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Yeah, That’s What She Said! Presents: MOTHERLAND

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Yeah, That’s What She Said! (YTWSS) holds their annual pop-up event featuring art, performances, and workshops by working class and poor women, women of color, immigrant women, trans women, and queer women. YTWSS*2017’s theme is MOTHERLAND. What does home mean to you? What does lineage mean to you? What does connection and intimacy with your past, present, and future mean to you?

This weekend-long event at Knockdown Center will include work selected from an open call related to environmental justice, places of origin, family and chosen family, reproductive justice and bodily autonomy, borders, ancestry and lineage, and borders, nationalism, and colonialism.

This is an 18+ event

Full Schedule of Events

Friday, July 7

7 – 10 pm
Opening Event, YTWSS artwork on view

7:30 – 8:30pm
Open mic
(Sign-Up Link Here)

Saturday, July 8

2pm
Shuttle from L Train Jefferson stop begins

2 – 10pm
Gallery open

3:30 – 6pm
Women and Femmes only Workshops

3:30 – 4:30pm: Solidifying Foundations: Organizing and Self/Collective Care as Descendants of our Mothers
5 – 6pm: Femme In Public: Using Art & Fashion as Political Disruption

7 – 10pm
Music, dance, and poetry performances with Candice Iloh, Zoe map, STEFA*, Mikeala Xochitl, Cheroya Davenport, Deborah Conton, NECIA, Linda La Sarabi, Anesha.

Sunday, July 9

2 – 10pm
Gallery open

5 – 6pm
Women and Femmes only Workshop
Following Our Inner Compass: Honing & Honoring Our Intuition

7 – 8:30pm
MOTHERLAND Film Screening and Q & A

ABOUT

Yeah, That’s What She Said! is a series of women-lead events that build relationships and experiences through the arts and activism centering working class and poor women, women of color, immigrant women, trans women and queer women. We are collectively self-organized and largely funded by community support. From 2014-2016, we held weekend-long pop-ups that brought together hundreds of women from across New York City.

DJ Minx, Mike Simonetti, Scott Murakami [OVERTIME]

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OVERTIME continues! Our summer-long Saturday party in the Ruins returns with a party brought to you by Kiss & Tell and Lost Soul Enterprises. Come kick back in the sunshine, grab a frozen drink, and enjoy!

Kiss & Tell and Lost Soul Enterprises present:

DJ Minx [Women On Wax] Mike Simonetti [2MR, Pale Blue, Kiss & Tell] Scott Murakami [Lost Soul Enterprises]

Kiss & Tell Party and Lost Soul Enterprises are collaborating on a series of two outdoor events in the beautiful and lush garden at Knockdown Center. For the spring edition we have invited Detroiter and Women on Wax label owner DJ Minx, along with our respective residents Mike Simonetti and Scott Murakami . Come early and enjoy the beautiful garden. Cocktails and food will be available.

Hosted by R. Gamble and Seze

DJ Minx was inspired to spin by the famed Music Institute in Detroit. Her style is described as funky, powerful house, with a splash of grace. For two years, Minx engineered and hosted “Deep Space Radio,” an electronic music show on Detroit’s WGPR radio station, on which she conducted interviews and played mixes by DJs and Producers from around the world. The show was heralded by the innovators of techno music (“Magic” Juan Atkins, Kevin “Reese” Saunderson, Eddie Fowlkes, and Derrick May). Minx also voluntarily did a weekly radio program at the University of Canada on CJAM 91.5 FM called “Steamy Windows,” which featured house music by local and international artists.

As a resident of world-renowned Club Motor, Minx opened for artists such as Basement Jaxx, Doc Martin, Cajmere, and Afrika Bambatta. In December 1996, Minx founded Women on Wax, a collective of female DJs from the Metro Detroit area. From then on, she began working with promoters and DJs across the country, and helped to solidify the career of several top female DJs and songstresses.

