Arts>World Financial Center Announces 2010 Lineup
By: Gabrielle Sierra Dec. 21, 2009
Cementing its position as New York City's leading year-round showcase for free performing and visual arts, Arts>World Financial Center today announced an ambitious lineup for its 2010 season.
With three residencies, including its first-ever extended-run theatrical production, arts>World Financial Center's 22nd season furthers the organization's role in supporting established and emerging artists as a part of an eclectic roster of new work and world premieres.
The residencies include New York Classical Theatre's staging of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, performed throughout the sprawling World Financial Center, as well as multidisciplinary artist MK Guth's three-part working exhibition and performance using objects woven from clothes and fabric donated by New Yorkers.
Other highlights range include: a weeklong celebration of Frederic Chopin's 200th birthday, featuring 200 hours of the composer's works performed by pianists like NPR host Christopher O'Riley; a Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra performance of Peter and the Wolf narrated by Newbery Award winner Neil Gaiman; internationally-acclaimed South African artist William Kentridge's latest animation, Sounds from the Black Box, featuring live accompaniment by the NYC-based Ensemble Pi; and the annual Bang on a Can Marathon featuring the U.S. premiere of the Professor Bad Trip composed by Fausto Romitell.
"People tend to think that you can only experience free events of this caliber at the summer arts festivals," said Debra Simon, artistic director of arts>World Financial Center. "arts>World Financial Center is unmatched in presenting free, world-class arts year-round, and our 2010 programming takes that commitment to an exciting new level."
Season highlights include:
• In Arts>World Financial Center's first-ever extended run theatrical production, New York Classical Theatre applies their signature panoramic staging style to Hamlet,Prince of Denmark conducting the production and the audience from one end of the 3.5-acre World Financial Center to the other
(April 1-18). During the month of March, the company will be in residence as it develops the production and rehearses in public throughout the venue, as well as creates the show's costumes in a public work studio at One New York Plaza starting in January.
• A weeklong celebration of Frederic Chopin's 200th birthday (March 1- 5) featuring 200 hours of the composer's works performed by an eclectic mix of pianists including NPR's From the Top host Christopher O'Riley, Joel Fan, Vassily Primakov, Claire Huangci, winner of the Chopin Competition of Europe, and the winner of the Chopin Competition in Miami (being held the last week of February 2010).
• In This Fable Is For You: A Work-Energy Principle, multidisciplinary artist MK Guth presents a working exhibition of ropes and objects created from clothes donated by New Yorkers and a series of free performances, part of the Under the Radar Festival, where 24 volunteers will be intertwined with the ropes to create an evolving and extraordinary set of geometric shapes. (Jan. 6-24)
• In addition to Peter and the Wolf narrated by Newbery Award winner Neil Gaiman, the Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra joins with acclaimed Broadway tenor Jason Danieley (Candide, Curtains) to perform a world premiere of a new work by Gary S. Fagin, ,...And Bold to Fall Withal (The Voyage in the New World), celebrating the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's arrival in New York Harbor. (Jan. 16)
• The New York Opera Society presents opera singers ChristIna Clark and Kenneth Overton performing selections from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess (Jascha Heifitz arrangement for violin and piano) and popular standards by Scott Joplin. (Feb. 5)
• WNYC's John Schaefer curates SILENT FILMS/LIVE MUSIC, a tribute to the great Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu with a short retrospective of his
silent films all accompanied by New York premiere's of original compositions
performed live. (Feb. 10-12)
• In Sounds from the Black Box, internationally-acclaimed South African artist William Kentridge pairs his stunning animations with new scores by South African composer Philip Miller, performed live by the NYC-based Ensemble Pi. (March 21 & 22)
• Hailed as "the country's most provocative and consistently entertaining new-music event" by the Village Voice, the Bang on a Can Marathon draws huge crowds each year for a 12-hour marathon of mind-boggling, genre-bending music. This year's program will feature the U.S. premiere of the celebrated work Professor Bad Trip composed by Fausto Romitelli (June 27)
• For two weeks in July, Third Rail Projects will present a new dance every day culminating on Friday, July 23rd when each dance is performed in succession to reveal an underlying web of meaning. (July 12-23)
Since its inception in 1988, over 2.5 million people have attended more than 2,000 free performances and events at the World Financial Center, making it the East Coast's largest presenter of free, year-round performing and visual arts. With an emphasis on commissioned works, site-specific installations and premieres, arts>World Financial Center is also the home of flagship annual events, including the Bang on a Can Marathon, Silent Films/Live Music curated by WNYC's John Schaefer, and Canstruction, an exhibit featuring giant sculptures made entirely from cans of high quality food which are ultimately donated to charity.
