Please join us for THE THINGS AROUND US, a solo musical and narrative performance by Ahamefule J. Oluo, which collects seemingly unrelated stories and anecdotes that swirl and dance with a live musical score created through electronically looped trumpet, clarinet, drums, and everyday objects. Stories about other people, other places, and other times come to life through ambient, spontaneous soundscapes. Darkly humorous, uplifting and bleak, deep and silly, this work explores the challenge of trying and failing to find order in chaos, particularly in isolated states of being.

THE THINGS AROUND US is organized in conjunction with Dwelling, an exhibition that considers home as more than just a physical space, but a family tradition, a challenging reality, or the inner world of one’s own mind and body. Both the exhibition and the performance ask: How do the things around us shape or upend our understanding of oneself?

All public programs at the Cantor Arts Center are always free! Space for this program is limited; advance registration is recommended. This performance includes strong language and is recommended for attendees 13 years or older.

Ahamefule J. Oluo is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, writer, comedian, and creator of live performance. They were a member of acclaimed experimental jazz quartet Industrial Revelation. Oluo co-produced comedy albums by Hari Kondabolu and Dwayne Kennedy. At The Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival, they premiered NOW I'M FINE (2016), which The New York Times described as “a New Orleans funeral march orchestrated by Arnold Schoenberg” and Time Out NY said "A day later, it's as though I grabbed a live wire; I can still feel the electricity in my skin"; and SUSAN (2020), which NYT called “virtuosic.” Oluo wrote for HBO’s Santa Inc and appeared on This American Life. NOW I'M FINE was adapted into the film Thin Skin, written, scored by, and starring Oluo. They’ve been supported by Creative Capital, Mellon, ArtistTrust, UTR, PICA, On the Boards, Meany, Clarice, STG, Seattle Rep, Fusebox, REDCAT, Intiman, OKC Rep, MacDowell, & Yaddo.

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Parking

Free visitor parking is available along Lomita Drive as well as on the first floor of the Roth Way Garage Structure, located at the corner of Campus Drive West and Roth Way at 345 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305. From the Palo Alto Caltrain station, the Cantor Arts Center is about a 20-minute walk or there the free Marguerite shuttle will bring you to campus via the Y or X lines.

Accessibility Information or Requests

Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University is committed to ensuring our programs are accessible to everyone. To request access information and/or accommodations for this event, please complete this form at least one week prior to the event: museum.stanford.edu/access.

For questions, please contact disability.access@stanford.edu or Kwang-Mi Ro, kwangmi8@stanford.edu, (650) 723-3469.

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