This is What Freedom Looks Like: A Juneteenth Photo Essay
Photos by Azella Gardens. This past Sunday, Philly held its annual Juneteenth parade in West Philly.
Philly’s African Drum Tradition as Resistance and Ritual
African drum and dance are the heart of Black Music Philadelphia – from ‘tangin’ at block parties to the drum circles at Malcolm X Park. They are acts of memory and resistance, carrying the spirit of the ancestors into the present and the future. African drumming is one of humanity’s oldest technologies. It has been a tool of communication, healing, and ceremony for tens of thousands of years. Rhythms from Mali, Ghana, Senegal, and beyond endured in the forced crossings of the Middle Passage.
In Turbulent Times, ArtPhilly Gives America Art to Stand On
Just a mile from the protest in the Spring Garden section of Philadelphia, another kind of gathering was unfolding: Sketch 2025, a public preview of ArtPhilly’s “What Now: 2026” festival. Nearly 200 artists, elders, funders, and culture keepers entered a space deliberately designed to honor multidisciplinary arts practices and invite imagination.
Filmmaker Kyree Terrell on Storytelling, Community, and Staying the Course
For over a decade, I’ve watched Kyree Terrell evolve from a party and event videographer into one of Philadelphia’s most prolific independent filmmakers. I remember when he launched My New Philly, a media platform dedicated to reshaping narratives about our city, capturing joy, possibility, and what was “new” and often overlooked. He led teams of young journalists and filmmakers through our neighborhoods with cameras and curiosity, documenting stories that uplifted and inspired.
Beyond Broadway, The Wiz as a Black Music Month Manifesto
There are moments in Black culture when time folds inward. When the past, present, and future meet in rhythm, harmony, and truth-telling. Last night, watching The Wiz, performed at Philadelphia’s Academy of Music and presented by Ensemble Arts, became such a moment. Staged during Black Music Month, this production reminded us why The Wiz, first introduced to Broadway in the 1970’s, remains one of the most potent cultural reimaginings in American performance history.
Love x Tech: Real or Cake?
Cake Life Bake Shop has crafted confections for icons like Beyoncé and Lizzo and they are beloved in Philly. But, the unreasonable expectations birthed by hyper-curated Pinterest boards and, more recently, AI-generated cake images have made it increasingly difficult to manage wedding orders and maintain the shop’s high standards.
Grammy Winner Karen Slack Brings the Love and Legacies of ‘African Queens’ to the Operatic Stage
As opera continues to navigate these transformative times, artists like Karen Slack are at the forefront.
‘BeLoved Stories’ in four acts. Love Now Media goes live with culture conversations on love.
Invoking what was something like a spiritual framework of King, Love Now Media held a four-session live-stream to capture complex narratives around power, love and justice. The talks—interspersed between music and artistic performances—covered activism and intimacy to faith and politics.
