The Apollo and Ta-Nehisi Coates Announce [at] The Intersection: The Apollo’s Inaugural Festival of Arts & Ideas

Harlem, NY – (June 15, 2023) – The Apollo and Ta-Nehisi Coates, Apollo’s Master Artist in Residence announced today that they will be launching [at] The Intersection, The Apollo’s Festival of Arts & Ideas. The three-day event will be held from Friday, October 6- Sunday, October 8, 2023 at The Apollo’s Historic Theater. Early access festival passes are available for purchase at https://www.apollotheater.org/event/at-the-intersection-festival.

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Curated by critically-acclaimed thinker and writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, [at] The Intersection will bring together Black artists, creators and cultural movers including Ted Bunch, Bisa Butler, Jordan E. Cooper, Stefon Harris, Michael R. Jackson, Diallo Riddle, Dominique Morisseau, Stephen Satterfield, Salamishah Tillet, and Liesl Tommy who are shifting the landscape in music, theater, film, television, food, and more to explore the incredible range of Black creativity shaping our world.

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“The Apollo sits at the intersection of  many things, so it was only natural that [at] The Intersection would be a reflection of that.” said The Apollo’s Executive Producer, Kamilah Forbes. “The festival will invite artists, thinkers, and creatives from across our diaspora to exchange ideas and examine this unprecedented time in history where Black people are leading in culture and art across the globe in ways that we have never seen before.” Additional participants will be announced in the coming weeks.

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The festival will be a multi-component experience comprised of:

• Keynotes & Panels: Live discussions with notable musicians, filmmakers, actors, playwrights, visual artists, and culinarians.  
• Music Performances: Curated performances from emerging and legendary music artists.  
• Between the Talks: Unique opportunities for festival attendees to connect and engage with each other.  

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“Black artists and writers have a long tradition of coming together in community to discuss, debate and share their visions of the future. It’s an honor to partner with The Apollo in continuation of that tradition and shine a light and write ourselves back into history through the process of curating the first iteration of  [at] The Intersection.” said The Apollo’s Master Artist in Residence, Ta-Nehisi Coates.

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[at] The Intersection tickets and festival passes are available for purchase at https://www.apollotheater.org/event/at-the-intersection-festival/. Early access festival passes are $150.VIP Festival Passes begin at $200 offering premium entrance, preferred seating, discounts on food and beverages, and admission to all daytime panel discussions, lectures, performances, and workshops on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Single day tickets and discounts to Harlem residents, students, business owners and employees are also available.

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For more information and updates, please visit the event  https://www.apollotheater.org/event/at-the-intersection-festival/. Join the A-List here, follow The Apollo on social media at @apollotheater and join the conversation using hashtag #AtTheIntersection.

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ABOUT TA-NEHISI COATES  

Ta-Nehisi Coates is a writer, currently holding  the Sterling Brown Chair in the Department of English at Howard University. He is the author of the bestselling books The Beautiful Struggle, We Were Eight Years in Power, The Water Dancer, and Between the World and Me. He is a recipient of a National Magazine Award, a National Book Award and a MacArthur Fellowship.

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ABOUT THE APOLLO’S MASTER-ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAM

Apollo’s Master-Artist-in-Residence program is a three-year initiative that deepens the Apollo’s relationship with a prominent, influential artist whose work aligns with the Apollo’s mission as a beacon of Black culture and catalyst for artistic production for the Harlem community and around the world.

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ABOUT THE APOLLO

The legendary Apollo—the soul of American culture—plays a vital role in cultivating emerging artists and launching legends. Since its founding, The Apollo has served as a center of innovation and a creative catalyst for Harlem, the city of New York, and the world. In 2023, The Apollo will open The Apollo’s Victoria Theaters, which will include two new theater spaces, and begin the renovation of its Historic Theater, marking the first ever expansion and renovation of The Apollo in its nearly 90-year history. Read more about the project here: www.apollotheater.org/renovation-restoration-and-transformation/

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With music at its core, The Apollo’s programming extends to dance, theater, spoken word, and more. This includes the world premieres of The Blues and Its People and the theatrical adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me, and the New York premiere of the opera We Shall Not Be Moved; special programs such as the blockbuster concert Bruno Mars Live at the Apollo; 100: The Apollo Celebrates Ella; and the annual Africa Now! Festival. The non-profit Apollo is a performing arts presenter, commissioner, and collaborator that also produces festivals, large-scale dance and musical works organized around a set of core initiatives that celebrate and extend The Apollo’s legacy through a contemporary lens, including the Women of the World (WOW) Festival as well as other multidisciplinary collaborations with partner organizations.

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Since introducing the first Amateur Night contests in 1934, The Apollo has served as a testing ground for new artists working across a variety of art forms and has ushered in the emergence of many new musical genres—including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel, blues, soul, and hip-hop. Among the countless legendary performers who launched their careers at The Apollo are Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross, H.E.R., D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill, Machine Gun Kelly, and Miri Ben Ari; and The Apollo’s forward-looking artistic vision continues to build on this legacy. For more information about The Apollo, visit www.ApolloTheater.org.

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