Bassist and composer James Ilgenfritz (2011 AIR) returns to ISSUE, joined by Joe McPhee and AC Diamond for their first performance as a trio. This event marks a new shared context for three artists deeply invested in improvisation as a mode of inquiry.
ISSUE presents the premiere of three audiovisual compositions by Matt Mottel (2010 AIR). These works bring Mottel’s distinct artistic sensibility into dialogue with formative figures in his life and in New York’s avant-garde, tracing a lineage that is both deeply personal and central to ISSUE’s history.
Monarch Butterfly by rocío sánchez (2026 AIR) features Melissa Almaguer (tap dance and percussion) and Kenneth Jiménez (double bass). Together, the trio explores the elusive monarch’s migratory journey through sound and movement, with each instrument articulating distinct states of motion.
Isabella Thorpe-Woods presents "Envelop/e," her second program as ISSUE’s 2026 Suzanne Fiol Curatorial Fellow. Bringing together choreographers Jade Manns and Ella Dawn W-S for site-specific duets, they navigate presence and absence, repetition and rupture, and the tension between inherited geometries and shifting landscapes.
"Spiriting Off" is a new solo work by luthier Webb Crawford (2026 AIR) for electric guitar, tenor banjo, and five-string banjo.
ISSUE closes the summer season with the return of Matana Roberts (2009 AIR). Opening the evening, Ben Vida (2013 AIR) will perform music from his 2026 release, "Oblivion Seekers" with vocalist Sara Magenheimer.
ISSUE is pleased to present FOR, the first evening of FOR/WITH, a mini-festival featuring new commissions and works by iconoclast composers Wadada Leo Smith, Annea Lockwood, and Catherine Lamb. Now in its second year, the FOR/WITH series celebrates the collaborative process between performer and composer.
Artists-In-Residence 2018
Improviser, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Brandon Lopez presents Malediction, his third and final piece as a 2018 ISSUE Artist-In-Residence, for four players (Michael Foster on Saxophones, Nina Dante voice, Lucie Vítková on accordian and objects, and Lopez himself).
ISSUE and the Board of Directors invite you to join us for our annual Gala, taking place on October 17, 2018. The evening honors pioneering composer Alvin Lucier; Regina Myer, President of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership; and Jeanne Lutfy, ISSUE Board Chair and NYC Landmarks Preservation Commissioner.
ISSUE welcomes back Ashley Paul, performing alongside longtime mentor and renowned pianist-composer Anthony Coleman. The evening also features artist M Lamar presenting American Cuck, a multimedia video, environmental installation, and musical performance exploring the maintenance of white supremacy.
ISSUE is pleased to present the premiere of Episodes et Mutations, an immersive performance + light installation by Leila Bordreuil & Doron Sadja. The performance is presented as a part of the French Institute Alliance Française’s Crossing The Line Festival and is performed by celebrated ensemble Mivos quartet.
Suzanne Fiol Curatorial Fellowship 2018
For their third presentation as Suzanne Fiol 2018 Curatorial Fellows, Queer Trash presents an auspicious meeting of bright, queer minds showcasing the myriad ways that queers make sound, make sound queer, or skim around terms that may attempt to contain queer life.
ISSUE and Brooklyn-based music institution RVNG Intl. present Phantom Kino Ballett, an audiovisual drama by renowned German producer Lena Willikens and multidisciplinary artist Sarah Szczesny. The evening also features artist and composer Jules Gimbrone presenting "Invisible Objects," an in-process work.
Legendary composer-performer Charlemagne Palestine performs alongside stalwart NYC poet Steve Dalachinsky as a part of the the 2018 Brooklyn Book Festival, co-presented with BOMB Magazine. Interdisciplinary artist Dawn Kasper opens the evening, enacting part two of a new improvisation titled A, B, C : 0, 1, 2, 3.