Dancers rehearse during the development of in case of fire, speak, by choreographer Tommie-Waheed Evans with dramaturg Ain Gordon. Photograph by Daniel Jackson for Embassy: Interactive, courtesy of ArtPhilly.
in case of fire, speak is the companion exhibition for a world premiere collaborative performance by the Martha Graham Dance Company and PHILADANCO!. The exhibition is presented by Penn Live Arts and ArtPhilly, in partnership with The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation, and will be on view at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Pennsylvania, March 19 through July 3, 2026.
Curated by Ain Gordon and designed by Dr. Azsaneé Truss, the exhibition in case of fire, speak frames the making of the collaborative performance alongside rarely seen images from foundational modern dancer and choreographer Martha Graham’s 1938 work, American Document, and its enduring question, “What is an American?” Drawing on historical documents, photographs, video, and design materials, the exhibition explores Graham’s masterwork alongside Philadelphia dance company PHILADANCO!’s decades-long commitment to preserving and advancing the work of Black artists.
in case of fire, speak is also the title of the premiere performance by the Martha Graham Dance Company and PHILADANCO!, which will debut at Penn Live Arts May 29-30, 2026. in case of fire, speak is choreographed by Tommie-Waheed Evans with dramaturg Ain Gordon, and presented as part of ArtPhilly’s What Now: 2026 arts festival.
Opening Reception
Please join us on Thursday, March 19, to celebrate the exhibition opening with a public reception in the Arts Lounge at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, beginning at 6:00 p.m.
- Thursday, March 19, 2026
6:00–7:30 PM - Arts Lounge at the Annenberg Center
3680 Walnut Street (enter from the South Plaza)
University of Pennsylvania
This program is free and open to the public.
About the Exhibition
Organized to accompany the premiere performances of in case of fire, speak, the companion exhibition brings together an array of archival materials that inspired the newly-commissioned work. It traces the lineages of artistic experimentation and cultural intervention through the work of Martha Graham and Joan Myers Brown, two women who reshaped the possibilities of American dance from radically different vantage points. In its totality, the exhibition reflects how these women’s work brings us to the moment in which PHILADANCO! Co-artistic Director and choreographer Tommie-Waheed Evans creates this exciting new work.
Drawing on historical documents, photographs, video, and design materials, the exhibition explores Graham’s 1938 masterwork, American Document, alongside PHILADANCO!’s more than fifty-year commitment to preserving and advancing the work of Black artists. In assembling these materials, the exhibition illuminates how questions of belonging and American identity have been staged, contested, and reimagined through movement across generations.
in case of fire, speak features archival material from both companies as well as elements from the creative process of Evans’s new performance, offering audiences a behind-the-scenes look at how history becomes choreography. The exhibition is curated by Ain Gordon, dramaturg for the performance, and designed by Dr. Azsaneé Truss, with support from The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation.
The exhibition is presented as part of ArtPhilly’s What Now: 2026 arts festival and accompanies the world premiere performance of in case of fire, speak, co-commissioned by Penn Live Arts and created in collaboration with the Martha Graham Dance Company and PHILADANCO!. in case of fire, speak and its companion exhibition are also made possible through the generous support of the Hearthland Foundation. Together, the exhibition and performance invite visitors to reconsider Graham’s enduring question, “What is an American?”
Acknowledgments
The exhibition, in case of fire, speak, was produced by ArtPhilly and Penn Live Arts in partnership with The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation, with lead support from the Hearthland Foundation.
The exhibition and dance performance are presented as part of ArtPhilly’s expansive What Now: 2026 arts festival in Philadelphia. Featuring over thirty original commissions and taking place during the nation’s 250th anniversary, What Now: 2026 will spotlight the work of artists from the city where it all began.
