After two years of being mostly virtual, New Havenβs International Festival of Arts & Ideas is back!
The festival runs now through June 26, 2022
Rethink community. Honor the Earth. Embrace your roots. Meet new neighbors. Baila en la calle. Break the fourth wall. Learn something new. Connect with the Festival, and connect it all.
Explore how artistic genres connect to one another, and how our roots intertwine across generations, planting seeds for the future even as we embody the legacies of our past. Our city and community connect us all through shared space and vital issues. The Festival embraces the multi-faceted nature of all of us by finding ways to connect performance and workshop, new skills and old, and strangers through the arts.
With about a week and a half left in the festival, there's so much to do and see!
On June 19th, Two-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Gregory Porter will hit the main stage. He injects his passion for jazz, gospel, and blues into live performances with soul-drenched lyrics like, βThough my past has left me bruised/I ainβt hiding from the truth/When the truth wonβt let me lie right next to you.β Porterβs warm baritone vocals have been compared to his idols Nat King Cole and Stevie Wonder, and have earned him recognition as a trailblazer in the jazz world. Porter tells GQ, βWhat makes jazz different is that you canβt predict it, itβs all about freedom. Just when you think you know what youβre going to hear thereβll be a left turn, a jazz musician will change it up.β.
On June 21st, the symphony goes to the zoo! The Symphony Goes to the Zoo concerts feature the NHSO Brass Quintet and a showing of live animals and animal artifacts from the Beardsley Zoo. It's fun for the whole family!
Looking for a laugh? On June 16th, Michelle Buteau hits the College Street Music hall stage! Whether youβve seen this βscene-stealing queenβ (Netflix) in her Netflix comedy special or heard her narrating The Circle competition series (also Netflix), or even her former WNYC podcast Adulting, Michelle Buteau has become a household name with her powerful, honest humor about the human experience. Her 2020 book, Survival of the Thickest, was recently announced to be adapted for Netflix in the coming months! Tickets are required for this event.
On June 23rd, the festival with co-presentation from Long Wharf Theatre presents Capsule. Inspired by the past few years, this work-in-progress showcase features original songs written and created by Obie-award winner Whitney White and Peter Mark Kendall. The piece is a kaleidoscopic reflection on isolation and longing, about breaking apart and breaking free, the nature of connection and the importance of community.
For a longer list of events or for more information about those mentioned, click here!