SAY IT LOUD! to Launch New York Live Arts 'Obama Out' Series

Framing New York Live Arts' humanities and visual arts programming during a contentious election year is "Obama Out" which focuses on the final days of the first black presidency and President Obama's legacy. Presented as the first "Obama Out" event is Say It Loud!, a participatory installation in the Ford Foundation Live Gallery by For Freedoms, the first artist-run super PAC. The installation opens September 19, 2016, 6 PM and continues through December 5, 2016. Visitors are invited to add to the installation sharing their thoughts about freedom, the election, the political process and their place in it.

Co-founded by Hank Willis Thomas and Eric Gottesman, For Freedoms encourages new forms of critical discourse surrounding the 2016 presidential election. As the first artist-run super PAC, For Freedoms uses art to inspire political engagement for citizens who want to have a greater impact on the American political landscape.

"Inspired by American artist Norman Rockwell's paintings of Franklin D. Roosevelt's Four Freedoms from 1941, our super PAC aims to subvert a 'Rockwellian' nostalgia for a 'simpler' America while co-opting a visual language that is accessible to a wide audience of viewers," say the co-founders. "We believe that artists, and art, play an important role in galvanizing our society to do better. We believe it is time for artists to become more involved in the political process," they state.

"Obama Out" continues with Open Spectrum Critical Community Dialogues:
- Superunknown!, October 5, 7PM, a discussion with cultural leaders who have made lasting differences to our city's cultural identity. Panelists are Karen Brooks Hopkins, Senior Fellow in Residence, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and President Emerita, BAM; Holly Hotchner, President, Hotchner Consulting and Founding Director, the Museum of Arts and Design; Ruby Lerner, Founding President and Executive Director, Creative Capital Foundation; and Danny Simmons, Co-Founder and Vice Chair, Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation. The discussion will be moderated by Kavitha Mediratta, Chief Strategy Advisor for Equity Initiatives and Human Capital Development at The Atlantic Philanthropies;
- Mic Drop, October 24, 7PM, hosted by MC/Poet Baba Israel, features some of New York City's most dynamic political and musical voices;
- What Will be Different? December 5, 2016, 7PM, is a discussion on women's lives after the 2016 election.

Open Spectrum is presented with partner MAPP International Productions and co-curated by Brian Tate.

New York Live Arts serves as home base for Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company and is the company's sole producer, providing support and the environment to originate innovative and challenging new work for the Company and New York's creative community. Located in the heart of Chelsea in New York City, New York Live Arts is an internationally recognized destination for innovative movement-based artistry offering audiences access to art and artists notable for their conceptual rigor, formal experimentation and active engagement with the social, political and cultural currents of our time.

New York Live Arts produces and presents dance, music and theater performances in its 20,000 square-foot home, which includes a 184-seat theater and two 1,200 square-foot studios. New York Live Arts offers an extensive range of participatory programs for adults and young people and supports the continuing professional development of artists.