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Artist Rashawn Griffin is the creator of "The Little Way" exhibit currently on display at OCA Garage.

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The Ziegfeld Theater presents "The Pirates of Penzance" starting Friday, April 29, 2022.

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Eighth Blackbird is a Grammy Award-winning modern classical sextet from Chicago performing at The Monarch on Tuesday, May 3, 2022. The show is part of Onstage Ogden's downtown series.

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‘The Little Way’ at OCA Arts Garage

“The Little Way,” an immersive art experience by Kansas City artist Rashawn Griffin, is on exhibit at Ogden Contemporary Arts now through May 22. A special “art talk” with Griffin during Ogden’s First Friday Art Stroll on Friday, May 6, from 6-7 p.m., is free and open to the public.

According to OCA, Griffin, whose work has been featured in institutions and exhibitions across the country and internationally, is known for using mixed media in his art installations, such as food, paper, fabric, plants and flowers. For this exhibition, Griffin utilizes projection screens and sound, creating a fully immersive experience in three parts. Viewers follow a “garbage bag man” — a man made out of frumpy garbage bags — as he navigates his life and seemingly small tasks such as unlocking a door. The man, due to his size and lack of dexterity, often fails at these tasks, but success can be seen in other ways. The exhibition is multi-dynamic and allows the viewer to find meaning in multiple elements of the story and its parts. “Poetically, the title of the project, ‘The Little Way,’ relates to the subject’s actions; how a seemingly small task — such as picking a flower or moving a latch — can be ‘monumental in some circumstances,'” according to the OCA event page. “Griffin’s art pushes boundaries between object and architecture, calling viewers to engage in their own past experiences when confronting his work. For this exhibition, Griffin transforms OCA’s Arts Garage into an immersive installation, presenting thought-provoking imagery that is intentional yet open to viewer interpretation.”

The Ogden Contemporary Arts exhibition space is located inside The Monarch building at 455 25th St. Recently opened in 2020, the space offers Ogden a place to view and interact with contemporary artists throughout the world. For more information, visit ogdencontemporaryarts.org.

Ogden Contemporary Arts, 455 25th St., now through May 22 / Art Talk with Griffin May 6, 6-7 p.m., free, ogdencontemporaryarts.org

‘The Pirates of Penzance’ by The Ziegfeld Theater

A revival of the comedic 19th century opera “The Pirates of Penzance” is opening at the South Ogden performing arts theater, “The Zig,” on Friday. Genders are swapped in this locally produced version; the pirates are ladies and Major-General’s children are dandies. The two-act comic play, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W.S. Gilbert centers on the apprentice Frederic who falls in love with one of Major-General’s children, Mabel, but then learns that because her birthday only occurs on leap year, she’s bound to 63 more years of servitude to a band of tender-hearted pirates. Her only solace is that her love agrees to wait for her faithfully. The Ziegfeld Theater is proud to be “Northern Utah’s premier semi-professional theater, providing high-quality, entertaining productions almost every week of the year. Musicals, plays, and special events can be enjoyed from 250 comfortable seats in a beautiful, recently-renovated auditorium.” The theater also boasts state-of-the-art sound, lighting and high-caliber entertainment.

The Ziegfeld Theater, 3934 E. Washington Blvd., April 29-May 21, various days and times, $24.95/$22.95 children and seniors, zigarts.com

Eighth Blackbird

Onstage Ogden continues its downtown series with the Grammy Award-winning modern classical sextet from Chicago, Eighth Blackbird, on Tuesday. Eighth Blackbird formed in 1996 when six entrepreneurial Oberlin Conservatory students came together, eventually winning four Grammy Awards for Best Small Ensemble/Chamber Music Performance among other prestigious awards and recording over a dozen acclaimed albums. Eighth Blackbird, a name which comes from the Wallace Stevens poem “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird,” is comprised of Lina Andonovska (flutes), Ashley Bathgate (cello), Maiani da Silva (violin), Matthew Duvall (percussion), Zachary Good (clarinets) and Lisa Kaplan (piano). The group is described by the Chicago Tribune as “one of the smartest, most dynamic contemporary classical ensembles on the planet” and Detroit Free Press as “defined by adventure … known for performing from memory, employing choreography and collaborations with theater artists, lighting designers and even puppetry artists.”

The downtown concerts in smaller, more intimate venues, such as The Monarch and Ogden Union Station, were created in 2020 to expand on the community arts nonprofit’s mission to “energize and engage the Greater Ogden community by presenting only the finest, world-class music, and dance.” This performance is made possible with the generous support of Weber County RAMP and Ogden City Arts.

The Monarch, 455 25th St., Tuesday, May 3, 7:30-9:30 p.m., $25/$10 students and children, onstageoden.org