation that join the worlds of disability pride and fine art. The exhibition runs through the end of July. Learn more at their website.
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Pushing Boundaries
is a year-long project that explores artists and arts groups pushing physical, emotional and artistic boundaries in their work and it’s made possible with funding by the
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