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.
American poet & painter Christopher Knowles reads new poetry and plays vinyl records. Knowles’s performance departs from an art practice broader than any classification suggests -- spanning text, sound, painting & sculpture. Choreographer/performer Will Rawls also presents a new iteration of his Cursor project.
ISSUE presents an expansive gathering of NYC artists working across disciplines. Leila Bordreuil and Lee Ranaldo debut an improvised duet, and are then joined by Stephan Moore. Asha Sheshadri stages a new iteration of her essayistic performance practice and The New York Review of Cocksucking also perform.
New York’s long-running creative music ensemble Ne(x)tworks presents its final performance. The career-spanning program nods in many of the directions explored since the group’s first concert in June 2003, showcasing graphic and hybrid scores that expose the conceptual root elements of the Ne(x)tworks project.
Esteemed Japanese band Asa-Chang & Junray draw on material from the project’s entire discography on their first visit to the U.S. Lea Bertucci & Amirtha Kidambi also perform in a recently formed duo, featuring improvisations for voice processed through idiosyncratic misuse of tape machines.
ISSUE Project Room is delighted to honor renowned artist and ISSUE Board member Robert Longo and ISSUE’s beloved late founder Suzanne Fiol . This year’s event celebrates two artists who envisioned ISSUE from its earliest years, bringing a unique perspective to New York’s avant-garde performance landscape.
ISSUE is honored to present an evening in celebration of the organization’s beloved late founder Suzanne Fiol. The event is a showcase of the exhibition Suzanne Fiol: Ten Years Alive, a conversation with Suzanne’s close friends: artists Kathy Brew, Michelle Handelman & Kimiko Hahn + a performance from MV Carbon.
ISSUE presents the world premiere of The Sun Too Close to the Earth, an expansive new ensemble work by iconoclast composer Rhys Chatham. The performance is presented as a part of the French Institute Alliance Française’s Crossing The Line Festival and also features work from Zeena Parkins & Jonathan Kane.
ISSUE presents Moor Mother, the viscerally charged output of Philadelphia-based musician, poet, visual artist, and activist Camae Ayewa + new work from Jerusalem In My Heart. The evening spans both projects’ enduring interest in exploring both ancestral and contemporary narratives through powerful sound.