Selected season highlights, including dates and times, follow:
January 6 - 24
THIS FABLE IS FOR YOU: A WORK-ENERGY PRINCIPLE
A three-part project by MK Guth
Co-presented by Arts>World Financial Center and Under the Radar Festival
Exhibition: January 6-24; 12 pm-5 pm daily
World Financial Center Courtyard Gallery
Performances: Saturday & Sunday, January 9 & 10, 2 pm and Monday &
Tuesday, January 11 & 12, 12 pm
Performances are approximately 75 minutes
World Financial Center Winter Garden
From November 10 to December 18, acclaimed artist MK Guth invited New Yorkers to bring old sweaters, sheets, yarn, and any unusable fabric to a storefront transformed into an artist studio at One New York Plaza. Over the five weeks, the materials were taken apart, sorted, stacked, sewn, and woven together into large ropes and objects. This Fable is For You now unfolds at the World Financial Center with a working exhibition of the ropes and objects and a series of free performances, part of the Under the Radar Festival, where 24 volunteers will be intertwined with the ropes and objects to create an evolving and extraordinary set of geometric shapes mimicking the architectural features of the Winter Garden.
January 8
New York Guitar Festival Opening Night
PANDIT DEBASHISH BHATTACHARYA
8 pm
World Financial Center Winter Garden
The 2010 New York Guitar Festival opens with a concert celebrating the dazzling musicality and virtuosity of Indian slide guitar playing. Grammy- nominated slide guitarist Debashish Bhattacharya and his tabla-playing brother Subashish will present an evening of Hindustani guitar music. Debashish's music, spirit, and generosity have won him admirers and devotees around the world.
January 16
KNICKERBOCKER CHAMBER ORCHESTRA PRESENTS MUSICAL TALES AND ADVENTURES: PETER AND THE WOLF NARRATED BY NEIL GAIMAN & ...AND BOLD TO FALL WITHAL (THE VOYAGE OF HENRY HUSON) WITH JASON DANIELEY
7 pm
World Financial Center Winter Garden
Lower Manhattan's professional classical musical ensemble orchestra, The Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra, continues its sophomore season with a new twist on a classic work and a world premiere, Sergei Prokofiev's children's classic, Peter and the Wolf, is given new life when special guest Neil Gaiman, winner of the 2009 Newbery Award and author of Coraline, narrates this tale.
The evening proceeds with the world premier of . . . And Bold to Fall Withal (The Voyage of Henry Hudson) composed by Gary S. Fagin for tenor and chamber orchestra. The work celebrates the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's sail into New York Harbor and features tenor Jason Danieley who was described by The New York Times as "the most exquisite tenor on Broadway."
February 5
A TRIBUTE TO BLACK HISTORY MONTH
THE NEW YORK OPERA SOCIETY PRESENTS FASCINATING RHYTHMS -GERSHWIN AND JOPLIN
12:30 pm & 7 pm
World Financial Center Winter Garden
The New York Opera Society debuts at the Winter Garden with two concerts celebrating the music of George Gershwin and Scott Joplin, featuring renowned soprano ChristIna Clark, baritone Kenneth Overton, and a 1930s Weimar Berlin style jazz quintet.
