Homer Jackson (left) and David Middleton (right)
American Composers Forum, Philadelphia Chapter presents an online artist talk between interdisciplinary artist Homer Jackson and multi-instrumentalist and improviser David Middleton. 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.
Homer Jackson is a talented interdisciplinary artist from Philadelphia with a background in curation, teaching and social service. His work is presented as installation, performance art, public art, video and audio. He uses images, sounds, text, live performance, video, audience participation and found objects to tell stories. With over 20 years experience as a teaching artist working in community settings, Mr. Jackson has served as project director for a number of arts & humanities projects and has conducted workshops in senior centers, prisons, schools and community organizations. In 1996, he received special recognition for his work with Youth-at-Risk from the President's Committee on Arts & Humanities. Jackson has worked with young people, adults and older adults, as well as intergenerational participants. Through his workshops, participants have produced art exhibitions, albums, books, comic books and videotapes.
Mr. Jackson is a BFA graduate of the Philadelphia College of Art and he holds a MFA from Temple University's Tyler School of Art. He has performed, or exhibited works at the Philagraphika, Philadelphia Art Alliance, Nexus Gallery, Moore College of Art, Yellow Springs Institute, the Painted Bride Arts Center, Taller Puertorriqueno and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia; at Hallwalls Arts Center in Buffalo, Intermedia Arts in Minneapolis, Smithsonian Institute Traveling Exhibition, Art Center/South Florida in Miami Beach, Maryland Art Place in Baltimore, the Kitchen, Art In General and Aaron Davis Hall in New York City, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts in Wilmington and ArtBlackLive in Northhampton,UK. He has created performances in collaboration with artists such as the late AACM violinist, Leroy Jenkins, Twin Cities-based instrument maker and former AACM president, Douglas Ewart, the late, Washington DC/Philadelphia poet, Essex Hemphill, Baltimore-based multi-media artist, performer and MacArthur Foundation, "Genuis" Award recipient, Joyce J. Scott, as well as the award winning, Philadelphia-based hip-hop ensemble, The Roots.
Mr. Jackson has received support for his work from the Wyncote Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Pew Fellowships in the Arts, Civitella Rainieri Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts, Pennsylvania Radio Theatre, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, The Playwrights Center, Pennsylvania Humanities Council, The Funding Exchange, Art Matters, and Franklin Furnace Fund For Performance Art. Homer Jackson lives and works in Philadelphia and currently serves as the director of the Philadelphia Jazz Project.
In year 2000, after 5 years working with Khan Jamal & Barry Schuck’s Philadelphia Jazz Composers’ Forum, D.Hotep (David Middleton) began to rehearse, tour internationally and record as a member of the Sun Ra Arkestra, under the direction of Marshall Allen. During those years he also worked with a wide range of ensembles at home and abroad. During the last few years he has accepted work incorporating remote mixing, media scoring & composition, and instrument tracking services for clients as diverse as ballet companies, independent artists, and music library publishers into his portfolio. He began teaching a workshop in improvisation strategies at Curtis Institute of Music during the 2022 school year.