The Direct Arts World's Fair Held At Causey Contemporary May 17

Direct Arts is pleased to announce that its 3rd annual benefit, The Direct Arts World's Fair, will take place on Tuesday, May 17 at Causey Contemporary at 92 Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The retro-futuristic event will feature a multimedia recreation of Billy Rose's 1939 Aquacade starring Jenny Rocha and Her Painted Ladies, Al Gori's Homespun Merry-Go-Round, DJ Jaiko Suzuki and the edifying antics of the Philanthrobot.

On May 17th, Direct Arts invites you to imagine an alternate utopian universe - one where tax dollars go towards arts and education, rather than war and imprisonment... one where artists making intimate, articulate, relevant theater and film can not only survive but thrive... one where minority artists and their stories are considered both viable and necessary to the mainstream. Direct Arts celebrates this vision at The Direct Arts World's Fair, a retro-futuristic event to benefit their intercultural theater and film programs in 2011-2012.

Twice during this once-in-a-lifetime event, Jenny Rocha and Her Painted Ladies, the Terpischorean sensations of the Floating Kabarette at Galapagos, will appear in a multimedia reinvention of Billy Rose's Aquacade, the synchronized swimming extravaganza of the 1939 World's Fair. Guests can take a ride on Al Gori's Homespun Merry-Go-Round, a homemade carousel decorated with dancing sock monkeys and dance to the eclectic beat of international pop spun by DJ Jaiko Suzuki of Mon Mon Mon Amour. Direct Arts' always popular annual silent auction will include membership for two to Film Forum, a shiatsu massage and other fabulous deals. This year, guests can also sample fairground food at international pavilions created by local artists including New Yorker illustrator Marcellus Hall. The event will be presided by the Philanthrobot, whose edifying antics dispel the mystery of donating to the arts. Recommended dress is silver, white, retro-futuristic and random ethnic garb.

Direct Arts is a new intercultural company, dedicated to producing plays and films that explore the intersection between different cultures. Founded by award-winning writer/director/actor Victoria Linchong, Direct Arts first stepped out into the world in 2007 at P.S. 122 with a short play commissioned by NY Theatre Review and has won Best of the San Francisco Fringe for their multimedia production of Genny Lim's play PAPER ANGELS featuring Obie Award winner Jojo Gonzalez. Currently, Direct Arts flagship program is Take Two, a monthly double bill of theater and film, which has featured the prodigious talents of the late great Howard Zinn, Obie Award winners George Bartenieff and Ching Valdes Aran, cable TV star Meital Dohan (Weeds), Sundance filmmakers Tze Chun and Prashant Bhargava and 2010 Susan Smith Blackburn winner Julia Cho, among other phenomenons of the indie theater and film world. Direct Arts has received awards from the Asian American Arts Alliance, the Puffin Foundation and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council for its work.

Tuesday, May 17
Causey Contemporary
92 Wythe Avenue, between N10th & N11th
5 minute walk from the L Train to Bedford
7:00pm - 10:00pm
$35 advance / $40 door
www.directarts.org