What You Need To Know About New Haven's Festival Of Arts & Ideas

NEW HAVEN, CT — The International Festival of Arts & Ideas unveils its full lineup of artistic programming for Festival 2021: Imagine. Featuring a hybrid form of virtual and in-person reserved events, Arts & Ideas is thrilled to bring performances back to the New Haven Green—safely.

Featuring 200+ events, including panel discussions, theater, hair art, drag, and musical performances, Festival 2021 has something for everyone. And 95% of the events are free, and all in-person events require registration.

“We’ve curated a Festival that combines hope, action, and new experiences, like a hair show and drag performance featuring New Haven artists,” says Director of Programming and Community Impact Malakhi Eason. “We're focused on shared experience and participation as we center safety in our planning. Those who wish to engage 100% virtually will enjoy a full Festival experience, even as we begin to gather again on the Green safely.”

The Festival is excited to welcome the community back to the New Haven Green for a limited series of free, registration-only in-person events. It is also committed to centering public & staff health, wellbeing, and safety as it continues to prepare for Festival 2021. To this end, the Festival has developed a comprehensive safety program that complies with federal, state, and local regulations. The Festival continues to work closely on the in-person experience with industry professionals, public health experts, and with guidance from its COVID Compliance Company, Safe Set LA. If at any point federal, state, or local guidelines become stricter than the safety measures outlined in the safety plan, the Festival will adjust to whichever directives are most strict. Reservations are required for all in-person events—and the majority of the Festival’s in-person events will also be live-streamed. The Festival’s goal is to create an environment that is engaging and welcoming, and as safe as possible for everyone involved. A full list of Covid-19 safety protocols is available on the Festival’s website at artidea.org/COVID19Policy.

“Following a year of a global pandemic and a reckoning for greater racial equity, it is clear that we need each other more than ever. The arts have always been a place to unite and to amplify voices that are both urgent and necessary. In this year’s Festival we are leaning into the power of our imaginations and centering joy,” says Festival Executive Director Shelley Quiala. “I invite you to join us as we taste food sources of the future (renewable seaweed farms!); are inspired by artist-activists such as Joy Harjo, Alicia Garza, and Toshi Reagon; and are awed by performers whose roots are equally deep in New Haven as they are in Puerto Rico, France, and Japan.

The Festival’s full lineup is available at artidea.org. Tickets for Festival Insiders are on sale April 26; for New Haven residents April 28, and for the General Public on May 3. All in person programming requires reservations.

Virtual events this year will be screened on the Festival’s Virtual Stage, a space dedicated exclusively to broadcasting events; they will also be available via livestream on Facebook, Youtube, and Twitch.

A sampling of Festival events.

Imagine a new beat.

Equality of Night and Day: First Glimpse by Ronald K. Brown, June 20 at 8:30pm - In person
Liberation, community responsibility, issues of spirituality, human struggle...in the world of choreographer Ronald K. Brown, these serious topics are best explored through music, movement, spoken word and sensory connections. Founded in Brooklyn in 1985, Evidence, Brown’s dance company, focuses on the seamless integration of traditional African dance with contemporary choreography and spoken word, resulting in a performance style described as “flexible, richly expressive and irresistibly kinetic” (The New York Times). Brown uses movement as a way to reinforce the importance of community in African American culture and to acquaint audiences with the beauty of traditional African forms and rhythms. He is an advocate for the growth of the African American dance community and is instrumental in encouraging young dancers to choreograph and to develop careers in dance. A first glimpse of Equality of Night and Day, a new piece choreographed by Brown for Evidence, will be performed on the mainstage.

Imagine beyond the stage.
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company’s production of WHERE WE BELONG by Madeline Sayet, available on demand June 24-27 - Virtual
In 2015, Mohegan theatre-maker Madeline Sayet travels to England to pursue a PhD in Shakespeare. Madeline finds a country that refuses to acknowledge its ongoing role in colonialism, just as the Brexit vote threatens to further disengage the UK from the wider world. In this intimate and exhilarating solo piece, Madeline echoes a journey to England braved by Native ancestors in the 1700’s following treatise betrayals – and forces us to consider what it means to belong in an increasingly globalized world.

