Distant Pairs (projected redux)

Thu 05 Oct, 2023, 6pm

Free

Thursday, October 5th from 6-10pm, ISSUE celebrates its 20th Anniversary at our 22 Boerum Pl. theater with projections of eight audio-visual works commissioned for our Distant Pairs Series (2020-2022). During three years, the Series engaged thirty-six artists, across eighteen programs that paired artists in disparate locations who could not work together in “traditional” ways over the past three years. The Distant Pairs series examined the collaborative process, methods of working, and partnership amidst the constrained conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Throughout 2020 - 2022, ISSUE Project Room premiered eighteen works in its Distant Pairs Series, which originally premiered online and were experienced in disparate home screen & sound system arrangement. ISSUE is taking the opportunity to present the works back-to-back in an installed environment, showcasing the varied compositional structures, cinematic orientations, and unique approaches to the “audiovisual” demands of our current age. In March 2022, the first ten commissions - including premieres from Joe McPhee & Taku Unami, Veryan Weston & Ingrid Laubrock, Dreamcrusher & Dis Fig, Ana da Silva & Phew, Sofia Jernberg & Tomeka Reid, Rob Thorne & Raven Chacon, Viola Yip & Laetitia Sonami, Cecilia Lopez & Carmen Baliero, Louis Carnell & Okkyung Lee, and Rashad Becker & FUJI||||||||||TA - were showcased at Anthology Film Archives, and featured a conversation with participating artists Viola Yip & Cecilia Lopez. On the evening of October 5th, the additional eight commissions - originally streamed in 2022 - will be presented including Puce Mary & Drew McDowall, Michiyo Yagi & Jan Bang (co-presented with AvanTokyo), Francesco Cavaliere & Tomoko Sauvage, Devin Kenny & E. Jane (co-presented with Harvestworks Digital Media Arts Center), Irmin Schmidt & Leah Singer, Delia Beatriz (DEBIT) & Flora Yin Wong, James Fei & Yan Jun and Lucy Railton & Max Eilbacher, which was recorded as an installed presentation to ISSUE Members at Fridman Gallery in Oct. 2022.

SCHEDULE

6:00pm - Puce Mary & Drew McDowall

6:36pm - Michiyo Yagi & Jan Bang

7:04pm - Francesco Cavaliere & Tomoko Sauvage

7:32pm - Devin Kenny & E. Jane

7:48pm - Irmin Schmidt & Leah Singer

8:10pm - Delia Beatriz (DEBIT) & Flora Yin Wong

8:35pm - James Fei & Yan Jun

9:30pm - Lucy Railton & Max Eilbacher

Between Friday, Sep 29th and Saturday, Oct 7th, ISSUE invites audiences to experience presentations of works - originally commissioned for online distribution during the COVID-19 pandemic - at the 22 Boerum Pl. theater. The commissioned work will be shown as projected installations, coupled with a variety of artist talks, for a limited capacity environment of 74 people.

In response to our suspension of in-person programming during the onset of the pandemic, ISSUE commissioned more than 250 artists to present free online programs through series such as: Isolated Field Recordings; The Steve Circuit; Heroes Are Gang Leaders; Distant Pairs; With Womens Work; and 90 presentations of Alvin Lucier’s I am sitting in a room amongst others. Our commitment to support these artists mattered more than ever during the pandemic given the challenges that artists and many small cultural organizations across NYC experienced and still currently face. ISSUE is pleased to present these works as installed projections for audiences to experience in person, in ISSUE’s home theater, gathering with our community in celebration of the organization’s 20th Anniversary.

These initiatives complemented ISSUE’s work publishing archival documentation on online platforms currently collected and streamable on our expansive Archive page on the ISSUE website. ISSUE currently maintains a publicly accessible archive of hundreds of published video and audio recordings. These materials are a freely accessible collection of performance documentation that spans our recent and historic work.

During these presentations Laurie Berg’s (Sports) Bar-In-Residence will be activated as well as a lobby installation by Eva Davidova: Vinson and Catherine in the Garden, a series of augmented reality prints.

This Fall marks the 20th Anniversary of ISSUE and will be celebrated with a series of commissioned programs, orbiting around our annual Gala and affiliated Benefit events. During the Anniversary celebration, between phases of renovation, ISSUE returns to our 22 Boerum Pl. theater for a special series of twenty limited-capacity events. Featuring artists from across our history as well as new projects, these gatherings - including our 20th Anniversary Gala - present an opportunity to celebrate and support ISSUE as we continue an ambitious calendar of programming. Join us in recognizing this important milestone in our history.

These gatherings are free with RSVP, and members retain exclusive access to all limited-capacity events until sold out.

ISSUE Project Room is a pioneering nonprofit performance center, presenting projects by interdisciplinary artists that expand the boundaries of artistic practice and stimulate critical dialogue in the broader community. ISSUE serves as a leading cultural incubator, facilitating the commission and premiere of innovative new works.

Since its inception in 2003 under the vision of late Founder Suzanne Fiol, ISSUE has evolved from a small East Village garage, to a grain silo on the Gowanus Canal, to a project space in The Old American Can Factory, to now owning our 22 Boerum Place theater as an internationally-recognized leader for fostering experimental cross-disciplinary performance.

Across 20 years of programming, ISSUE has sustained a thriving Artists-In-Residence program, encouraging generations of NYC-based artists to take creative risks in reaching the next stage of their artistic development. ISSUE has also inaugurated the Suzanne Fiol Curatorial Fellowship, assisting emerging curators to realize ambitious new projects. The organization has bolstered close partnerships within NYC’s cultural ecology, collaborating with like minded nonprofits, galleries, theaters, and non-traditional spaces as we’ve embarked on a period of off-site programming. Bringing commissions, premieres, and rare performances to new contexts and spaces throughout NYC, ISSUE has doubled down on its commitment to artists whose work eludes convention.

For visitors requiring accessible access for performance, ISSUE Project Room’s 22 Boerum Pl. theater is ADA accessible by lift and a ramp funded through the Accessibility Project of Downtown Brooklyn Partnership’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative Placemaking Fund.

ISSUE Project Room programs are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the New York State Legislature, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

The 2022 Distant Pairs Series was supported, in part, through co-presentations with Harvestworks Digital Media Arts Center plus AvanTokyo, in support of Japanese artists plus generous support of the Royal Norwegian Consulate General.

This event is part of a series of performances, talks, and workshops presented in collaboration with NYU Tandon School of Engineering through support from The Mellon Foundation.

ISSUE Project Room acknowledges generous in-kind support for our 20th Anniversary series of events from Kayrock Screen Printing, A to Z Audio and Remsen Graphics.

Distant Pairs (projected redux)

Related

ISSUE Project Room's 20th Anniversary Series

Distant Pairs Series