Island-grown art

Pathways Arts kicks off its favorite time of year.

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Pathways Arts kicked off its 2018-19 season last week with two events. Last Tuesday, folks gathered at the Chilmark Tavern for the first of Pathways’ Writing and Poetry Tuesdays, a weekly evening of readings that will take place throughout the winter and spring.

Last Friday, dozens of dancers and choreographers showed off new works. The evening began with the crowd-pleasing Island Hip Hop Dance Crew. About 22 dancers ranging in age from 10 on up entertained the audience with some classic hip-hop moves. That performance was followed by a variety of other dance forms, including tap from Sophie Hiller and Joanne Cassidy, improv from the group What’s Written Within, and a contemporary solo dance from Corinne de Langavant, who was accompanied by David Stanwood on piano. The evening also included a couple of videos. Tessa Permar showed clips of herself performing something she calls couch choreography, and Bob McLean provided some videos of underwater dance.

The live performances were followed by an open public dance, with DJ KOS (Keith Bassett) spinning tunes.

On Friday, Nov. 16, Pathways will present the first in a monthly series of ocean-related films with screenings of two documentaries, “The Memory of Fish” about the disappearance of salmon in the Pacific Northwest, and a film from the “Saving the Ocean” series on Trinidad’s giant turtles. Scott Crawford, co-director of Pathways Arts, explains that the film series was launched this year to honor founder Marianne Goldberg’s longstanding advocacy of ocean stewardship.

Pathways is celebrating its 10th anniversary of bringing the arts in all of their myriad forms to Island audiences throughout the off-season. All events take place at the organization’s space at the Chilmark Tavern. A rotating art show is always on display, with the work of photographer Mia Stromberg currently hanging. The space is open for drop-in visitors from 11 am to 5 pm every day except Wednesday and Sunday. “People can work on projects, have a meeting, rehearse or just stop in to use the Wi-Fi,” says Crawford. “We encourage everyone who is creating art of any kind.”

Writers, dancers, musicians, filmmakers, artists, and others are welcome to perform or present new work at Pathways. The public is invited — free of charge — to attend all events, which always include some socializing time. The Pathways space will be open through April. New events are scheduled throughout the season. Check out the Pathways website, pathwaysmv.org, for updates.