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Alex Shaw

@alex.b.shaw

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Musician | Composer | Cultural Producer | Arts Educator
California Institute of the Arts (MFA)
Swarthmore College (BA)
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It was a night of rhythm, music, delicious food, and gratitude! We came together to celebrate Bartol’s 2026 Arts Education Grantees and Teaching Artist Awardees, highlighting the power of arts education to connect and inspire the people of Philadelphia. The sunny rooftop patio at @theclaystudiophl set the scene for gorgeous performances by 2026 Grantees @alex.b.shaw and @gapuraphilly. Board members, grantees, teaching artists, and partners enjoyed good conversation and new connections over catering from @ricensambal .  Thank you to photographer Tezarah Wilkins for capturing the warmth of the night, and 2026 Grantee @philmfactory for providing video documentation of this year’s celebration! 📸 by @tezarahwilkinsphoto #BartolFoundation #PhillyArts #TeachingArtists #CommunityArts #TraumaInformedPractice by @alex.b.shaw
For Alex Shaw, 2026 Bartol Teaching Artist Award Winner, music and teaching begin with one fundamental practice: listening. Through music, composition, and Afro-Brazilian cultural practices, Alex creates spaces where young people can connect with themselves, build community, and discover new possibilities for creativity and transformation. His work reflects the power of teaching artists to do more than share an art form — they open doors to expression, affirmation, and change. In this #FacesOfBartol feature, Alex shares what has shaped his practice, what this recognition means to him, and why investing in a vibrant teaching artist community matters. A @BigPictureAlliance Production by @alex.b.shaw
🏆✨ 2026 Teaching Artist Award Spotlight Today, we're spotlighting Alex Shaw—a Philadelphia-based musician, Capoeira Angola practitioner, and teaching artist whose work brings people together through rhythm and collaboration. For more than 25 years, Alex has worked across percussion and composition, drawing from diverse musical traditions and centering intercultural understanding and creative expression. As an artist and educator, Alex has led programs with arts organizations and community partners across Philadelphia and beyond. His community-centered approach continues to inspire connection and belonging. Congratulations, Alex! We're honored to support the next chapter of your creative work. 💛 The Bartol Teaching Artist Award is made possible through lead funding from the Marrazzo Family Foundation. 📸 @tezarahwilkinsphoto by @alex.b.shaw
We are thrilled to be able to bring our good friend Alex Shaw to the Roots Garden stage in a few weeks! Alex will gift the audience with his dedication to pulses and rhythms of Brazil. We look forward to seeing you! http://liveatrootsgarden2026.eventbrite.com by @alex.b.shaw
Yep yep! Version 4.8 just installed and battery is all charged up. I may still have bugs to fix, and my RAM may need an upgrade, lol, but there ain’t nothing artificial about this intelligence. 🤩 Gratitude for family and community keeping me going… ‘Bora gente! Quem tá junto tá junto… 💫 #happybirthday #aprocuradabatidaperfeita by @alex.b.shaw
Swipe ⬅️ to meet the 2026 Bartol Teaching Artist Awardees 🏆 These artists are shaping what arts education looks like across Philadelphia. They are storytellers, percussionists, poets, filmmakers. Their work expands access, it honors culture, and it creates space for voices to be seen and heard. Join us in celebrating this year’s awardees and the impact they continue to make in classrooms and communities. Adam Cooper-Terán @act.pwb | @adamcooperteran Alexander Shaw @alex.b.shaw Erica N. Mines Jordan McKnight @jeauxthepro Kate Welbes @katewelbes | @marigoldmurals Kimberly Garrison Sabriaya Shipley @somewherebetweengodmammy | @ubuntusab Uriah Bussey @gamblin.black Victoria Huggins Peurifoy @peurifoyvictoriah LindoYes! @lindoyes 
 Special thanks to the Marrazzo Family Foundation for supporting this award as our lead funder, and to our review committee of local teaching artists and past grantees for your tireless efforts this award season! Congratulations to this incredible group of teaching artists. We’re honored to support your work! by @alex.b.shaw
Yes! I’m still resonating with so many vibrations from our production Philly Asian Futures, in which I premiered my newest solo work, “Pearls of Our Dragon”, weaving stories of my lived experience and ancestral histories through my yangqin and jasmine dragon pearl tea, steeping in lineages and languages, memories & migrations, cultural resonances & dissonances, linear & cyclical time... Looking forward to more opportunities to grow & share this work. Gratitude for my ancestors, all my family and friends and community folx who came out to support our production, to the @phillyasianperformingartists team, and to my fellow PAF cast members: @shazra44 @bye_sexuality @joshuamarquezmusic @geatali_thedancer @neha_ratnapuri @bindayy @danielkim3894 @juptej @missterdizzy Marcie Mamura “To The Future…” Shout out to our PAF producers @kitcatillac @arthesaurus_rex_2.0 @minounan and our Directors @_caitlinalvarez @jokeydokeyahmed @bijeanngo @bi_jean_ngo_actor and our stage managers @lian.air.vine and AJ and @nicha_nualkhair and our lighting designer @harbourlightingdesign Photo credits: @wideeyedstudios @joshrobinsondrums @laj_ongoing @alex.b.shaw #asianperformer #phillyasian #phillyasianfutures #philadelphiaasianperformingartists #yangqin #teaceremony #dragonjasminepearltea #jasminedragonpearls #asianartsinitiative #alexbshaw by @alex.b.shaw
