Let’s talk about trash.

Vocal performer Martha McDonald is performing the “Songs of Memory and Forgetting,” premiering June 12 (due to a rain-out on June 5th) at RAIR’s (Recycled Artist in Residency) headquarters at the Revolution Recovery recycling facility in Northeast Philadelphia. The recent Wall Street Journal stars RAIR (Recycled Artist In Residency) have a mission to build awareness about sustainability issues through visual art.

For Live at the Dump, get ready for a 50-minute narrative walking tour of the site.

McDonald and RAIR co-founder Billy Dufala collaborated on the music, which they will perform using instruments found among the personal possessions. Decked in handcrafted costumes and objects that incorporate found materials from the center, you’ll appreciate these repurposed goods come with a message: McDonald spent six months in residence at RAIR sifting through the personal items—clothing, photo albums, letters, tea cups—and felt a deep empathy for the memories embedded in these familiar domestic objects.

“We are our things. We collect things that give meaning to our life and then we have to let them go…Because I’m interested in the way we leave our mark, I see this project as performative archeology, conjuring up the memories of the absent owners of these artifacts through the traces they’ve left behind.”

– Martha McDonald

“Songs of Memory and Forgetting” is part of the Live at the Dump series, which engages viewers with the reality of the waste stream while challenging traditional notions of where the arts live. The last act is in late June with “Talking Trash,” a discussion held onsite amongst the bounding piles of recycling waste. Creative Time Chief Curator Nato Thompson and New York artist Tom Sachs will discuss the role that artist interventions like RAIR can play in initiating change by bringing new perspectives to social and environmental issues.

Tickets are now on sale for $20-$25, with an option for a bus from Center City (Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts) to Revolution Recovery. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit Live at the Dump.

EVENT SCHEDULE

• Sunday, June 12 and June 19th 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.: Martha McDonald Performance: Songs of Memory and Forgetting
• Sunday, June 26: Discussion: Talking Trash with Tom Sachs and Nato Thompson

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Julie Hancher is Editor-in-Chief of Green Philly, sharing her expertise of all things sustainable in the city of brotherly love. She enjoys long walks in the park with local beer and greening her travels, cooking & cat, Sir Floofus Drake. View all posts by Julie Hancher