Being a featured performer during the first Detroit Electronic Music Festival (D.E.M.F.) in May 2000 had an incredible impact on Minx’s career. Since then, she’s played at Tresor in Berlin, Output in New York, Toronto’s Film Lounge, Club Ohm in Portland, Deep Sugar in Baltimore, and Club Air in Japan, and for with massive crowds in Paris, Cancun, Switzerland, Spain, Belgium and numerous other domestic and international locales.

In 2001, Minx established her own record label called Women On Wax Recordings, which has served as a vehicle to present many talented artists and producers to the world including Diamondancer, Pirahnahead, and Diviniti. Minx has also expanded her musical majesty by creating a sub-imprint of the label called W.O.W. B.A.M. (Women On Wax Bangin’ Ass Music). Besides releases on her own labels, she has produced and remixed tracks for Minus (Berlin), Trisomie 21 (Paris), Soiree Records (Detroit), West End Records (New York), Code Red (Baltimore), United Music (Paris), Whasdat Music (Detroit), Liberate (Chicago), and Fast Forward (Atlanta), among others.

Currently on the Connect Bookings roster, Detroit’s “First Lady of Wax” is going strong after nearly three decades of DJing. Minx recently moved her “Queen Beats Radio” weekly show to the new deepspaceradio, and she continues to host parties, specifically during Movement in Detroit. She was named one of the “20 Women Who Shaped the History of Dance Music” by Mixmag and one of the “Best house music DJs of all time” by TimeOut New York.

Mike Simonetti [ 2MR, Pale Blue, Kiss & Tell ]

At the forefront of a relatively underground movement for over two decades, few artists have had a history matching that of veteran-producer Mike Simonetti’s. But it’s this 20- year backstory that reveals the interminable role he’s played in the world of dance music. His first introduction came in 1988, at the tender age of 17, when he landed a job handing out flyers at the legendary NYC nightclub Mars. He was just a kid at the time, but it left an impression on him that would manifest itself years later. His record collecting habit got him his first few gigs as a club promoter in the early 90s, and it was then he got his first taste of DJing—hitting the lawless basements and warehouses of New York City. He quickly made a name for himself in the local club scene as a resident at the legendary parties Rubulad and Motherfucker. It was during this time that his tiny record label Troubleman Unlimited started gaining momentum as well, and by the end of its ten-year run would yield seminal releases by The Walkmen, Zola Jesus, Titus Andronicus, Prurient, Unwound, Glass Candy, Chromatics and many more.

Nearly a decade after its inception, Simonetti put Troubleman to rest and teamed up with Johnny Jewel to launch the dance music label Italians Do It Better. Its first release —a hard-hitting synthpop compilation called After Dark—was a game changer. Eventually, Mike released his first EP of original material, Capricorn Rising, after a slew of re-edits and remixes. The EP laid the groundwork for what was to come, yielding a range of influences from techno, krautrock and ambient music to soundtracks.

While Simonetti was in the middle of writing his debut solo work, he was asked to remix tracks from the West Coast twosome Silver Hands. Immediately taken by the incredible range of lead-vocalist Elizabeth Wight, he reached out to collaborate. The result of the bi-coastal email exchange would eventually become Pale Blue.

Most recently, Simonetti has decided to split from Italians Do It Better to focus on Pale Blue, as well as a totally new venture: the freshly minted label 2MR (Two Mikes Records). A collaboration between Simonetti and Captured Tracks founder Mike Sniper (whose own band Blank Dogs was released on Troubleman in 2008), 2MR is an opportunity for Simonetti to start from a blank slate and release music he believes in.

2MR

Scott Murakami [Lost Soul Enterprises, Bentwave Radio]

 

2017 LADIES BATTLE

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Ladies of Hip-Hop Festival Presents 2017 LADIES BATTLE! + Planet X: All Female Lifestyle Art Show in Partnership with Manifesto.

Join us for the final dance battle of the 2017 Ladies of Hip-Hop Festival! The day features preeminent female street dancers from around the world, and culminates with a public showcase of art, music, and dance!

