Formed in NYC in 1993, the improvising collective No-Neck Blues Band (NNCK) favors anonymity, autonomy, and obfuscation. Alongside founding member Keith Connolly (2016 AIR), they return to open ISSUE’s Fall season at First Unitarian Congregational Society in Brooklyn.
ISSUE presents the first commission from Eden Girma (2026 AIR). Part dreamscape and part summoning circle, an intimate diasporic familial archive is pieced together through the eyes of a five-year-old child.
In partnership with Franklin Furnace as part of their 50th anniversary commemoration and November release of "Back to the Present: 50 Years of Free Expression with Franklin Furnace" ISSUE presents an evening of performance and conversation.
Incorporating elements of noise, trance and minimalism, Sergei Tcherepnin (2012 AIR) presents new work for Serge Modular synthesizer.
Artists-In-Residence 2015
Comprised of improvisationally layered archival field recordings, drums, bells, and prerecorded analog sound, performance artists Dawn Kasper’s new composition is loosely inspired by “The Music of The Spheres”, illustrating the movement of the Sun, Moon, and planets as music.
Visual AIDS and ISSUE co-present an evening of readings at Artists Space Books & Talks from impassioned writers and artists Gregg Bordowitz, Timothy DuWhite, Pamela Sneed, Lynne Tillman, and Jessica Whitbread. Readings of poetry and prose address topics related to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
In eight performances, choreographer Moriah Evans premieres "Social Dance 1-8: index", commissioned as part of ISSUE's Artist-In-Residence program. Created especially for ISSUE's theater, the work investigates a system of patterns that propel bodies through space and affective states. All shows SOLD OUT!
Help BOMB ring in the new year with a benefit for artists and writers. Hosted by ISSUE and curated by David Grubbs, the evening features dance by Jen Rosenblit, poetry by Ariana Reines, and music by 75 Dollar Bill. Enjoy free drinks and copies of BOMB Issue 130. Donate $25 to BOMB for entry, $45 for two.
Lea Bertucci opens her ISSUE Residency with the premiere of "The Cepheid Variations I + II", a pair of new works for pre-recorded sound collage and strings. Born out of an interest in the timbral and acoustic possibilities of harmonics, the pieces combine extended techniques for cello and viola with concrete sound.
Peter Evans closes his 2014 residency with a solo trumpet performance. Improvisation is used as a method of pressurizing and slowly refining materials from concert to concert; a process of using the known as a catapult to the unknown that is a central focus of Evans' residency and work in general.
An emergency public meeting hosted by sound adventurer Matana Roberts features the voices of concerned NYC artists on the grand jury verdict of Eric Garner. This is an opportunity for open dialogue in the arts community around problems of policing in urban space.
