Arts

Q&A: A conversation with The Fruit owner Tim Walter

By Lucy Kraus

May 7, 2024

The Fruit, a former refrigerated warehouse in downtown Durham, has provided a unique venue for visual and performing arts in the city since 2014. Owner Tim Walter chatted with the Durham VOICE’s Lucy Kraus about the past, present, and future of the venue.

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A Stroll Down to Missy Lane’s

By Regan Rhymes

February 26, 2024

DURHAM, NC — In the vibrant arts and culture scene of Durham, NC, a new addition stands out: Missy Lane’s Assembly Room. This recently opened arts venue is not just another music venue; it’s a cultural hub that fills a niche in Durham’s arts scene.

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Durham and Dance, A Trip To Linden’s Dancewear

By Carl Kenney

Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024 By Lesley Gonzalez For the last 16 years, Linden’s Dancewear has served as a pillar of Durham’s vibrant dance community by filling the void that Durham dancers face with a lack of dancewear stores in the area. Renee and Samantha Allen, the dynamic mother-daughter duo who co-own the store, work tirelessly […]

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Full Frame Documentary Film Festival: the passion, history, and what to look forward to

By Carl Kenney

February 21, 2024

Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024 By Alyssa Clark Full Frame Documentary Film Festival celebrates the nonfiction work of rising filmmakers and showcases their works to the public.  The festival, an annual four-day event hosted in downtown Durham, is dedicated to documentary work and presents 60-70 films at the Carolina Theater. Founded by Nancy Buirski in 1998, […]

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Community preserves legacy of Pauli Murray in Durham and beyond

By Eliza Benbow

January 4, 2024

Pauli Murray is known nationally as a Black and LGBTQ+ civil rights activist, writer, teacher and Episcopal priest.  But to Karen Ross, the founder and president of the Pauli Murray Foundation, Murray was family. Ross, the great niece of Murray, has been working since 2012 to provide students involved in their own activism with scholarship […]

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The World of African Dance Through the Eyes of Aya Shabu 

By Carl Kenney

December 12, 2023

Holland Bodner December 12 2023 Aya Shabu is one of Durham’s leading dancers, paving the way for a new generation.  Her career in Haitian dance has developed throughout her lifetime as she has found success as a storyteller. Shabu wants to tell a new story by reminding Durham about the beauty and power that lies […]

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The roots of the work: Blair LM Kelley’s process to publishing ‘Black Folk’

By Carl Kenney

November 9, 2023

Blair LM Kelley, author of Black Folk: The Roots of the Black Working Class, shared insights on incorporating her ancestral line into her book’s writing process during the Writer’s Discussion Series Lecture last Thursday evening, November 2. Kelley is a Ph.D. holder in History with certificates in African and African American studies and women’s studies […]

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Durham’s Community Art: A Historical Exploration

By Carl Kenney

November 6, 2023

By Hannah Adams Published Nov. 6 Durham comes to life through vibrant and diverse community murals. These pieces of art celebrate Durham’s rich history, culture and diversity, and have become an integral part of the city’s landscape. “While some states attempt to remove the historical truths that shaped this country; Durham has decided to embrace […]

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African Dance is back at Hayti

By Carl Kenney

April 28, 2022

(Ivy Burch, front right, leads the group in traditional African movements.  (Staff photo by Anthony DeHart) After nearly 2 years of virtual meetings, African Dance is back in person at the Hayti Heritage Center. African Dance! – Every Monday! For more than 17 years, The Hayti Heritage center has been home to the Hayti Rhythms […]

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Hillside drama students present ‘A State of Urgency’ this weekend

By Carl Kenney

November 10, 2021

In response to the crisis of gun violence in Durham, the Hillside High School Drama Department, under the direction of legendary director Wendell Tabb, presents the original play, “A State of Urgency,” subtitled, “A call to action to stop gun violence.”             The play will run this weekend with four performances at Hillside High School, […]

