Feature: WORDS MATTER Challenges the Status Quo
By: Caroline Sposto
I live in Memphis by choice. One of the reasons is that the arts community is not only vibrant, but also concerned, aware and purposeful. About 20 percent of our adult population in this area is functionally illiterate. This doesn't just hurt them in the job market. It affects their ability to realize their potentials and live full lives. Literacy Mid-South is committed to changing that.
On Friday, Sept. 9, 2016 from 7-9:30 p.m.Words Matter/4th Edition will be held in Playhouse on the Square's Event Room, to benefit Literacy Mid-South.
This year is better than ever. Some two dozen creatives divided into five groups are presenting works in multiple media. The event is a benefit for Literacy Mid-South, which is holding its popular Mid-South Book Festival that weekend.
As in past years, each of the five projects begins with words - a literary creation by an area writer. From there, various artists and performers interpret that creation in their own media - visual art, photography, music, dance and performance.
The participants this year include:
Visual artists Lurlynn Franklin, Mary Long, Maritza Davila, Indrani Nayar, Jay Etkin, Darlene Newman, Carl Moore, Jon W. Sparks
Musicians/performers Jackie Murray, Delvyn Brown, Heather Trussell, Juju Bushman, Memphis Second Line Jazz Band
Memphis has increasingly been making bold and important collaborations across artistic disciplines and Words Matter is a leader in encouraging that.
WORDS MATTER / 4TH EDITION 7-9:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9
WHERE: Playhouse on the Square's Event Room (second floor), 6 S. Cooper St., Memphis TN 38104.
TICKETS: Tickets are $25 and benefit Literacy Mid-South. Food and beverages are included. Tickets are available at:
Literacy Mid-South
Literacy Mid-South improves the quality of life in our community through education by providing literacy programs for adults and children as well as a network of collaborative projects with some of the Mid-South's finest educational organizations. The organization was formed to help people of all ages and backgrounds achieve the critical literacy skills they need to navigate the world.
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CLUE Orpheum Theatre (9/15-9/20) |
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Clue The Orpheum Theatre Memphis (9/15-9/20) |
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Rent Department of Theatre and Dance, University of Memphis (10/29-11/01) |
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Mozart’s The Secret Gardener (La finta giardiniera) The Morrow Lawn at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens (4/10-4/17) |
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Clown Bar Department of Theatre and Dance, University of Memphis (9/24-9/26) |
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It's Raining Queens™ Orpheum Theatre Group (10/02-10/02) |
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Continuum: A Faculty and Guest Artist Choreographed Dance Concert Department of Theatre and Dance, University of Memphis (11/20-11/22) |