The Cry of Jazz: Film Screening and Panel Discussion with the Sun Ra Arkestra

Join us for an evening exploring the sound, vision, and legacy of Sun Ra through film, conversation, and works from the Museum’s collection. Presented in partnership with Create Birmingham and Film Birmingham as part of the Year of Birmingham Jazz initiative, the program begins with a screening of The Cry of Jazz (1959), Edward Bland’s groundbreaking film examining jazz, race, and cultural expression. The film features performance footage of Sun Ra and members of his Arkestra.

Following the screening, members of the Sun Ra Arkestra will participate in a panel discussion led by local jazz historian Burgin Mathews of the Southern Music Research Center and Jessica Chriesman of Sidewalk Film Festival. The conversation will explore the cinematic history of Sun Ra and his band, the visual language of the Arkestra’s album art, and its influence on Afrofuturism, music history, and experimental design, while connecting these themes to works held in the Museum’s collection. Since 2023, the Hanson Library and Archives at the Birmingham Museum of Art has cared for printed proofs of four Sun Ra album covers: When Sun Comes Out (1963), Universe in Blue (1972), Dreams Come True (Deep Purple (1973), and Discipline 27 II (1973). Together, the film and discussion offer a closer look at how Sun Ra’s creative universe continues to shape art, music, and visual culture today.

Image caption: Sun Ra (1914–1993), print proof for Universe in Blue, screen print, Sun Ra Collection; Clarence B. Hanson, Jr. Library and Archives, Birmingham Museum of Art, ARC.2023.2