Full details on the event can be found here: https://www.ladiesofhiphopfestival.com/2018-ladies-battle.html

LADIES BATTLE!
In July, NYC is the backdrop for our annual dance battle LADIES BATTLE! Female competitors from around the world travel to NYC for this battle. Winners from LOHH Toronto & LOHH China will be flown to the birth place of Hip-Hop to battle it out.

LADIES BATTLE! is 1-on-1 Dancehall, Breaking, Popping, Hip-Hop, Waacking and House Dance. Doors open and our stellar all-female DJ line-up is spinning hip-hop, funk, house, soul, and classics. The winners will be awarded cash prizes, gift bags and one-year “bragging rights”. The winner can boost themselves as one of the world’s best female Hip-Hop dancers!

JUDGES
The event is judged by a panel of elite dancers from around the world, like Tweetboogie, Nubian NeNe, Toyin Sogunro and many more…

**This event is 18+. All performers under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Want to compete in LADIES BATTLE!? Check out https://www.ladiesofhiphopfestival.com/2018-ladies-battle.html

Hip-Hop + House + Popping + Dancehall + Breaking + Waacking
More details here: www.ladiesofhiphopfestival.com

***

About Ladies of Hip Hop Festival
Ladies of Hip Hop Festival (LOHHF) exists to provide a safe space for women and girls to create, learn, exchange, exhibit and perform art linked through the narrative of Hip-Hop culture. LOHHF provides positive role models of girls and women working in all faucets of the Hip-Hop culture. Traditionally, men have dominated all facets of the Hip Hop scene, but Ladies of Hip Hop Festival changes this tradition and puts women center-stage.

LOHHF offers artistic training workshops, performance opportunities, international artist exchanges, public talks, artistic life training and female entrepreneurship and empowerment opportunities. We are helping create the next generation of female artistic leaders in the Hip Hop community. The festival is an event given by women, for everyone! It’s important to us to have the participation and support of men in the community too! Teaching and sharing the culture through the female perspective is essential to the growth of the culture. Essential to our mission.

About Michele Byrd-McPhee
Michele Byrd-McPhee is the executive director and founder of Ladies of Hip-Hop Festival (LOHHF) The Ladies of Hip-Hop Festival is an event produced by women, for women. Each year Byrd-McPhee selects an elite group of female artists from around the world to exhibit their work, teach, and perform. These artists have extensive experience and understanding of the Hip-Hop culture and are qualified to pass on its traditions with accuracy and authenticity. Through education, performance and community exchanges, this annual hip-hop festival puts the focus on women and their relationship with hip-hop culture. Men have traditionally dominated all facets of the Hip-Hop scene, but LOHHF changes this tradition and puts women center-stage for the entire event.

Bookworms, Uncertain, Antikythera, Searmanas, Compile

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Bookworms
https://soundcloud.com/bookworms

“The Brooklyn-based producer Nick Dawson, a.k.a ‘Bookworms’ has been turning heads in the city with his psychedelic techno since the late aughts…like listening to a techno or house record that’s been doped up on tabs of acid and having one revelatory experience after another…” — Michael Scott Barron, thump.vice.com

uncertain (Buffalo, N.Y.)
https://uncertain.bandcamp.com

uncertain is a post-industrial musick project started by Florian-Ayala Fauna around 2007. Her project is highly influenced by the occult and the work of artists including Coil, Current 93, Aleister Crowley, and many others of esoteric tradition. Many albums have involved her fiancé, Felix Keigh, contributing vocals and lyrics, establishing a great emotional depth set within the æthyrl soundscapes. Together they represent a movement in the underground community of LGBTQ+ and transgender artists coming into their respective scenes, going against societal norms any way they can. Florian and Felix are both transgender; Florian being an intersex trans-femme with XXY chromosomes, and Felix establishing himself as a transman in recent years. The emotional struggles with transgender issues and various chronic and psychological conditions feeds into their intense, sublime, and emotionally raw esoteric moon musick.

