Arts around town: Manship screens ‘BetteR’ docu-series, Mid City Art Thaw combines shopping and food
A look at art-related events in the area:
NOVAC BR will present BetteR, a new documentary series highlighting groups and individuals in the community that have promoted healing in aftermath of summer 2016’s devastating toll on Baton Rouge. Created in partnership with the Foundation for Louisiana, the screening begins tonight, Thursday, February 9, at Manship Theatre at 7 p.m., with a 6 p.m. opening reception that includes music, live art, a virtual-reality presentation of a Baton Rouge-created dance video, and a meet and greet with local filmmakers. For tickets, visit manshiptheatre.org/events.
Theatre Baton Rouge will present David Ives’ Venus in Fur this Friday, February 10, and performances will run through February 19. Purchase tickets to 7:30 p.m. or 2 p.m. shows for $29 at theatrebr.org.
The Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge will present a concert from The Clayton Brothers Wednesday, February 15, at 7:30 p.m. at Manship Theatre. This jazz quintet’s performance is part of the Council’s River City Jazz Masters Series. Visit manshiptheatre.org to purchase tickets.
Mid City Merchants will host its 7th annual Mid City Art Thaw next Thursday, February 16, from 5 to 8 p.m. Stop by for an evening packed with art, music, shopping and great food. Visit Mid City Merchants’ Facebook page for a complete list of participating businesses.
The LSU Museum of Art is offering a still life drawing class today, Thursday, February 9, from 6 to 8 p.m. as part of its Academy of Design series. The class with instructor and LSU MFA-holder Tajreen Akter is $15 for members and $20 for nonmembers, and all materials will be provided. Visit lsumoa.org to reserve your spot.
Kim Vaz-Deville will present her lecture on one of the first women’s organizations to mask and perform during Mardi Gras, “The Baby Dolls: Breaking the Race and Gender Barriers of the New Orleans Mardi Gras Tradition,” on behalf of Preserve Louisiana today, Thursday, February 9, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Old Governor’s Mansion. The discussion takes its name from Vaz-Deville’s book and will highlight The Baby Dolls’ past through photos, articles and interviews. Admission is free. Vaz-Deville is the associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and professor of education at Xavier University of Louisiana.
Next Monday, February 13, Manship Theatre will team up with the West Baton Rouge Museum’s exhibit, “Changing America: The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863, and the March on Washington, 1963” and screen the James Baldwin documentary I Am Not Your Negro. Directed by Raoul Peck and narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, the documentary comments on race in contemporary America, inspired by the first 30 pages of an unfinished Baldwin manuscript about the civil rights leaders Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.
