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.
Tectonics Festival New York
Alvin Lucier’s "Criss Cross" opens Tectonics, performed by two pillars of experimental rock: Stephen O’Malley and Oren Ambarchi. The guitarists and ensemble play Iancu Dumitrescu and premiere a piece by Eyvind Kang. Crys Cole and Jessika Kenney play solo sets, Kenney and Kang play Giacinto Scelsi.
LOCATION CHANGED! ISSUE, The Wick & desertshore present Nazoronai in their first NY show. A recent collaboration of the legendary Keiji Haino, Stephen O’Malley and Oren Ambarchi, Nazoranai unites 3 extraordinary operators of doom, noise and power electronics. With support from Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe AKA Lichens.
A unique presence in underground culture for the past twenty years, multidisciplinary artist Graham Lambkin makes a rare solo appearance to celebrate the opening of his solo exhibition at AVA. With support from Devin DiSanto, who explores presence in incidental sound and labor-oriented approaches to performance.
Van Alen Institute’s Spring 2014 Events launch at ISSUE with a fast-paced medley of music, poetry, personal reflections, conversations, and performances by designers, artists, musicians, writers, social scientists, and others exploring the meaning of well-being, and the effects of the city on our minds and bodies.
Berlin-based Danish sound artist Jacob Kirkegaard presents ISFALD, a recent immersive solo soundwork. The piece features the sounds of ice, recorded with underwater microphones at the Ilulissat icefjord and with vibration sensors at the melting glaciers of Kangerlussuaq, Greenland in June 2013.
Yarn/Wire/Currents continues with premieres of newly commissioned works for piano/percussion quartet Yarn/Wire by Christopher Trapani and Pete Swanson. Trapani explores the concept of stopping time, Swanson, in his second collaboration with the ensemble, forays into the intersection of electronic and acoustic sound.
An evening of anecdotes and admiration celebrates the life and work of Muriel Spark in anticipation of a forthcoming collection of her essays and 8 republished novels (New Directions). With authors and editors Barbara Epler, Maud Newton, Sadie Stein, Emily Stokes and Thessaly LaForce with moderator Michael Barron.
Ultima closes with attention turned to composer Arne Nordheim. Acclaimed Nordic group Serena-Maneesh & vocal ensemble perform Somnambulism, a tribute to Nordheim's musical spirit. His "Flashing" is performed by outstanding accordionist Frode Haltli, alongside works by Magnar Åm, Aldo Clementi, and Hans Abrahamsen.