Starting in the 1960’s, Milford Graves was central to the revolutionary new vision of jazz represented by musicians like Albert Ayler, Sonny Sharrock, and Paul Bley, all of whom released albums featuring Grave’s astonishing percussion work. A true polymath, Graves has also spent his life experimenting with martial arts, dance, herbalism, and methods to study an individual’s heartbeat in order to deepen their relationship to music.

Milford Graves Full Mantis, a film which Downbeat Magazine called “as much a visual poem as it is a documentary,” portrays Graves’s life and work, and is available to stream free on Kanopy with a Free Library of Philadelphia card. Watch the film at your leisure, then join us on December 8th for a virtual discussion with director Jake Meginsky.

Attendees are also encouraged to attend Milford Graves: A Mind-Body Deal, an exhibit about Graves at the Institute for Contemporary Art. Admission is free and this exhibition runs through January 24, 2021.

Watch the film, and feel free to see the exhibition; then join us for this enlightening talk! This event is presented in collaboration with Free Library of Philadelphia, Kingsessing Library.

Milford Graves Full Mantis, 2018, 91:00 min
Words and music by Milford Graves. Directed by Jake Meginsky. Co-directed by Neil Young.

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Free Library of Philadelphia

A Free Library card is available at no cost to anyone who lives, works, pays taxes, or goes to school in the City of Philadelphia. In addition, anyone who lives in the state of Pennsylvania can obtain a Free Library card without charge.

Register for a Free Library card.

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Milford Graves: A Mind-Body Deal is organized by Mark Christman, Artistic Director, Ars Nova Workshop, with Anthony Elms, Daniel and Brett Sundheim Chief Curator, ICA. Curatorial support provided by Jake Meginsky. Accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue to be published by Inventory Press.

Major support for Milford Graves: A Mind-Body Deal has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, with additional support from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the Joseph Robert Foundation.

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