The program explores the composers' rich legacy with performances of the Jascha Heifetz setting for Porgy and Bess, several seminal pieces by Gershwin, excerpts from Joplin's treasured opera, Treemonisha, and new settings of cherished melodies by Joplin. Accompanied by original projections developed from archival materials from the National Gallery of Art, the musical program illustrates Joplin's influence on the young Gershwin, and their indelible marks on American music as the respective Kings of Ragtime and American Popular Song.
February 10-12
SILENT FILMS/LIVE MUSIC: THE FILMS OF OZU
Curated by WNYC's John Schaefer, host of New Sounds and Soundcheck World Financial Center Winter Garden 7 pm
New York premiere
Wednesday, February 10
Passing Fancy
Score composed and performed by Lori Goldston
New York premiere
Thursday, February 11
Woman of Tokyo
Score composed and performed by Wayne Horvitz
New York premiere
Friday, February 12
That Night's Wife
Score composed and performed by Robin Holcomb
This edition of New Sounds Live celebrates the great Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu with a short retrospective of his silent films all accompanied by original compositions performed live.
March 1-5
CHOPIN 200
World Financial Center Winter Garden & Complex
Performances on four pianos, 9 am-7 pm daily
Performance on mainstage in Winter Garden, 7pm daily
A weeklong celebration of Frederic Chopin's 200th birthday will feature 200 hours of the composer's works performed on four pianos by an eclectic line-up of pianists, including: NPR "From the Top" host Christopher O'Riley; Claire Huangci, winner of the Chopin Competition of Europe; Joel Fan, known for his work with Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble; Vassily Primakov; and the winner of the Chopin Competition in Miami (held the last week of February).
March 21 & 22
SOUNDS FROM THE BLACK BOX: THE MUSIC OF PHILIP MILLER FOR THE FILMS
OF William KentRIDGE
Performed by Ensemble Pi
8 pm
World Financial Center Winter Garden
Sounds from the Black Box is the latest in a long series of collaborations between South African composer Philip Miller and internationally-acclaimed South African artist William Kentridge. The work is a follow up to and expansion of their 9 Drawings for Projection project, which paired Kentridge's stunning animations with scores by Miller performed live to the films. Sounds from the Black Box includes new scores to a wide range of Kentridge's work performed by the NYC-based Ensemble Pi.
Preview: March 31
Performances: April 1-3, 6-11, 13-18
NEW YORK CLASSICAL THEATRE'S HAMLET, PRINCE OF DENMARK
All performances 7 pm
Show is approximately 2 hours
New York Classical Theatre creates a new experience for theater enthusiasts with their production of Hamlet designed to carry the audience from one end of the World Financial Center to the other.
From April 1-18 New York Classical Theatre will perform Hamlet using its signature staging style, panoramic theatre. Audience members will enter the world of the play as they follow the actors from place to place throughout nearly 3.5 acres of the World Financial Center, which will serve as the set for the production.
During the month of March, the company will be in residency as it develops the production and rehearses in public throughout the venue, and creates costumes in a public work studio at One New York Plaza beginning in January.
April 22-24
TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL DRIVE-IN
Hosted by Brookfield Properties
8-11 pm
World Financial Center Plaza
The Tribeca Film Festival's free outdoor screening series of new and classic films returns to the World Financial Center Plaza.
May-December 2010
WEATHER BEACON
Sculpture by Erik Guzman
World Financial Center Plaza
Merging public wi-fi, structure, movement and light into an object that invites the public to connect to both the physical and invisible surroundings, Weather Beacon is a kinetic sculpture that emits a code of flashing lights, forecasting the weather for a curious public.
May 22 (rain date May 23)
HUDSON RIVER PAGEANT
World Financial Center Plaza
1 pm
This ecological parade and performance art event, directed by theatrical pageant director Felicia Young, features a magnificent parade of giant 15-foot river species puppets, spectacular costumes representing sea life, and music, dance, performances, songs, and poetry.
