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.
A series of texts written by artist serves as the sonic foundation of this live solo multi-channel voice, electronic and acoustic instrumental piece. The work is premiered in a live performance on Thursday evening, and continues as an installation on view 12-6pm on Friday and Saturday afternoon.
ISSUE presents work from 3 former Artists-In-Residence: Yarn/Wire, Tristan Perich, and Ashley Paul. Yarn/Wire perform Perich’s “Chalk”– a hypnotic chamber piece for pianos, xylophones, and 1-bit electronics. Ashley Paul’s song-based solo work is a psychologically intense combination of melody and raw textures.
ISSUE presents the east coast premiere of WOODSLIPPERCOUNTERCLATTER, a sound-work that germinates from new, unpublished Susan Howe text collages, and the fourth collaboration in a decade from poet Susan Howe and musician/composer David Grubbs. The night opens with a solo guitar set by Grubbs.
Wanton performance artist Ann Liv Young’s most recent alter ego, the homespun psychologist Sherry, confronts extremes of personality– tonight Sherry, who shares, is paired with her opposing (though not opposed) character, Mary, who marries. Dancer Jen Rosenblit and C. Spencer Yeh come together for a collaborative set.
Ten Years Alive on the Infinite Plain
ISSUE presents the No-Neck Blues Band, one of the most enigmatic, mysterious, and defiantly anti-commercial groups to emerge from 90s NY. Electric guitarists Loren Connors & Tom Carter play duo, pairing ancestral blues and psychedelic drone. Vocalist Suzanne Langille performs duo with Cammisa Buerhaus.
Active for over 30 years, composer William Basinski's haunting and melancholic soundscapes have made him an icon of contemporary ambient music. Tonight he performs solo. Aki Onda and Raha Raissnia return to ISSUE for their second duo, performing with oil paintings, film/slide projectors, tape recorders, and tube amps.
A pioneering force behind the evolution of minimalism, violinist and composer Tony Conrad’s performances are droning, mesmerizing explorations of new worlds of sound. This evening Conrad plays solo, joined by multi-instrumentalist Lee Noble, and a collaborative performance by Amen Dunes and visual artist Tom Thayer.
Ben Vida performs the East Coast Premiere of Damages Particulates, an eleven movement solo composition for fixed and live electronics presented in four channel expanded stereo. The program also includes his recent work "Extraction", accompanied by a micro-lecture on the theme of "Extraction" by curator Anthony Elms.