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UNC-CH honors Black music faculty trailblazer, Martha Flowers

By Carl Kenney

January 23, 2021

Martha Flowers came to the front door prepared for her photo shoot, looking every bit like a diva — dressed for a concert, pearl necklace, and a smile that could – and did – light up Broadway. Diva; I may not know what that means technically, and I have a hunch its like when someone […]

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The Talk: a message for our times

By Carl Kenney

June 11, 2020

Of late, there has been much talk about “the talk.” Now, a year and a half after a dramatic play by the same name debuted in Durham, a video version will begin streaming for a month, beginning today, Friday, June 12. (See details below.) “The Talk” dramatizes the frank conversation a black father must have […]

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‘Beginning of an era’: Durham artist commemorates activists

By Carl Kenney

April 2, 2020

Crouching with a power tool in hand, Durham artist Stephen Hayes pressed chicken wire over an aluminum base and drilled it into place. Soon the structure was covered in smooth slate, and the acrylic top covered in a collage of old news clippings and photographs was placed on top. This marker now sits permanently outside the […]

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Durham organization helps abuse survivors heal through art

By Carl Kenney

Durham native Monica Daye was sexually assaulted in a church when she was 11. “My whole life completely changed,” she said. “I went from an A/B student — outgoing, dancing — to being a student that was failing with D’s and F’s, rebelling, cursing teachers out and getting in trouble.” When she was 19, Daye […]

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African dance class creates lively community at Hayti Heritage Center

By Carl Kenney

For more than 15 years, a group of dancers and drummers – some experienced, some not – have come together once a month at the Hayti Heritage Center on Old Fayetteville Street for its Hayti Rhythms dance class. The class offers community members the chance to practice movements from the African diaspora and listen to […]

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Hallelujah! Swing School empowers students by honoring the past

By Carl Kenney

February 13, 2020

Hillside High School’s “Hallelujah! Swing School” returns for the second consecutive year for Valentine’s weekend in honor of John Henry Gattis’ “Mr. G’s Swing School.” The production honors the past and inspires the next generation of leaders from Durham. The play is produced and directed by the esteemed Hillside drama teacher Wendell Tabb, who has […]

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‘See you next week:’ 23-year-old Wednesday night open mic going strong

By Carl Kenney

“Our first rule is…?” Brett Chambers called over packed tables painted in dim lights from the stage. “Have fun!” the crowd shouted in unison. And fun they had. Laughter and conversation filled The Blue Note Grill, 709 Washington St, for over an hour before any performance. When the music did start, people grooved in their […]

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Duke’s film festival introduces attendees to aspects of African culture

By Carl Kenney

Mainland Africa is approximately 4,030 miles away from Durham, but Duke University is working to narrow the gap by bringing African stories to the campus community through film. This month Duke is hosting its fifth-annual African Film Festival, featuring stories from around the continent. The four-week festival, organized by the university’s Africa Initiative, will hold […]

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Immerse yourself in the fifth annual Black History: Artists’ Perspectives Exhibition

By Carl Kenney

The Hayti Heritage Center presents its fifth annual Black History: Artists’ Perspectives Exhibition to bring African American artists together and honor the black experience. Five years ago, curator Willie Bigelow, who is a Durham resident and artist, came to Hayti Heritage Center Executive Director Angela Lee to design an exhibition that pays tribute to Black […]

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Art gallery celebrates Black History Month, gives voice to local artists

By Carl Kenney

A Durham art gallery launched an exhibit Feb. 10 highlighting seven local African American artists in celebration of Black History Month. Cecilia Henaine de Davis, owner of the 11-month-old Cecy’s Gallery and Studios, acknowledged the importance of giving a voice to local artists — especially those whose voices are often silenced. “I selected a collection […]

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Hayti Heritage Center celebrates jazz drummer Max Roach

