Arriving, Staying, Leaving: The Idea of Home

Presented in partnership with MGA Partners, an award-winning, women-owned architectural firm located near Carpenters’ Hall, “Arriving, Staying, Leaving: the Idea of Home” will feature two nationally acclaimed figures, writer Drew Philp and performer and artist John Jarboe. Together they will explore the themes of “arriving,” staying,” and “leaving” a place as personal decisions that collectively affect a place’s history and trajectory.

Drew Philp is the author of A $500 House in Detroit: Rebuilding an Abandoned Home and an American City. John Jarboe, a college classmate of Philp’s, is the founder and artistic director of the Bearded Ladies Cabaret, founded in 2010, which uses the tropes of queer performance to engage audiences and explore issues of history, sexual politics and popular culture. These two unique artists have been personal friends for almost two decades but have never worked together professionally. For this event, Philp and Jarboe have co-created an interactive, engaging and utterly unique experience centered on the role of individuals in preservation, community revitalization and urban sustainability.

Both an exploration of personal histories surrounding their adopted home cities of Detroit and Philadelphia and a community dialogue, this event is multi-media and multi-sensory. It features a performance by Jarboe and a reading from Philp’s book. The program will last about two hours.