Stories of Impact : Arts
ARTS CONTENT
Goal: Increase and strengthen platform-intentional content that is
relevant, compelling and credible to enrich our communities.
Journeys Through the Finger Lakes
This co-production with the Finger Lakes Tourism Alliance celebrates a region deeply rooted in history, agriculture, social change, and sustainability. The film takes viewers on a journey through the vibrant history, lush topography, and seminal moments that make up the Finger Lakes.
The film is also a testament to WXXI’s resiliency. Footage for the documentary was still being shot when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Our production team was steadfast in their resolve to finish the film and quickly pivoted their work to abide by state-mandated safety regulations. Final shooting and interviews were completed with a limited crew who followed social distancing, mask-wearing, and other health protocols. Much of the post-production work was then done remotely from the homes of the production team.
HomeStage & HomeStage at the Little
When artists Ephraim Gebre, Darius Dennis, Jared Diaz and Dan Harrington came to Rochester to create a mural to honor the late Rep John Lewis, WXXI News reporter James Brown and WXXI Classical, Television, News and WRUR collaborated to produce HomeStage, an ongoing series of in-home performances by musicians who had their performances canceled due to the pandemic. Music of a wide variety of genres was featured with each of the virtual performances appearing on WXXI’s website and social media platforms. To date, more than 56 performances were captured and shared with the Rochester music community.
Arts InFocus
ARTS IN FOCUS WXXI continued producing Arts InFocus, an original primetime television program turned to a digital first series. New feature videos premiere on Arts InFocus’ Facebook page every monthly.
Recent specials – which also aired on WXXI-TV – include: Arts InFocus: First Fridays at the Hungerford The special featured the First Friday event at The Hungerford building, several profiles on artists with spaces in the building, and enlightening comments from the attendees. Arts InFocus: Move to Include This episode was assembled from segments by, for, and with people with disabilities.
In partnership with the Golisano Foundation, the episode included viewers in numerous, diverse arts experiences.
New York In Concert: Highlights from the Gateways
Music Festival
This year’s Gateways Music Festival was an all-virtual festival. In celebration of the festival, WXXI Classical broadcasted the full orchestral concert from the 2019 festival, recorded live in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theater.
The program featured music by Black composers, including Adolphus Hailstork, Florence Price and Michael Abels, and included an arrangement of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” all performed by the Gateways Music Festival Orchestra.
Little Music Outreach
Little in the Lot, an outdoor dining experience in The Little’s Winthrop Street parking lot, debuted over the summer. Along with an outdoor bar, concessions, and food from The Little Cafe served to tables physically distanced across The Little’s lot, there was live entertainment.
Specifically, music was provided by The Prestons, a father-daughter duo, followed by a charming indie film, Hearts Beat Loud, about a father-daughter band (“families who rock” is always a winning theme).
The Little Couch Concerts: Like many arts organizations and not-for-profits, the COVID-19 pandemic has delivered a financial hit to The Little. To help combat this challenge, The Little teamed with Rochester area musicians and national recording artists to present Little Couch Concerts — a virtual fundraising series to help close that gap while celebrating the reasons The Little has been a cultural landmark in Rochester for over 90 years. The fundraiser (hosted on The Little’s YouTube channel ) was a three-show series that featured Hubby Jenkins, Joe Crookston, Robin and Linda Williams, and more.