Indie films from cinéSPEAK, ‘Art Houses,’ hip hop education, and prepping for the Lunar New Year

The first month of the new year is coming to a close this weekend, and we’ve got a handful of events to sink your teeth into. The Museum of the American Revolution teams up with author and historian to talk about Black women’s roles in the Revolutionary era, Penn Museum gets us into the spirit of the Lunar New Year, and cinéSPEAK continues to show us intriguing indie films.

We also get a little hyper-local with Theatre Horizon’s monthly series Art Houses teaming up with South Philly’s Gary Cohen, and Wynnewood’s Rappers and Rabbis rap about (figuratively) hip hop and education.

Finding Charity’s Folk

Author and historian from UC Irvine Dr. Jessica Millward is paying the Museum of the American Revolution a virtual visit on Thursday, January 28 at 6pm to talk about her new book, Finding Charity’s Folk. The discussion will illuminate how slavery, freedom, and liberation were intertwined in the experiences of Black women in the Revolutionary era.

Lunar New Year with Penn Museum

While the Lunar New Year is still a couple of weeks away, Penn Museum is getting the lead on it with a collection of virtual events that kick off this weekend. Go on archaeological adventures, discover Buddhist murals, learn about the history behind the lion dance, and more. Check out the full roster of events that begin Wednesday, January 27. The Lunar New Year begins on February 11, just in case you were curious.

More from cinéSPEAK

I mentioned in last week’s roundup their screening of The Reason I Jump (which is still available through Sunday, February 7), but the cinéSPEAK is continuing their new indie films run with new movies every Friday. A pair of films like My Little Sister and You Will Die At Twenty are currently screening. This Friday’s new additions to the selection include Identifying Features, a story about a mother who’s lost contact with her son after he took off with a friend to cross the border into the US to find work. The other is True Mothers, a story about parents struggling to get pregnant that decide to adopt a child—only for the child’s biological mother to arrive and demand her son’s return. Tickets for all movies range from $10-12.

Theatre Horizon’s Art Houses returns

The second show of the Theatre Horizon’s Art Houses series is pairing up this month with Gary Cohen, a long-time South Philadelphia resident and deli owner for a one-night-only event on Saturday, January 30 at 7:30pm. Part cooking show, part stand-up comedy, part fireside chat, the show is set to ask “what do we hold most dear and what gets sent down the garbage disposal?” See more about the virtual show, the series, and grab tickets online.

Hip hop and education

Rappers and Rabbis, a community education organization based out of Wynnewood, has gathered some of the best “hip hop pedagogues” to explore how hip hop can elevate education. The virtual panel is on Saturday, January 30 at 8:30pm.

Singles in Agriculture

Bristol Riverside Theatre is planting a performance this weekend: Singles in Agriculture is the story of a resilient young army widow who loves Modern Family and talks to her Pygmy goats while angling for romance with a fundamentalist dairy farmer from Oklahoma. Pick up your virtual seat online.

Image Description: Gary Cohen sits on his stoop, accompanied by plants in varying-sized pots. He's wearing a mask, a jacket with a SEPTA logo on the right sleeve, and a wrestling T-shirt with a tiger in the center of the wording.