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.
Swedish Energies: EMS in NYC 2013
The third Swedish Energies festival opens with a night of Sweden's fiercest experimental musicians. Featuring free improv by Drof Feiler, a first-ever collaboration of Kevin Drumm & Joachim Nordwall, avant-pop by Mariam Wallentin, composer Louise Magnusson, a tape piece by Rune Linblad, and DJ Genesis P-Orridge.
Now in its ninth year, Darmstadt's annual birthday concert has become a time-honored tradition. Terry Riley's 1964 masterwork is performed by new music legends including Joan La Barbara, Matana Roberts, Elliott Sharp, Joshua Rubin, Conrad Harris, Pauline Kim Harris, and members of So Percussion and Iktus percussion.
ISSUE and The Drawing Center present works by artists William Engelen and Aki Onda. Celebrated percussion ensemble Talujon perform Engelen’s recent work "Falten", a hybrid of score and sculpture. Percussionist Eli Keszler and the Ashcan Orchestra’s Pat Spadine perform Aki Onda’s "Damaged".
Tony Martin’s sturdy roots in light media go back to his compositions of the 60’s, with arrays of projection equipment as his instruments. Tonight ISSUE presents three works concentrating on Martin's signature real-time interactive conditions spanning 1966–present, featuring Lea Bertucci, Tom Artin, and Steve Cohn.
In celebration of the publication of STUDY, a collection of “poems on art” written from the 1980s to the present, ISSUE hosts an evening of readings by Yuko Otomo. The author is joined by members of the Ugly Duckling Press collective, past and present, and those who partook in the making of the book.
ISSUE’s benefit series honoring Kim Gordon closes in a night of two collaborative performances pairing Gordon with the acclaimed artist Jutta Koether and the fierce female industrial unit I.U.D., a power duo of Lizzi Bougatsos (Gang Gang Dance) and Sadie Laska (Growing, Extreme Violence).
Benefit for ISSUE Honoring Kim Gordon
ISSUE’s benefit series opens with a VIP reception at 7:30pm, including food, drink and an intimate performance by Gordon with drummer Tim Barnes. The 9:00pm concert is headlined by Gordon’s most recent project, the epic free-noise guitar duo Body/Head joined by Ikue Mori on drums. Guitar legend J Mascis plays solo.
SPECIAL EVENT: ISSUE and the Van Alen Institute present an evening of performances and talks celebrating the launch of "Elsewhere: Escape and the Urban Landscape", exploring escape in the urban environment. With Richard Sennett, Keller Easterling, Joseph Keckler, Maria Chavez, Evan Calder Williams and more.