Serving as the Creative Director of PAPA has been one of the great joys of my life. I am so proud of Philly Asian Futures and the bold visions of every artist involved. What a show to go out on. THANK YOU to the village who made this show possible. We JUST increased our audience capacity so if you want to get tickets, now’s your chance!! 📸: @wideeyedstudios by @alex.b.shaw
“How do we trace our ancestral geographies? Those we know… those we seek to know… and those we will create?” After an incredible sold-out opening night, I’m excited to continue sharing the premiere of my new work, “Pearls of Our Dragon” alongside eight other amazing artists performing solo works in “Philly Asian Futures”, presented by @phillyasianperformingartists at Asian Arts Initiative @asianartsphilly. There are still 5 more shows left (10/24-10/26) but tickets are very limited - check ticket link in my bio. Creating & performing this work has been nothing like I have ever done — deeply personal and transformative, weaving my lived experiences and ancestral histories through themes of time, migration, lineage, sound, and cultural dissonance… as a tea ceremony — my invitation for our collective attunement. Special thanks for the whole PAPA production team and amazing my director @bi_jean_ngo_actor for their commitment and guidance, and @kayhanisaportal for inspiration. Also my deep gratitude for my ancestors, my family, and @laj_ongoing for their love, support, and understanding. And my respect for all the artists, activists, and organizers who continue to advocate and fight for Chinatown preservation & solidarity and strong alliances with our BIPOC communities… NOTE: For those who might be interested, I will also be filming a private performance with a limited invite-only audience on Monday, Oct 27. DM me for details… #asianperformer #phillyasian #phillyasianfutures #philadelphiaasianperformingartists #yangqin #teaceremony #dragonpearljasminetea #asianartsinitiative #alexbshaw by @alex.b.shaw
Pearls of Our Dragon is a gentle invitation for collective attunement and emergent interweaving of disparate time, translation, and location, inspired by ancient Chinese tea ceremonies. Through the artistry of traditional and experimental sound, this performative ritual will guide those present towards insightful reflection on their cultural foundations, ignited by melody, memory, and manifestation. May the fragrant traces of our histories awaken the vibrancy of our communal connections. Alex Shaw (he/him) is a Philadelphia-based percussionist, sound artist/composer, cultural producer, and arts educator working in the field for over twenty years. Intercultural, interdisciplinary collaborations and compositions merging diverse percussion traditions, vocal textures, field recordings, and digital imagination encompass his current artistic focus. He was the director of Brazilian band Alô Brasil (2001-2020) and a section leader in the award-winning Spoken Hand Percussion Orchestra (2002-2016), collaborating with renowned artists including the late tabla master Zakir Hussain, renowned hiphop choreographer Rennie Harris, and kora virtuoso Yacouba Cissoko. He has also been a guest performer with esteemed chamber ensembles Telegraph Quartet and Grammy-winning Imani Winds, and was a member of The Public Orchestra, a 50-piece ensemble of culturally diverse instruments and musical practices, created by Ari Benjamin Meyers for the Rehearsing Philadelphia project in 2022. by @alex.b.shaw
I’m so honored to have been awarded a 2024 Philadelphia’s Cultural Treasures Fellowship a few months ago. It is both humbling and affirming to be in this cohort of remarkable artists, cultural practitioners and culture workers, many of whom I have admired over many years for their profound commitment to and enrichment of the cultural fabric of our Philadelphia communities. Much of our work as BIPOC artists is not just about elevating and promoting our own artistry, but is also anchored in advancing social justice efforts, cultivating reciprocal community relationships, activating cultural resistance against oppressive structures, and committing to the intergenerational teaching and rich lineages of cultural knowledge that are passed down through these practices. Acknowledging and supporting this collective work indeed remains more critical than ever right now!! Holding deep gratitude for my teachers, my collaborators, my artist & cultural communities in Philly & beyond, my students, my family, and my partner. Without you all, this would not have been possible… We don’t get here by ourselves!!! “These fellowships are awarded as part of the regional component of America’s Cultural Treasures, created by Ford Foundation and supported locally through a collaboration among The Barra Foundation, Neubauer Family Foundation, The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, William Penn Foundation, and Wyncote Foundation.” philadelphiaculturaltreasures.org Photo credit: Aidan Un #PHLCulturalTreasures #philadelphia #folkarts #culturalarts #philly #phillyartists #culturaltreasures @pewcenterarts by @alex.b.shaw
Thank you Philadelphia what a night! We had a full house at the @blacksquirrelclub 💃🏽🙌🏽🎉 Hats off to the amazing @leilanichirino_dance and @alex.b.shaw for sharing their beautiful talent with us oleeeeee! We can't wait to be back! #philadelphia #livemusic #independentartist by @alex.b.shaw

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