Alex Smith (left) and Moor Mother (right)
American Composers Forum, Philadelphia Chapter presents an online artist talk between multidisciplinary artists Alex Smith and Moor Mother. During this free Artist to Artist Talk, the two artists will discuss their creative process, reflect on their artistic influences, and share recent work.
FREE, REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. PLEASE RESERVE ONE SPOT PER HOUSEHOLD. A Zoom link will be sent to you the day of the event.
Alex Smith is a speculative fiction writer, collage artist, and vocalist, keyboardist, and lyricist in avant-garde punk bands Rainbow Crimes and Solarized. He draws from influences like science fiction, Dadaism, and comic art, bending their conventions to frame the creativity, survival, and hopefulness of queer and Black people. He curates two recurring series: a queer sci-fi reading series titled Laser Life, which he also founded, and what Smith describes as a “retro-futurist electro mash-up art-jam,” Chrome City. “I want space to create worlds,” Smith notes, “within the minds of people searching for reflection of themselves, and in the practical world as well; active spaces embodied, emboldened and empowered by a cyberpunk retelling of our past, stitched together with whatever resources are available to grant us—queer Black people—access to the future.” Smith has lectured and held workshops on the practical application of Afrofuturism and sci-fi and fantasy tropes in art at Moogfest, Moore College of Art & Design, the Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University, Vox Populi, and Swarthmore College.
Moor Mother is a national and international touring musician, poet, visual artist, and workshop facilitator, and has performed at numerous festivals, colleges, galleries, and museums around the world, sharing the stage with King Britt, Roscoe Mitchell, Claudia Rankine, bell hooks, and more. Camae is a vocalist in three collaborative performance groups: Irreversible Entanglements, MoorJewelry and 700bliss. As a soundscape and visual artist, their work has been featured at Baltic Biennale, Samek Art Museum, Vox Populi, Pearlman Gallery, Metropolitan Museum of Art Chicago, ICA Philadelphia, Bergan Kunstall, Hirshhorn Gallery, and in a 2018 solo show at The Kitchen NYC. As a workshop facilitator, Camae has presented at Cornell University, MOFO Festival, Moogfest, Black Dot Gallery and others. They are co-founder and curator of Rockers Philly Project, a 10-year long running event series and festival focused on marginalized musicians and artists spanning multiple genres of music. As Moor Mother, she released her debut album Fetish Bones on Don Giovanni records to critical acclaim. The album was named third best album of the year by The Wire Magazine, number one by Jazz Right Now, and has appeared on numerous end of the year lists from Pitchfork, Noisy, Rolling Stone, and Spin Magazine. She has since released a second LP, The Motionless Present, commissioned by CTM X VINYL FACTORY 2017. Thanks to her unstoppable energy, she has recently performed at a host of vital festivals and venues including Berhaign, Borealis, CTM Festival, Le Guess Who, Unsound, Flow and Donau Festival, Rewire, Boiler Room, and MoMA PS1.