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Blood Baby

Painted Bride
Painted Bride, Blood Baby: Carpet Womb. Photo by Erin Johnson.
Painted Bride, Blood Baby: Carpet Womb. Photo by Erin Johnson.
"Blood Baby: Primordial" created by Meg Foley, installation view.
Blood Baby: Primordial created by Meg Foley, installation view. Photo by Meg Foley.
A person lies down on a piece of seagreen foam with another pressed into their face, part of "Blood Baby: Touch Library."
Blood Baby: Touch Library created by Meg Foley. Photo by Garrett Ann Walters.

Immersive dance performances and multimedia installations contemplate family, parenting, and sexuality from a queer and gender-expansive perspective. Created by choreographer and Pew Fellow Meg Foley and developed through convenings with queer parents, the project encourages active participation from audiences through immersive and interactive performances and a hands-on installation of materials used during the artistic development process. In one performance, dancers move through and around the audience inside an outdoor tent, while audience members are invited to physically respond to prompts in another. Sculpture and installation works are developed by Foley along with artists Rabbit aL Friedrich, Pew Fellow Jesse Harrod, and Carmichael Jones and include an archive of materials from the project’s development and a sound-and-video installation capturing Foley’s dance work. 

Visit the project website.

The total grant amount represents project funding plus an additional 20% in unrestricted general operating support.

Primary EventsEvents & Exhibitions
Blood Baby: Communion work-in-progress. Photo by Meg Foley.

Blood Baby: Communion

Jun 7–22, 2024
Headlong Studios
1170 S Broad St.
Philadelphia, PA 19146

More info

A person lies down on a piece of seagreen foam with another pressed into their face, part of "Blood Baby: Touch Library."

Blood Baby: Touch Library

Jun 7–23, 2024
Headlong Studios
1170 S Broad St.
Philadelphia, PA 19146

More info

"Blood Baby: Primordial" created by Meg Foley, installation view.

Blood Baby: Primordial

Jun 8–23, 2024
Painted Bride
5212 Market St.
Philadelphia, PA 19139

More info

Painted Bride, Blood Baby: Carpet Womb. Photo by Erin Johnson.

Blood Baby: Carpet Womb

Jun 13–16, 2024
Tree Lab at Imperfect Gallery
5539 Germantown Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19144

More info

Touring Events Self Adjacent, featuring Blood Baby: Primordial

Sep 20, 2024–Mar 23, 2025
Kennedy Museum of Art
Ohio University, Lin Hall
100 Ridges Circle
Athens, Ohio 45701

Blood Baby: Communion at Kennedy Museum

Nov 21, 2024
5:30 p.m.
Kennedy Museum of Art
Ohio University, Lin Hall
100 Ridges Circle
Athens, Ohio 45701

Recipient
Painted Bride

Painted Bride

As a presenting arts organization, the Painted Bride offers a wide range of work in music, dance, spoken word, and theater, supporting over 25,000 artists, hosting over 5,000 events, and commissioning over 100 new works since 1969. Throughout its history, the Bride has been committed to supporting a wide range of artists and amplifying underrepresented voices to foster diversity and inclusivity.

More info
News

$9 Million From The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage Supports 28 Philadelphia Organizations and 12 Artist Fellowships

Sep 12, 2023
Explore Connections
Nels Cline in performance at Royce Hall, Los Angeles. Photo by Phinn Sriployrung.

Guitarist Nels Cline on Musical Lineage
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Walking with Trane, Urban Bush Women. Photo by Gennia Cui.
Questions of Practice: Choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar on Art and Social Justice
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Sonia Sanchez. Photo by Erika Vonie.
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Sonya Clark, The Descendants of Monticello, 2024, part of Declaration House, Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia, PA. Photo by Steve Weinik, courtesy of Monument Lab.
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Pew Fellows Candice Iloh and Armando Veve. Photos by Neal Santos.

Fellow to Fellow: Candice Iloh and Armando Veve Find Inspiration in Each Other’s Mediums
Interview Cross-Disciplinary Practices
Enrique Bostelmann, Portrait of Cora Flores, 1980, part of Mirages series.

Projects in Process: Discoveries in the Archives with Berman Museum and Japan America Society
Essay Legacy & Archives
Side-by-side portraits of Sumi Tonooka and Phillip B. Williams.

Fellow to Fellow: Sumi Tonooka and Phillip B. Williams on Expanding Their Artistic Identities 
Interview Practice & Process
Sinta Penyami Storms, 2022 Philadelphia's Cultural Treasures fellow.
Four Philadelphia’s Cultural Treasures Fellows on Care and Community Impact
EgoPo Classic Theater, rehearsal for Ramayana with Papermoon Puppet Theatre and Kalanari Theatre Movement, 2023, Java, Indonesia. Photo courtesy of EgoPo. 

Projects in Process: Wilma Theater and EgoPo on Creative Collaborations
Essay Co-Authorship & Collaboration