All posts tagged: Converge

Muslim pilgrims converge on Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia as the Hajj reaches its peak

Muslim pilgrims converge on Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia as the Hajj reaches its peak

Published by Sam Flores

ARAFAT, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Muslim pilgrims from around the world congregated on Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia for intense prayers on Tuesday, the second official day and the climax of the annual Islamic pilgrimage. Despite the sweltering heat, the pilgrims gathered on the rocky hill and the surrounding plain for worship that often marks a spiritual peak for the faithful, fervently murmured prayers and poured their hearts out in supplication. Many raised their hands in worship. It is common for pilgrims on that day, some with tears streaming down their faces, to ask God for forgiveness, mercy, blessings and good health. The Hajj, one of the Five Pillars of Islam, is required once in a lifetime for every Muslim who can afford it and is physically able to perform it. For pilgrims, the Hajj, performed over several days, can be a deeply moving spiritual experience and a chance to seek God’s forgiveness and the erasure of past sins. As they brave the intense heat to perform religious rituals, many pilgrims have been using umbrellas …

Portland’s Converge 45 Names Theme and Artists for 2026 Edition

Portland’s Converge 45 Names Theme and Artists for 2026 Edition

Published by José Betancourt

Converge 45, a citywide triennial in Portland, Oregon, has announced the theme and the 28 participating artists for the exhibition’s upcoming edition, launching August 27. New York–based curator Lumi Tan has titled this iteration of the art festival “Here, To you, Now,” borrowing a phrase from Ursula K. Le Guin’s 1985 science-fiction novel Always Coming Home. The novel focuses on the Kesh people, who have survived an ecological disaster and “prioritize the impermanence of spoken language, insisting that meaning is always remade in the moment: Here, to you, now,” according to a release. Related Articles The choice to look at Le Guin is intentional as the late author was based in Portland, as such more than half of the 28 artists are based in Portland. They include Srijon Chowdhury, Aaron Cunningham, Marcus Fischer, keyon gaskin, Linda K. Johnson, sidony o’neal, and Vo Vo. Artists coming from outside Oregon include New York–based ones like Trisha Baga, Frank Heath, and Rose Salane, as well as Los Angeles–based Jacqueline Kiyomi Gork and Rome-based Lex Brown. “What feels especially …

Robert Rauschenberg, Laurie Anderson, Trisha Brown Converge at BAM

Robert Rauschenberg, Laurie Anderson, Trisha Brown Converge at BAM

Published by José Betancourt

Avant-garde dance can be much sillier than it seems. I was reminded of this—much to my delight—at a recent rehearsal for Set and Reset, a collaboration between icons that premiered at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in 1983. Trisha Brown did the choreography, Laurie Anderson did the music, and Robert Rauschenberg did the costumes and the sets. Talk about a dream team! This weekend, it’s back at BAM as part of an international tour celebrating Rauschenberg’s 100th birthday. Charmingly named “Dancing with Bob,” the tour runs through May, with a program that also includes Travelogue (1977). That piece was choreographed by Merce Cunningham and is being restaged by Trisha Brown Company—for the first time, by a professional dance company, since 1979. Meanwhile, another set Rauschenberg made for Brown’s Glacial Decoy (1979) is also on view at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis through May. Related Articles Set and Reset is not only the brainchild of three stars but also a moving portrait of collaboration itself. Here, there are no committees making bad decisions; rather, …