Dust + Dignity

Music is powerful, that is a fact. Along with the music, the imagery that is connected with the music, especially on vinyl records, is powerful. It is a direct connection to what the artist is trying to get a cross to the listener at a first look. When you saw Public Enemy’s It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back or Curtis Mayfield’s There’s No Place Like America for the first time, the covers set the tone for what you were about to hear. Here’s where a new project out of the city of Philadelphia comes in. Dust + Dignity is ‘an educational experience promoting dialogue + advancing social justice through the exploration of the relationship between music and visual art.’ In March 2016, they will curate a month long exhibit at The Painted Bride Art Center that will feature an audio tour and over 100 vinyl record albums. Each of these record albums was hand picked by Philadelphia’s most prominent DJ-Vinyl Collectors: Cosmo Baker, King Britt, Rich Medina, Skeme Richards, and DJ Junior.

“Music keeps us together; it heals and connects — it motivates and celebrates. Lyrics give life to our souls, the melodies align our hearts, and the rhythms stoke the fire our movements.”

This is a first-of-its kind exhibit and events series to Philadelphia. Bringing together the rich diversity of the communities to showcase the many gems of all the vinyl connoisseurs have in their collections, they feature lectures, DJ sets, self guided tours, and film screenings. If you are in or around Philadelphia during the month of March, this is something special to check out. With the event comes general costs, which they’ve started a Kickstarter campaign for. Check out the schedule for the month and back them on Kickstarter below.

Exhibit and Event Schedule:

March 4, 2016 5-7PM: First Friday preview of a self guided tour of the Dust+Dignity exhibit. Over 100 vinyl album art covers that were hand selected by the DJs communicating.

March 18, 2016 5-10PM: A panel discussion with djs; exploring the significance of each hand selected album and party. And dj showcase.

March 24, 2016 7-9:30PM: A screening of 3 1/2 Minutes, 10 Bullets : “Jordan Russell Davis, a 17-year-old African-American high school student, was fatally shot by Michael David Dunn, a 45-year-old white male software developer from Brevard County who was visiting the city for a wedding. The incident began when Dunn allegedly confronted Davis and his companions because he found the music that was being played in the vehicle in which Davis was a passenger objectionable. A verbal argument ensued to which Dunn responded by retrieving a loaded handgun from his car and shooting 10 rounds into the teenagers’ car, fatally injuring Jordan Russell Davis. In closing arguments for the first trial, the defense lawyer for Michael Dunn cited the language of Florida’s stand-your-ground law.The jury was unable to return a unanimous verdict on a charge of first-degree murder for the fatal shooting of Jordan Davis, the judge declared a mistrial on that count. Dunn was convicted, however, on three counts of attempted second-degree murder for firing at three other teenagers who were with Davis and one count of firing into a vehicle. The three other teenagers were not injured.”