Blood Baby
*All 2023-2024 UArts students and faculty can attend any Blood Baby event for free by showing ID at the door. Read our full statement of support here.
Welcome to Blood Baby
Disco. Boulders. An electric hug. Blood Baby is a multidisciplinary dance project by Meg Foley exploring human sexuality, parenting, family-building, and gender development from a queer and gender-expansive perspective.
Engage in queer parent groups, interactive libraries, movement performances, and more at sites across Philadelphia this Pride Month! Attendance at all events is not required, but is encouraged. Learn more about Blood Baby‘s five-part constellation of offerings below:
Performance of Carpet Womb, photographed by Alexandra Kacha
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Carpet Womb
A sweaty, gay, disco ritual performed by six dancers and experienced inside a large tent-like structure, occurring outside and holding intentional space for shared, radical embodiment. Get tickets here
At Tree Lab at Imperfect Gallery (5539 Germantown Ave), from 6/13–6/16
Primordial installation, photographed by Erin Johnson
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Primordial
Rock drag, a site-responsive, sculptural practice presented in a video and sound installation by visual artist (and Foley’s co-parent) Carmichael Jones, to connect geology, transformation, and queer gestation. RSVP here
At Painted Bride (5212 Market St), from 6/8–6/23
A Touch Library participant, photographed by Garrett Ann Walters
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Touch Library
A playful, exploratory hands-on archival library and tour, where you’ll find prompts to engage with rocks, foam, and other materials from Blood Baby’s development, at your own pace. You’re encouraged to attend performances of Communion, in the same building, after your experience. RSVP here
At Headlong Studios (1170 S Broad St), from 6/7–6/23
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Communion
An improvisational performance by Meg Foley, where you are guided through soft movement and feeling. Foley’s text embraces geological lineage and noticing with our senses. Communion examines the space between body and language, demonstrating how language extends, represents, and ruptures our corporeal identities. Get tickets here
At Headlong Studios (1170 S Broad St), from 6/7–6/22
QPC participants, photographed by Beth Barbis
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Queer Parent Convenings (QPCs)
A one-off gathering for queer and trans parents to explore collectively how we shape our families, through story sharing, open conversation, and facilitated exercises. Space is limited – register here, or read the website for more information.
At the Painted Bride (5212 Market St) on 6/9, 1-4pm
At QRWRK in the Bok Building (1901 S 9th Street – Room 302A) 6/16, 11am-2pm
Past: Blood Baby and the Painted Bride hosted two cohorts of local parent convenings with Cohort One at Natural Creativity and Cohort Two at The Whole Shebang and Wild Seeds/The Dandelion Project. These cohorts gathered to facilitate community, center body wellness for queer and trans parents, and to build a collective zine. Stay tuned for information about the zine development and distribution.
Major support for Blood Baby has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, with additional support from the National Performance Network and the New England Foundation for the Arts.
Creative team
- Meg Foley, Blood Baby project director
- Valerie Oliveiro, Carpet Womb lighting designer
- Carmichael Jones, Primordial collaborator and co-creator
- Bailey Roper, Blood Baby project manager and production support
- Elisandra Rosario (DJ Medusa), Carpet Womb DJ
- Noèl Puèllo, Carpet Womb costumer
- Michèle Steinwald, Blood Baby former project advisor and Queer Parent Convenings co-facilitator
- Jesse Harrod, Touch Library and Communion collaborator
- Charli Brissey, Carpet Womb performer
- Zara Martina López, Carpet Womb performer
- Kristine Manuel, Carpet Womb performer
- Majesty Royale-Jackson, Carpet Womb performer
- Fox Whitney, Carpet Womb performer
- Izzy Sazak, Queer Parent Convenings co-facilitator
- Melissa Bingham, Queer Parent Convenings co-facilitator
- Sunny Lucas, Carpet Womb Philadelphia Scenic Design
- Lucia Albers, Touch Library Designer and Installation Artist
Community partners
Disability Pride PA is a movement to make Pennsylvania Disability PROUD!
We are the Commonwealth of Independence! Let’s make it a reality for every Pennsylvanian!
Gays With Kids is a services company focused on delivering unique and valuable services for our community of gay and queer dads and dads-to-be.
Genderfunk Philly showcases trans and non-binary theatre talent in Philly and is building an irresistible coalition—and we want YOU to be a part of it! Follow us to get to know our artists, learn something new, and stay up-to-date about what is cute, cool and cutting edge in Philadelphia Theatre. Come funk with us!
Natural Creativity is a 501c3 non-profit that operates a resource center for self-directed partnership education in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, PA.
Philadelphia Family Pride is a non-profit membership organization for LGBTQ+-led families in the greater Philadelphia region.