Imagine sounds of summer.

Ladama, June 25 at 8:30pm -In person

Ladama smile effortlessly almost the entire time they are performing. It’s hard not to join them, clapping and grinning as you’re carried away by the bubbling sound of the Venezuelan guitar of the plains (bandola llanera) or the Brazilian hand drum (pandeiro). This band of four women musicians and activists originating from Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and the US have garnered ample praise for bucking “conventions of genre with confidence and vigor” (NPR), and for their women- and youth-empowerment workshops held in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

Imagine being on the same page.
Joy Harjo in Conversation with Madeline Sayet, May 20 at 5pm-Virtual
"Rockstar cool” (Vanity Fair) incumbent United States Poet Laureat Joy Harjo headlines 2021’s NEA “Big Read” an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. Harjo, a Muscogee Nation (Mvskoke) member and the first-ever Indigenous Poet Laureate, will be leading attendees in conversation about her new book, An American Sunrise: Poems, a work of “tribal history and retrieval...full of celebration, crisis, brokenness and healing” (The New York Times).
An American Sunrise grapples with the history of the Mvskoke people, reaching back to the early 1800’s when they were removed from their homeland east of the Mississippi River. The collection traces Harjo’s confrontation of the site of the Mvskoke’s forcible displacement, including the displacement of her own ancestors, as well as her beginnings in the Native rights movement. Harjo lays bare her personal life, intertwined with these tribal histories, to offer an uplifting note: a space for renewed beginnings is possible.
Harjo has dedicated her career to lifting up Native people and their stories, exploring tribal histories, spirituality and feminist issues in nine collections of poetry, two award-winning children's books, a memoir, five award-winning albums, and many other projects. She is the recipient of the 2017 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize and in 2019, was elected a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets.

Imagine fiercely.
The Legend Drag Show, June 27 at 8pm-In person
Drag royalty are descending on New Haven, ready to WORK this town into a fun-filled and informative tizzy. In this legendary mainstage event hosted by Patrick Dunn of Pride New Haven, drag performers and educators will display drag performance styles across the decades, with interludes touching on everything from Stonewall to a state of the union on LGBTQ+ and drag communities today. La’Diva Monet, internationally-adored impersonator of R&B singer and American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino, will cap off this all-star affair. Bust out your Donna Summer best and get ready to travel through time in style.

Imagine the human canvas.
Art & Hair Show, June 19 at 5pm-In person
High-fashion, but make it hair! This catwalk event will feature never-before-seen hair styles (think: jellyfish-like hair!) set to a live performance by neo-soul talent Durand Bernarr, who frequently works with Erykah Badu, Anderson Paak and The Internet, among others. CEO of Pro Touch Hair Magazine and overall hairstyle innovator Shawn Jon from Boston, MA will craft ultramodern hairstyles in real-time, sending models down the catwalk alongside models exhibiting trends from six other local stylists. Shawn Jon is a leading platform hairstylist, using rare materials to create hair art. Come out to expand your understanding of what hair is and can be as an art form.

Imagine new narratives.
StorySLAM, June 26 at 6pm-In person
The Festival is usually a space of community-building and collaboration, not competition. But sometimes a winner just has to be crowned. Join us for a festival storytelling slam, where a group of curated professional performers will battle head-to-head for the title of top Festival slammer. Each performer will be given a five-minute slot on the mainstage, with musical interludes. Audience members will select their favorite among some of the most decorated storytellers in the New England slam scene -- and beyond.

