This summer is full of immersive experiences at the Fabric Workshop and Museum with a diverse line-up of free performance-based programs that highlight queer artists in partnership with The Bearded Ladies Cabaret in conjunction with their exhibition, ‘John Jarboe: The Rose Garden.’
This weekend specifically, the cultural institution will be hosting a VR experience followed by an artist talk.
‘Girl Mode,’ the VR experience, has players “wander a surreal and desiccated VR landscape in search of memories.” This creative activity (free or a $5 donation) uses confessional text, visuals and a walking simulator structure, and will be onsite July 13 and 14 from noon to 5 p.m.
“Girl Mode was born in a psychedelic flash of trans maternal rage. I imagined that VR technology could simulate a happy trans childhood and build empathy for trans kids in need of gender affirming care,” says creator Kate McGee in a statement. “Instead, I found myself meditating on absence as a central texture of my life as a trans woman. In ‘Girl Mode’, players explore a disjointed poetic landscape in search of the one thing a trans body makes nearly impossible: memories.”
The Artist Talkback with McGee will take place on July 14, from 5 to 6 p.m (advance registration is required.)
If you can’t make it out to the Fabric Workshop this weekend, next weekend also holds some immersive fun. There will be a live performance with Interminable from 5 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, July 21. As a release notes, Interminable is a Philly-based futuristic fusion band that explores the connections of diasporic peoples through original music in Spanish and English, weaving together the common threads of improvisation and swing from Mexican traditional son jarocho, jazz, rock, funk, and electronic music.
The concert specifically will highlight the band’s first album, as well as new songs coming out on the group’s EP.
More information on all summer programs at the Fabric Workshop and Museum (1214 Arch St.) can be found at fabricworkshopandmuseum.org
