Past Events

"Nervous Magic Lantern" unravels an unexpected film before our eyes, without actors, without a plot, without celluloid or video. Ken and Flo Jacobs present live projections in a hallucinatory three-dimensional watching experience, with sound by Artist-in-Residence Aki Onda.

Sergei Tcherepnin constructs temporary architectural interventions that push phenomena of the sonorous towards the haptic. For the final installment of his residency at ISSUE Project Room, Tcherepnin and artist Lucy Dodd present Tropical Year Zero, a sonic dramaturgy marking the end of the k’atun cycles.

ISSUE and Erstwhile present legendary guitarist Keith Rowe in a two-night residency hosted by TEMP. Rowe performs this opening night in duos with Michael Pisaro & Graham Lambkin. Originally trained as a painter, Rowe adopted the principles of the plastic arts, applying them directly to the electric guitar.

ISSUE and Erstwhile present legendary guitarist Keith Rowe in a two-night residency. Tonight he plays solo and in a duo with longtime collaborator and renowned composer and guitarist Christian Wolff. Trained as a painter, Rowe adopted the principles of the plastic arts, applying them directly to the electric guitar.

Experiments in Opera has commissioned ten composers to each write a ten-minute opera to be premiered by the contemporary music ensemble Hotel Elefant. 'New Shorts' brings a diverse group of composers together to expand the boundaries of opera, including Robert Ashley, Jason Cady, Joe Diebes, Ruby Fulton, and many more.

Choi Joonyong and Hong Chulki have been leading figures in the emerging experimental music community in Seoul for the last 15 years. Hong, known for his cartridgeless turntable, and Choi, who works with the mechanical sounds of playback devices, perform duo for our first concert at 155 Freeman.

Alex Waterman presents a set of new solo works for amplified cello, radios, found sounds, and assorted strings. A rare outing for this renowned performer, the event marks his first solo performance in two years. Cameron Keith Gainer's "Luna del Mar", a short film featuring a soundtrack by Waterman, opens the evening.

A benefit Art Lottery & party for ISSUE features 75 artworks in all media-- each Art Lottery-ticket holder takes home the artwork of their choice, with order of selection determined in a lottery MC'd by Joseph Keckler. Prince Rama and Ben Vida perform, plus DJ's Marie Karlberg & Jamie Krasner.

To celebrate the publication of Georges Perec’s La Boutique Obscure and the expanded edition of Raymond Queneau’s Exercises in Style, ISSUE Project Room, in conjunction with Melville House and New Directions, presents an evening of readings and responses to both texts.

Cassette musician Aki Onda collaborates with a San Fransisco based filmmaker Paul Clipson for his final performance of the 2012 Artist-in-Residence series. An investigation of personal, intuitive spaces, Onda and Clipson render images and sounds as if a fragmented journey of landscapes and memories.

Dennis Johnson's "November" (1959), one of the most significant pieces of the minimalist repertoire, was virtually unknown until recently. Renowned pianist R. Andrew Lee gives the first performance of this epic work since its premiere, working from a score reconstructed by composer and musicologist Kyle Gann.

In this evening of live electronics and instrumentalists, Al Margolis premieres a new quartet of bassoonist Leslie Ross, trombonist Monique Buzzarté, live video by Katherine Liberovskaya, and Margolis on laptop. Phill Niblock presents his now-classic "seth-work", a duo for laptop and guitar featuring David Watson.