Across numerous artistic disciplines, portraiture reveals singular details about both the maker and subject. These revelations are found in the countenance of the figure, as in photography, or the structure of a phrase, as in the written arts. In this evening of poetry, prose, live music, film, and audience participation, writer Kim Addonizio invites performers to explore the concept of portraiture—of the self, artists, and art forms—as it relates to the places we find ourselves. The evening is infused throughout with the spirit of the Blues–that American musical genre which has influenced so many notions of the self in artistic practice. Performers include Addonizio, poets Susan Browne and Brittany Perham, and blues musicians Steven Freund, Beth Kohnen, Steve Ehrmann, and Paul Revelli.

The evening expands on themes of portraiture as seen in the survey exhibition Michael Jang’s California. Jang’s work since his early student days in the 1970s has included arresting candid and posed portraits of subjects from all strata of society, from his Chinese-American relatives to aspiring local weathermen of the 1980s. With its spirited lineup of contributions, People/Places/Performance animates this immersive exhibition for both performers and audience members.