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 presents Remind Me Tomorrow, organized in collaboration with artist Cory Arcangel and organist Hampus Lindwall, who have invited a group of artists and musicians to compose new music to be performed on the pipe organ.
Suzanne Fiol Curatorial Fellowship 2021
2021 Suzanne Fiol Curatorial Fellow Sami Hopkins presents her first program in Propositions from the deadWIP, featuring composer, drummer, and scholar Jessie Cox in collaboration with Kathryn Schulmeister, Juliana Gaona-Villamizar, “Dac” Chang, and Douglas R. Ewart.
Artists-In-Residence 2021
Sound/visual artist, improviser, and performer Austin Sley Julian opens his 2021 ISSUE residency with the premiere of Observitor Ghosting, hosted at The Living Gallery.
Composer, poet, and performer JJJJJerome Ellis opens his 2021 ISSUE residency with the premiere of Fountain #2, continuing his pre-pandemic practice of giving live sound baths, as well as his ongoing investigation into forms of "infinite music" like loops and drones.
Violist Joanna Mattrey opens her 2021 ISSUE residency with the premiere of Thrum, a performance film piece that blends sound, light, poetry, and cinema, featuring poet/filmmaker No Land.
ISSUE is pleased to stream Dearest, a new work by choreographer and performer Mariana Valencia, part of the With Womens Work series.
With Womens Work
ISSUE is pleased to stream Re-member(ing) Khmer, a new work by writer Sokunthary Svay, part of the With Womens Work series.
With Womens Work
ISSUE is pleased to stream Sonic Botany, a new work by composer, sound artist, improviser and teacher Maayan Tsadka, part of the With Womens Work series.