Tulip(s), Footstool, Painting

Description:

Western Front presented an evening of archival excerpts, conversation, and a preview of Tulip(s), Footstool, Painting (2025), a new short film by Darragh Amelia.

In Tulip(s), Footstool, Painting (2025), the artist reflects on her mother’s informal archival practice and bears witness to her enduring friendship with June Katz—a beloved jazz singer and regular figure in Western Front’s social world during the 1980s and ’90s. What emerges is a personal meditation on friendship-as-archive, and on life itself as an act of creative expression.

To frame the screening, the evening began with an introduction by Western Front’s executive director, Susan Gibb, who shared a selection of images of June Katz from the organization’s archive. This was followed by a conversation between Darragh Amelia and Rebecca Corey. Longtime friends and collaborators, they spoke about the resonance of music and memory, the sacred bonds forged between women, and the beauty of lived experience shared among friends. Darragh Amelia and Corey presented objects that embodied their friendship archive, then invited audience members to share tokens, talismans, and memories from their own friendships.

Video documentation is available upon request.