By Carl Kenney

January 30, 2020

Jazz legend Max Roach’s drums beat again Saturday night when five local musicians interpreted his rhythms to about 50 listeners at the Hayti Heritage Center. The concert, called “Freedom Day: A Tribute to Max Roach,” celebrated one of the most important drummers in modern jazz history, the Hayti musicians said. A North Carolina native born […]

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Durham residents dance like nobody’s watching

By Carl Kenney

April 24, 2019

Aubrey Griffith-Zill describes “ecstatic dance” as something that “happens when our thinking mind gets out of the way and our body is able to move uninhibited by thought.” And judging from the Friday night crowd at the Living Arts Collective, it is gaining popularity in Durham. Each session opens with a circle to go over […]

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Black Issues Forum revives discussion on Durham’s black-owned businesses

By Carl Kenney

Although the 22nd annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival has come to an end, UNC-TV will continue highlighting the work of award-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson throughout the month. On Tuesday, April 23, UNC-TV will premiere Nelson’s most recent documentary, “Boss: The Black Experience in Business.” The film touches on rarely discussed stories of black entrepreneurship […]

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Bull City Laughs hitting the road for fun

By Carl Kenney

April 8, 2019

Black excellence has done it again with five African-American males starting their own comedy show. It’s not just a regular comedy show with a venue, but a comedy show on a school bus. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, a school bus. The first Bull City Laughs bus tour rolled out on March 15 to a sold-out […]

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Filmmakers highlight emotional struggles faced by immigrants

By Carl Kenney

March 27, 2019

When Grace Beeler began teaching English as a second language, she was shocked by the stories refugees had to share. “If everyday Americans could hear the stories that I hear at work they would have a lot more compassion for refugees,” Beeler said. “They would understand why they need to come here, why we should […]

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New gallery honors Durham artist before grand opening

By Carl Kenney

When Jacqueline Jones inherited her cousin Mable’s artwork, she knew she was taking on the responsibility of protecting part of Durham’s artistic history. An art exhibit honoring Mable C. Bullock took place at Cecy’s Gallery & Studios on March 1 and 2 from 6-9 p.m. The event was open to the public and marked the […]

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Black Poetry Theatre explores masculinity in the workplace in its latest production

By Carl Kenney

February 27, 2019

The Hayti Heritage Center buzzed with nervous energy hours before the 4 p.m. showing of “Inside Studio Real: A choreopoetic sitcom” on Feb. 23.  The play, written by director Dasan Ahanu, involves poetry, movement and emotion. Ahanu, 44, is from Raleigh and has been an artist since the ‘90s, he said. He has performed original […]

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‘As an Act of Protest’ battles racism on screen at Durham’s Shadowbox Studio

By Carl Kenney

Filmmaker Dennis Leroy Kangalee had set out to create a masterpiece. Less than one year after his debut film, “As an Act of Protest” was released, Kangalee sent that masterpiece flying off the balcony of a hotel in Germany. Kangalee’s independent film is a 144-minute-long drama whose unedited, anti-Hollywood aesthetic and emotionally raw acting seek […]

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John Gattis’ hit musical ‘Swing School’ returns to Hillside High

By Carl Kenney

After 47 years, “Swing School,” a community favorite production for many decades, returned to the stage at Hillside High School. The Hillside High School Drama Department – under the direction of Wendell Tabb –  put on four performances of its new adaptation, called “Hallelujah! Swing School,”  from Feb. 15-17. The production has long been a Hillside […]

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Hayti celebrates fourth annual Black History: Artists’ Perspectives Exhibition

By Carl Kenney

February 13, 2019

Four years ago, Hayti Heritage Center presented the first Black History: Artists’ Perspectives exhibition to honor African-American artists. Now an annual event, Hayti opened the 2019 exhibition on Feb. 1. The exhibition began in 2016 when Willie Bigelow, an artist and Durham resident, approached Angela Lee, the executive director at Hayti, to bring an event to […]

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Playwright grapples with growing up while black in ‘The Talk’

