MATANA ROBERTS’ “we got time.”

In partnership with The Crossing, Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, and The Woodlands, Ars Nova Workshop presents Matana Roberts’ “we got time.” — a world premiere work by the multidisciplinary artist, honoring the life of Breonna Taylor. “we got time.” will be presented in West Philadelphia at The Woodlands, from June 11-13, 2021.

When grand jurors were told they wouldn’t be able to watch all the body camera footage due to time restraints, one juror shot back, loudly, “We! Got! Time!”

Composer, sound artist, and jazz saxophonist Matana Roberts has created a collage of sound that reflects on the world today, positioning the loss of Breonna Taylor at the center of that world, and asks questions about the meaning of familiar words present in historic documents — the United States’ Declaration of Independence and the Preamble and First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution — the 19th-century hymn “Pass Over to The Rest,” event data related to Taylor’s death, and a roll call of the names of Black women lost in similar ways. Roberts writes of this sound quilt as a communal practice, “a scrap alone is of no use, but a scrap bounded together by others of its diverse kind will move beyond anything that it ever thought it could be.”

Admission Guidelines

This linear work is experienced via a 1/3-mile self-paced walk through The Woodlands historic cemetery. Entry is timed and the performers and audience will be spatially distanced.

Advance ticket purchase is required as there will be no on-site sales. No printed tickets will be sent so ticket holders should be prepared to show their email confirmations upon arrival. Audience members should arrive 10 minutes prior to the entry time to check in with program staff and queue for staggered entry. In order to maintain safe distancing, late arrivals cannot be guaranteed entry.

All attendees are expected to wear a mask and maintain 6-feet social distancing from those not in their immediate party. The experience will last approximately 20 minutes on a 1/3-mile well-marked path through the cemetery which connects back to the entrance, ensuring different audience groups do not cross paths. Comfortable shoes appropriate to hiking or long walks are encouraged. The path cannot safely accommodate personal mobility devices. In the case of inclement weather, this event will likely be cancelled, and ticket holders will be notified.

Month of Moderns 2021

“we got time.” is being presented as part of The Month of Moderns 2021 festival.

Grammy Award-winning choir The Crossing, led by Donald Nally, announces the return of its annual summer festival of new music, The Month of Moderns 2021, co-presented with Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts and Ars Nova Workshop, June 3-19, 2021. Each of the festival’s three scheduled outdoor programs, spread across Philadelphia and neighboring New Hope, Pennsylvania, will be performed with singers and audience spatially distanced using The Crossing’s Echoes Amplification Kits designed by in-house sound designer Paul Vazquez, which allow an intimate aural experience while observing pandemic-time protocols.