August 29, 2012____________________________
{attÙ (D hserU er_________________________________ Page 15
Arts
______ _____ __________ _ V
ENTERTAINMENT
Legendary Bluesman Celebrates
B.B. King
performs at
homecoming
An 86-year-old B.B. King thrills a crowd o f several hundred people
last week at the 32nd annual B.B. King Homecoming in
Indianola, Miss.
(AP) — A crescent moon hung
over the Mississippi Delta as a leg
endary bluesman crept onto the stage.
He sat in a folding chair, grabbed a
guitar, and introduced each member
of his band. Then, as if it was needed,
he introduced himself.
"I guess you can look at me and
tell I'm the old man. My name is B. B.
King."
At 86, King may be grayer and-
slower than he used to be, but there’s
no questioning his ability to please
fans. King performed last Wednes
day night at the B.B. King Museum
and Delta Interpretive Center in
Indianola, Miss., built on the site of
a cotton gin where he worked as
teenager while growing up in the
impoverished delta.
Before taking stage. King took
time to connect with his younger
fans. He brought the W. A. Higgins
Rock Ensemble from Clarksdale, a
group of children ages 11 to 14,
aboard his tour bus for a private
meeting.
The setting was intimate. He sat
close to the edge of a stage on a
grass lawn outside the museum.
There were no fixed seats and a
crowd stood just inches from the
star as he plucked off some tunes.
He asked the crowd to sing along
with him at times, saying "this one
is for the ladies" before playing "Do
You Know You Are My Sunshine."
King closed with one of his an
thems, "The Thrill is Gone."
For his fans on a hot night in the
Mississippi Delta, the thrill was
back.
——rnntui /■
-
Ex-Jail Cells Serve as Artist Studios
Former police
precincts now
foster creativity
(A P)— For Hugo Navarro, the 5-
by-9-foot jail cell that serves as his
studio is an admittedly creepy place
to immerse himself in his work.
Unlike jailhouse artists who find
creative inspiration behind bars,
however, the 56-year-old is there by
choice. He paints for an arts organi
zation that this year moved into its
new home in a former police precinct
in Detroit.
The city closed the building in
2005, and the former lobby where
residents once could walk in to re
port crimes now is an airy gallery.
Detectives' offices now serve as
classroom and studio space. And
potentially claustrophobic cells —
bars still on their doors— are foster
ing creativity.
"I didn't really have anything in
mind before going to my jail cell,"
said Navarro, whose colorful paint
ings o f Detroit's shuttered Michi
gan Central Depot and fires gutting
homes adorn some of the cells near
where he's worked for the past few
months. "I just let myself go and let
my inside do the work."
The Third Precinct renovation is
among a handful of projects nation
wide converting old police facili
ties, including one in Chicago that
will become a live theater venue and
one in Philadelphia that is being
converted into homes.
For Carl Goines, the project is a
balancing act between preserving
parts of the police station's past and
making it a welcoming place for art
ists.
"This is a space that's taking on
a new life. It's a space that's becoming inspira
tional," said Goines, a sculptor. "It pushes them to
take their work to a new level."
In Philadelphia, the former 26th Precinct Police
Station, which sat vacant for years, is being reno
vated with the upper floors as apartments. Much of
its history as a neighborhood law enforcement hub
was erased by time and earlier reuse, but salvaged
architectural details are being recreated to bring
back some of its character. Arches in the basement,
Barr said, mark where cells once stood.
In Chicago, the Griffin Theatre Company ac
quired a former police station and plans to start
construction in September on the first of two live
performance spaces. The building's large cells are
too massive to remove, said William Massolia, a
founding member, so they'll be used to house a
green room, dressing rooms and a box office.
Hugo Navarro paints in a 5-by-9-foot ja il cell
that serves as his studio. The site was a
former police precinct in Detroit.
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