Imagine tasting the future.
Food of the Future with GreenWave and Olmo, June 11 at 7pm-Virtual
Take a break from using your own imagination and let GreenWave and Olmo effortlessly open your mind over...a spread of bagels served with sustainable, seaweed schmear! Olmo Bagelry & Marketplace, a New Haven staple lauded for its quick, quality meals prepared from scratch, has paired up with nonprofit GreenWave, a team on a mission to provide training, tools and support to build regenerative ocean farms. GreenWave’s polyculture farming system grows a mix of seaweeds and shellfish that require zero inputs while sequestering carbon—making it the most sustainable form of food production on the planet. They’ll be partnering with Olmo to create breakfast of the future, made from sustainable farming practices. Regenerative ocean farming has been identified as a key solution to climate change. Eating delicious bagels has been identified as a key solution to hunger and brain-exhaust. With this dream team, you’re guaranteed restoration.

Imagine big ideas.
Black Futures, June 25 at 5pm-Virtual
Co-founder of the Black Lives Matter (#BLM) movement, organizer and civil rights activist Alicia Garza will sit down with Mercy Quaye, Founder and President of The Narrative Project, in this one-on-one conversation about the future of black lives in America. In partnership with The Narrative Project, a New Haven-based communications consulting group aimed at elevating the profiles of young and struggling non-profits and mission-driven organizations, Garza and Quaye will discuss Black Futures Lab, an initiative to transform Black communities into active, interdependent, responsive public partners that change the way power operates—at the local, state, and national level. A Zoom meet and greet with Garza for students, activists and teachers will be held from 3:30-4:30 PM.

Imagine blazing new trails.
Huneebee Project - Beekeeping 101, June 19-20 at 11am-In person
Bees give us so much, from berries to flowers to honey. Responsible for pollinating a full one-third of the food we eat, bees are under threat, with a 60% decrease in population since the ‘40s. Learn all about honey bees, beekeeping, and pollinator friendly flowers and herbs in this tutorial, led by the Huneebee Project, a nonprofit social enterprise that installs beehives and pollinator friendly gardens in community spaces while providing equitable employment opportunities for local youth. Participants will suit up and experience opening and inspecting an established beehive located in the Hill neighborhood of New Haven while learning all about beekeeping and the Huneebee Project.

Imagine celebrating home.
Through partnership with Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center and the Festival, each Neighborhood Festival Committee has curated a virtual neighborhood festival celebrating the deep history and talent of New Haven’s neighborhoods. Featuring music, workshops, art, and discussion of current issues that affect each neighborhood, these Festivals are truly of, for, and by New Haven.
The Hill Neighborhood Festival- May 22
Newhallville Neighborhood Festival- May 23
West Rock Neighborhood Festival – May 29
Dixwell Neighborhood Festival- June 5

Imagine liberation.
Juneteenth 2021, June 19, daylong event
Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19 that Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas, with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free (two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation). The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order; but with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance. Learn more about Juneteenth here.

Imagine the Arts on call.
Arts on Call, May 14 - June 13
Want to kick up your romantic afternoon picnic with a serenade? Want to dance your legs off from the comfort of your own stoop? Is your isolation crew starved for a thoughtful, poetic conversation starter? With Arts on Call, the show comes to you (socially distanced, of course)! Choose an event from a diverse roster, including Mulan fitness and art school, the Sister Funk Trio, Caribbean Vibe Steel Drum Band, Sova Dance and Puppet Theater, Carrie Ashton, and many more. Then select a time for that artist to perform at an outdoor location of your choice. Artists will perform a 15-30-minute set of (primarily acoustic) music, dance, poetry, and theater, outdoors. Performance locations are limited to within a 15-mile radius of downtown New Haven.
New Haven Arts on Call is modeled after Sidewalk Serenades, a program created in March 2020 by Creative Alliance in Baltimore.

(Re)imagine the Green.
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, June 18 at 8:30pm
In person
Our first night of events on the New Haven Green will be silky smooth, improvisational and freeing, set to the sounds of The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Made up of 15 of the finest soloists, ensemble players, and arrangers in jazz music today, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra is a household name and a New York Times “Topic” fixture for a reason. Exploring issues of social justice and arts accessibility in their recent work, The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra event will provide food for your ears, mind and soul, adding some gel to our community to start things off right.

These are just a few of the ways you can Imagine yourself at Festival 2021. For complete lineup of events and more information, visit artidea.org.