As part of arts>World Financial Center's ambitious roster of residencies, artists-in-residence Michele Brody and Lucrecia Novoa will lead Puppet & Costume Workshops at the World Financial Center Courtyard Gallery from March 3-May 19, allowing the community to create the costumes and puppets featured in the pageant. (Wednesday 6-9pm and Saturdays 12-4pm.)
June 8-25
THE NATIONAL STUDENT ART EXHIBITION: THE SCHOLASTIC ART & WRITING
AWARDS
World Financial Center Courtyard Gallery
Public Hours TBD
The World Financial Center Courtyard Gallery will showcase film, video, animation, writing, photography, painting, sculpture, fashion, drawing, graphic design and ceramics by emerging teenage artists recognized nationally through The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. These talented teenagers follow in the footsteps of Andy Warhol, Richard Avedon, Robert Redford, Philip Pearlstein, David Salle, Robert Indiana, Tom Otterness and Zac Posen, who all won Awards when they were in high school.
The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is presented by The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, a nonprofit organization dedicated to both identifying teenagers with exceptional artistic and literary talent and bringing their remarkable work to a national audience.
June 27
BANG ON A CAN MARATHON
World Financial Center Winter Garden
12 noon-12 midnight
Hailed as "the country's most provocative and consistently entertaining new- music event" by the Village Voice, the Bang on a Can Marathon draws huge crowds each year for a 12-hour marathon of mind-boggling, genre-bending music. This year's extravaganza will bring together more than 150 performers and composers, including the U.S. premiere of the celebrated work Professor Bad Trip composed by Fausto Romitelli.
July 12 - September 3
THIRD RAIL PROJECTS: UNDERCURRENTS & EXCHANGE AND DRIFTING ENCYLOPEDIA
Residency & Performances
Undercurrents & Exchange
Monday-Friday, July 12-16 & July 19-23
12:00 to 12:10 pm and 1:00 to 1:10 pm daily
Winter Garden
Exhibition
Drifting Encylcopedia
July 12-September 3
Monday-Friday, 12-4 pm
Closed Weekends
World Financial Center Courtyard Gallery
Undercurrents & Exchange/The Drifting Encyclopedia is a two-part rumination on the conundrum of love, infatuation, and connection in modern America.
The first component, Undercurrents & Exchange is a series of lunch-hour performances in the Winter Garden. For two weeks in July, artists will present a new dance every day grappling with improbable relationships and unearthing the hidden interpersonal undercurrents of our daily routines. These daily dances are episodic in nature and will culminate on Friday, July 23rd when they are performed in succession revealing an underlying web of meaning.
The second component is an ongoing exhibition in the Courtyard Gallery. The Drifting Encyclopedia is an assemblage of American oddities, scientific and historical ephemera, questionable accounts, and implausible, but nonetheless true, representations thereof. One half Victorian cabinet of curiosities and one half roadside attraction, this immersive art installation invites viewers into a museum-like dreamscape which houses exhibits that echo the themes of unlikely connections and contemplates the actual, illusory, and anomalous nature of love.
November 2010
November 2010
CANSTRUCTION
18th Annual NYC Competition
World Financial Center Winter Garden and Complex
Canstruction is the most unique food charity in the world. Since 1992, teams of architects, engineers and students have participated in Canstruction competitions throughout North America to design and build giant sculptures made entirely from full cans of food. This year's 30+ entries from New York City will be displayed for two weeks and then dismantled and donated to City Harvest for distribution to those in need.
About Arts>World Financial Center
Arts>World Financial Center <www.worldfinancialcenter.com> is the leading showcase in Lower Manhattan for visual and performing arts, presenting the work of emerging and established artists. The artistic process is made accessible in a free, open and interactive manner to workers, residents and the broader public of cultural consumers. Since 1988, year-round and free to the public, Arts>World Financial Center has presented interdisciplinary arts programming with an emphasis on commissioned works, site-specific installations and premieres.
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