'Bridging cultural worlds': Solange showcases the power of black unity

Dressed in silk orange fabrics, a duo of female singers croon airy, ethereal notes as a trombone and trumpet play. Dancers tenderly embrace and build complex human sculptures to showcase the power of black unity. Occasionally, dancers cut through the crowd and force viewers to move out of their way.

Welcome to Bridge-s, an immersive art piece scored by the R&B musician Solange Knowles, in which dancers and musicians perform across the Getty Museum’s open courtyard in Los Angeles.

“Composing the music for this piece and directing it, alongside [choreographers] Gerard & Kelly, has been so fulfilling for me as I enter new planes as a composer and writer,” Knowles said at the end of the performance. “I just thank you guys for allowing me the space to evolve and experiment and express new frontiers.”

Bridge-s is the latest art piece by Solange, who has continually blurred the divide between the pop and art spheres. She previously staged art performances at LA’s Hammer Museum and in Marfa, Texas, and, in 2018, the singer performed live at New York’s Guggenheim Museum, surrounded by black dancers and musicians. She’s also boosted the careers of black artists from the painter Toyin Ojih Odutola to the 3D animator Jacolby Satterwhite and the photographer Mickalene Thomas.

Notable names in attendance at Monday’s preview were rapper Tyler, the Creator and the British singer-songwriter Dev Hynes (both artists Solange has collaborated with in the past).

This weekend’s events include a series of performances, film screenings and talks curated by Solange.

There will be a screening of the critically acclaimed film Nairobi, directed by the 19-year-old wunderkind Phillip Youmans; a talk with the British-Ghanaian philosopher Kodwo Eshun; viewings of avant-garde art films created by Phoebe Collings-James, Julie Dash, and more.

Solange’s explains Bridge-s as “a reflection on how much transition can be controlled and accelerated by our own ideas, thoughts and movements”.

The Getty Research Institute has committed to improving its representation and inclusion of black identities recently, allocating $5m to acquire more work by black artists over the next few years. Last year, it acquired the archive of Betye Saar, an artist best known for her contributions to the black arts movement in the 60s and 70s.

“We have long been inspired by the unique performances Solange has staged in various iconic art and architectural spaces, and her ability to both inhabit a locale, while simultaneously pushing its boundaries,” a spokesperson for the Getty Museum told the Guardian. “Her bridging of cultural worlds is especially full of potential at the Getty, a cultural center that stands within the diverse city of Los Angeles.”

Solange has been openly critical of how the art world treats black creators, calling for the industry to change. The singer said in 2017: “The art world definitely has its own set of issues, and in my opinion there is a tonality in certain of the spaces and institutions that as a black artist you should just be happy to be here. I’m not interested in that conversation.”

Bridge-s will be performed on 16 and 17 November at the Getty Center, Los Angeles