By Carl Kenney

A black playwright has turned his personal experience into the play, “The Talk,” through dramatizing a difficult conversation he had with his son about the racialization of America. Sonny Kelly, a UNC-Chapel Hill doctoral candidate and performer in “The Talk,” wrote the play in 2015 after explaining the 2015 Baltimore protests to his then 7-year-old […]

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How longtime filmmaker Lana Garland saved the Hayti Heritage Film Festival

By Carl Kenney

Longtime writer, producer, director and now-Durham resident Lana Garland fell into filmmaking because a movie spoke to her. Literally.  In 1989, Garland bought a ticket to see Spike Lee’s film “Do the Right Thing,” the iconic movie she says was “revolutionary” for the budding black film industry. In the film, she was moved by a […]

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Kidznotes performance in ‘Carmen’ tests the bounds of vocal range

By Carl Kenney

January 31, 2019

Kidznotes musicians used their opera voices to tell the dramatic French love story of Georges Bizet’s “Carmen.” The students performed as the children’s chorus alongside the stars of the North Carolina Opera on Jan. 25 and Jan. 27 at the Memorial Auditorium in Raleigh. The opera performance featured hypnotic choreography, human drama and popular hit […]

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Golden Belt artists adjust to new studio spaces after relocation

By Carl Kenney

January 30, 2019

There is a new era beginning at the Golden Belt campus in downtown Durham, an art gallery that has been the home of major artistic projects for the community. Golden Belt, originally known for its textile factory, is now embracing the many arts cultivated in the Durham area thanks to fresh ownership. In 2016, Scientific […]

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Threehouse Studios celebrates community through yoga, music, dance

By Carl Kenney

The white, vine-covered building situated along Durham’s American Tobacco Trail is more than it appears. What used to be an old, small Piggly Wiggly has been transformed into a community-focused dance, yoga and music studio. Threehouse Studios opened their doors to the public on Oct. 22, 2017. The idea of a multipurpose studio was developed […]

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Hip-hop aerobics dances into Holton

By Carl Kenney

Looking more like a club than a county recreation center, Durham residents “got lit,” at the county’s only hip-hop aerobics class in the Holton Career and Resource Center. Holton located at 401 N. Driver St., was the former East Durham Junior High School before it was renovated in 2009 with the help of the city, […]

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Kidznotes’ free Winter Concerts this weekend

By Carl Kenney

December 14, 2018

  Kidznotes, the Durham-based non-profit music program devoted to giving kids a passion for music, is back with their annual Winter Concerts. This year’s first free concert will be held Fri., Dec. 14, 5:30 – 7 p.m. at Fayetteville Elementary School located at 2905 Fayetteville St. The second concert will be presented in the same […]

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Photo essay: The original Colors of Purple

By Carl Kenney

November 22, 2018

The Hillside High School Theatre Department, under the leadership of veteran director Wendell Tabb,  launched its fall production season by bringing “The Color Purple’ to the stage. Durham VOICE photographer Cameron Rogers was there to capture these images. Before the production begin on Nov 9, African dancers graced the stage at Hillside High School, giving […]

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BlackSpace and The Revenge of the Afronauts

By Carl Kenney

October 22, 2018

  Located on 212 West Main Street is a unique recording studio. The “BlackSpace” is an Afro-futurism digital creation space home to Durham’s youth. This makerspace offers the youth a “wokeshop” series offering personal training in the digital and creative arts including videography, spoken word poetry, puppetry, coding, 3D printing and electronic music production. Kids, […]

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Rehearsals underway at Hillside for “The Color Purple”

By Carl Kenney

October 10, 2018

Hillside High School’s award-winning drama department is in rehearsal for ” The Color Purple,” a musical version of the classic novel,  produced and directed by veteran drama teacher Wendell Tabb, November 9-11, at Hillside High School theatre auditorium, 3727 Fayetteville St. There are almost 100 students working to create the production, including actors, dancers, offstage […]

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