REDCAT Presents MY BARBARIAN: DOUBLE FUTURE, December 8-10

From Dec. 8 through 10, 2022, Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater (REDCAT), CalArts' center for contemporary arts in downtown Los Angeles, and Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (ICA LA) present Double Future, a double-bill performance by L.A. collaborative theatrical group My Barbarian (Malik Gaines, Jade Gordon, and Alexandro Segade).

Recently performed as the final act of their survey exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, You Were Born Poor and Poor You Will Die (Performa 05 at Participant Inc., 2005) combines ancient Greek theater, mystery plays, and rock opera to tell the story of a religious cult engaging in human sacrifice to maintain the economic status quo.

Silver Minds (Aspen Art Museum, 2005) employs conventions of Noh theater, New Wave music, and science fiction, in a series of ghost stories about climate change and resource extraction, told from the point of view of tourists who time travel to the past to enjoy nature, which no longer exists.

Re-performing works they created almost two decades ago, My Barbarian responds to the contemporary moment with prescient works that address class struggle and environmental collapse. Performed as a sung and spoken-word recital with musical accompaniment, the members of My Barbarian are joined by musicians Tomas Fujiwara on drums, Ethan Philbrick on cello, and RaShonda Reeves on keyboards.

This performance is presented in conjunction with the exhibition, My Barbarian, on view at ICA LA through Jan. 15, 2023.

For two decades, the members of My Barbarian- Malik Gaines, Jade Gordon and Alexandro Segade-have used performance to theatricalize social issues, adapting narratives from modern plays, historical texts, and mass media into structures for their performances, videos, music, writing, installations, and exhibitions. Founded in 2000, My Barbarian was the subject of a 2021-2 survey exhibition and performance program at the Whitney Museum of American Art, which included a monograph published by the Whitney Museum and Yale University Press. The group's work has been presented at LACMA, The Hammer Museum, REDCAT, SFMOMA, MoMA, The Studio Museum in Harlem, The Kitchen, The New Museum, Participant Inc. and many other U.S. venues; and internationally at Museo El Eco, Mexico City; DeAppel, Amsterdam; Townhouse Gallery, Cairo; The Power Plant, Toronto; El Matadero, Madrid, and others. They were included in two Performa Biennials, the Whitney Biennial, two California Biennials, the Montreal Biennial, and the Baltic Triennial. My Barbarian has been supported by USA Artists, the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, the Mike Kelly Foundation, Art Matters, the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, and others.

My Barbarian: Double Future
Thursday, Dec. 8 at 8:30 p.m. (in-person)
Friday, Dec. 9 at 8:30 p.m. (in-person)
Saturday, Dec. 10 at 8:30 p.m. (in-person and online)

Ticketing:
$25 for General admission
$20 for REDCAT members and students
$13 for CalArts students, faculty, and staff

Tickets can be purchased at:
https://www.redcat.org/events/double-future

For more information, press comps, or artist interviews, please contact Katie Dunham at redcatpr@calarts.edu.

REDCAT, CalArts' downtown center for contemporary arts, is a multidisciplinary center for innovative visual, performing and media arts founded by CalArts in the Walt Disney Concert Hall complex in downtown Los Angeles. Through performances, exhibitions, screenings and literary events, REDCAT introduces diverse audiences, students and artists to the most influential developments in the arts from around the world, and gives artists in this region the creative support they need to achieve national and international stature. REDCAT continues the tradition of the California Institute of the Arts, its parent organization, by encouraging experimentation, discovery and lively civic discourse.

California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) has set the pace for educating professional artists since 1970. Offering rigorous undergraduate and graduate degree programs through six schools-art, critical studies, dance, film/video, music, and theater-CalArts has championed creative excellence, critical reflection, and the development of new forms and expressions. As successive generations of faculty and alumni have helped shape the landscape of contemporary arts, the institute first envisioned by Walt Disney encompasses a vibrant, eclectic community with global reach, inviting experimentation, independent inquiry, and active collaboration and exchange among artists, artistic disciplines and cultural traditions.

Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (ICA LA) is an epicenter of artistic experimentation and incubator of new ideas. Founded in 1984 as the Santa Monica Museum of Art (SMMoA) and reestablished in 2017 with a new identity and home in Downtown Los Angeles, ICA LA builds upon a distinguished history of bold curatorial vision and innovative programming to illuminate the important untold stories and emerging voices in contemporary art and culture. The museum's 12,700 square-foot renovated industrial building-designed by wHY Architecture under the leadership of Kulapat Yantrasast-features ample space for exhibitions, public programs, retail pop-ups, integrated offices, and special projects. ICA LA's mission is to support art that sparks the pleasure of discovery and challenges the way we see and experience the world, ourselves, and each other. ICA LA is committed to upending hierarchies of race, class, gender, and culture. Through exhibitions, education programs, and community partnerships, ICA LA fosters critique of the familiar and empathy with the different. ICA LA is committed to making contemporary art relevant and accessible for all. Admission is free.

REDCAT is located at 631 West 2nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012, within the Walt Disney Concert Hall complex. For current program and exhibition information, visit redcat.org.

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