FIAF Will Present the 2021 Crossing The Line Festival Next Week

The French Institute Alliance Française is proud to present the 2021 Crossing The Line Festival, which celebrates Africa's cultural renaissance with works by interdisciplinary artists coming out of the continent and diaspora. The festival runs October 20 - November 6.

For its 14th edition, curators Courtney Geraghty and Claude Grunitzky have brought together a lineup of compelling artists to perform at venues throughout New York City-intriguing experiences that will spark new conversations about the global Black experience.

Opening night kicks off with Bessie & MacArthur "Genius" Award winner Okwui Okpokwasili and Peter Born's "Before the whisper becomes the word." Working across media and disciplines, Igbo-American artist Okpokwasili, in collaboration with Born, has conceived a room-sized video installation, presented for the first time during the festival. Using their own footage, they explore themes of remembrance, community mourning and history. The exhibition starts at 6pm followed by an artist talk at 7pm at the FIAF Gallery (22 E 60 St). The installation will be on view through November 6.

Another program in the festival, Okwui Okpokwasili and Peter Born's "On the way, undone," will take place at the Weeksville Heritage Center (158 Buffalo Ave.) in Brooklyn. Performances are at 7:30pm on Thu 10/21, Fri 10/22 and Sat 10/23. In "On the way, undone," Okpokwasili and Born have designed an in-situ work that blends genres and media. Four performers manifest a polyphonic chorus wearing sculptural headdresses that recall traditional West African hairstyles, exploring a sonic entanglement that summons the past to envision the future.

For more info on the festival visit https://fiaf.org/2021-crossing-the-line-festival