Knockdown Center is pleased to host Gamelan Dharma Swara as they receive, unpack, and perform for the very first time their new set of gamelan instruments from Bali.

Over two decades New York City’s Gamelan Dharma Swara has built an international reputation as one of the country’s most accomplished and innovative ensembles—tackling a diverse and daring repertoire of both classical Balinese and contemporary music. The 20-member ensemble captivates audiences with the raucous, wondrous sounds of bronze-keyed percussion instruments, gongs, bells, and drums. On April 20th Dharma Swara’s new set of gamelan instruments arrive from Bali after nearly two years in the making. (The group previously performed on instruments generously loaned by other institutions.) Soon, with full access to a gamelan, Dharma Swara will enter a new chapter of study, creative exploration, music-making and dance intended to drive American gamelan forward.

The new set of Balinese artisan-made instruments is composed of 20 metallophones, 20 brass pots, 3 gongs, 6 drums, and an array of flutes and cymbals, most of which are set in hand-carved, decorative  wooden cases. In owning one of the most complete sets of instruments with semara dana tuning (the most progressive and extensive mode of Balinese gamelan tuning), Dharma Swara will undertake complex pieces from both the classical repertoire and new compositions.

After their unpacking, the instruments will be on view at sunset from 7:00PM – 9:00PM, and Dharma Swara’s gamelan gendèr wayang ensemble will perform, demonstrate select gamelan instruments, and there will be opportunities for visitors to play the instruments.

Image: Gamelan Dharma Swara’s instruments are ready for its big unveiling.  Don’t miss this opportunity to be the first to welcome them stateside!  Here they are being blessed by the priest before they departed Bali, Indonesia. Photo by: Gusti Putu Aryamana.

Come join us for the 2^nd Annual Maspeth Craft Beer Festival presented by The Kiwanis Club of Maspeth.  This festival will feature some of the finest beers from some of the best breweries from NYC as well as several from across the US and abroad.  In addition to the great beers available, we will be featuring cider and wine tasting as well.  Live music will be performed by Hat Trick Acoustic Trio.  Several food vendors will be available offering tasty choices for an additional cost.  All of the proceeds will go towards charities supported by the Kiwanis Club of Maspeth.

Tickets:

$50.00 in advance will receive a tasting glass
$60.00 at the door will receive a tasting glass

$10.00 Designated Driver Ticket – A DD ticket holder will receive free water and soda. Designated drivers do NOT receive a tasting glass and are NOT permitted to sample any beer. Any designated driver seen drinking will be removed from the festival immediately. Designated drivers must be 21+ and present valid photo ID for entry.

21+ ONLY permitted inside event
Proper I.D. required (License or Passport)
** NO I.D. = NO ENTRY **

The beauty of field recording, and moreover listening, is that it can happen anywhere. This March, join Lawrence English as he casts his ears across Brooklyn. Join us as we explore various “sound locations”, collect recordings, share techniques/methods and discuss the ways in which field recordings can be used in sound art and music practices.

You don’t need to be a skilled field recorder to attend – this is for everyone, from the curious first-timer to the well-experienced sound designer. This field trip will cover not just technical aspects, but philosophical, aesthetic and conceptual approaches to working with environmental sound.

Participants are required to bring their own recording device – whether it is a digital field recorder, cassette recorder, minidisc, iPhone, iPad, video camera, or other mobile recording device, as well as their own set of headphones. English will work with you to develop your approaches towards capturing compelling recordings using any kind of technology.

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Lawrence English is an acclaimed artist working across disciplines. His field recording work is widely regarded as some of the most essential contemporary practice being published. He has recorded in a diverse range of locations, from the Amazon to Antarctica, the outback to remote islands of Japan. He has been described as a philosopher of listening.

In conjunction with the exhibition You can tell I’m alive and well because I weep continuously., poet Steven Zultanski curates a poetry reading featuring texts that share affinities with his own poem, Agony (2012). The evening includes readings by poets Alejandro Crawford, Mónica de la Torre, Shiv Kotecha, and Stacy Szymaszek and a sound installation by Fernando Diaz.

About You can tell I’m alive and well because I weep continuously.
You can tell I’m alive and well because I weep continuously is a group exhibition curated by Alison Burstein with artwork by David Court, Erin Diebboll, David Horvitz, Anouk Kruithof, Amanda Turner Pohan, and Steven Zultanski. The show brings together artworks whose techniques resonate with Agony’s provocative alchemical idiom: these pieces quantify bodily and affective features, apply logical and scientific reasoning to absurd ends, and manipulate the linkages between language and things.

Artist Bios

Alejandro Miguel Justino Crawford is a poet, video artist, and game designer living in Brooklyn, NY. http://amjc.tv

Fernando Diaz is the author of “Autocorrelation and Regularization of Query-Based Retrieval Scores” (University of Massachusetts, 2008). His work has been screened at the Melbourne International Animation Festival.

Mónica de la Torre is the author of five books of poetry, including The Happy End/All Welcome (forthcoming from Ugly Duckling Presse in the spring of 2017). Recent and forthcoming publications include Triple Canopy, Harper’s, and Poetry. She is a contributing editor of BOMB Magazine and teaches poetry at Brown University.

Shiv Kotecha is the author of the Unlovable (Troll Thread, 2016), and EXTRIGUE (Make Now, 2015). Other stuff can be found @ shivkotecha.com

Stacy Szymaszek is the author of Emptied of All Ships (2005), Hyperglossia (2009), hart island (2015), Journal of Ugly Sites & Other Journals (2016), and A Year From Today, forthcoming from Nightboat in 2017. She is also executive director of the Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church.

To further demonstrate solidarity among exhibiting artists, Ventiko, founder of Animamus Art Salon, will facilitate a salon style discussion with participating artists and the public.

Participating artists:
Nicole Arendt
Barbara Joy Beatus
Cat Del Buono
Sarah Chacich
Em Downing
Amelia Marzec
Danica Pantic
Reynolds Tenazas
Facilitated by Ventiko

About Animamus Art Salon:
Animamus Art Salon was created by Ventiko in 2011 with the mission to create a safe, supportive, and inspiring environment for artists of all mediums to debut and discuss their current work while encouraging audience participation and simultaneously enabling a performance of ideas, which can not be repeated. Animamus Art Salon seeks, in this digital age, to create a physical meeting space that will serve to foster the exchange of ideas, facilitate discourse, and create a sense of community.