Antikythera
https://soundcloud.com/antikythera-sir

Hard electronix & noise/sound art poetry attack: currently featuring writers & performers Jeff Grunthaner and Ben Tripp. Anyone who wishes to become a president of Antikythera can be one. Please address all correspondence to weareantikytheraATgmailDOTCOM.

Searmanas
https://soundcloud.com/searmanas

Searmanas is the solo moniker of electronic producer Niabi Aquena. Originally hailing from the Shanandoah Valley in rural Virginia, Aquena has based her musical practice in New York City for almost two decades. A classically trained pianist and vocalist, her musical evolution has led her to experiment with electronic hardware. The sound of Searmanas explores the role of ceremony within urban experience, resulting in severe, textured landscapes with touches of sparse vocals. Her wordless poetry ranges from industrial glitches to layered, oceanic progressions, all tied together by an aura of questioning and chaos. Conceived in 2016, Searmanas has already performed with the likes of John Bender, Hieroglyphic Being, Miho Hatori, and Mahogany. She is a member of Brooklyn-based new media collective CHASM and regularly performs live in NYC and beyond.

* w/DJ sets before, in-between & afterwards by * :

Compile
https://privatearchive.bandcamp.com/album/ten-wolves-end

“Global synesthesia for the accustomed youth.”

Formal Complaint: Artists in Conversation

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Join artists Female Background, Aria Dean (via Skype), Christopher Hanrahan, and  Mario Navarro in a reading and conversation with Formal Complaint cocurator Dana Kopel. For this event each artist will read a brief passage (from a text of their own, or one that they admire) that connects to their work and ideas. Following the reading, Kopel will moderate a discussion on the exhibition’s themes of sad formalism, tender objects, and domestic and vernacular architecture.

About Formal Complaint
Craft, scrap, and architectural minimalism coincide in Formal Complaint. Featuring work by Aria Dean, Female Background, Christopher Hanrahan, Mario Navarro, and Megan Pahmier, the exhibition returns handiwork to formalism, maintaining a sense of slackness. Metal armatures lean and bend precariously; a painting on unstretched canvas drags on the floor. Discarded materials and everyday objects come to conjure an upright but ‘bereft formalism’ (as Hanrahan calls it). Tenderness and despair coalesce in objects that can only just support themselves, much less make a claim for historical or philosophical significance. The works in the exhibition undermine past minimalisms from multiple directions—in terms of material, attitude, and dependence on context—but out of a care for and maintenance of form, rather than a casting off of it. Through these mergers of vernacular minimalism and sad design, work and supporting structure, Formal Complaint creates its own ecology of exhibitionary space.

Sol Selectas Showcase [OVERTIME]

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OVERTIME continues, with a special Sol Selectas showcase, brought to you by Dévotion, an immersive event series that hosts late night gatherings with like-minded lovers of the music//movement//moment.

This summer, we’re teaming up with the best promoters, hosts, and DJs to bring you an outdoor party every weekend! Come get down in the Ruins and kick back with a frozen drink and your favorite acts.

EVERY SATURDAY ALL SUMMER LONG
Tickets Start At $15

About Devotion Presents: Sol Selectas Showcase

Still basking in the glow of our 2 year anniversary, we’re kicking off our summer series in collaboration with a label that has the sun’s warmth emanating from its very core: Sol Selectas. We’ve had the pleasure of working with the label’s head honcho, Sabo, the past two summers and quickly developed a love for not only his style, but also his ethos. We’re honored to call him a dear friend and to also have worked closely together in bringing this stacked lineup of label mates to life!

We’re equally excited to have full reign at the Knockdown Center, a gorgeous, sprawling, industrial property with no shortage of nooks and crannies to explore. For your summery enjoyment we’ll have inflatable pools, BBQ delicacies, multiple bars, lounging and chilling areas, art galleries and a souk of locally produced clothing and accessories.

The party kicks off the moment the doors open, so prepare your knapsack for a full day in the sun!

Featuring

– Industrial outdoor venue w/ many shady nooks to explore

– Our largest Funktion-One build to date by One Source

– Art gallery + souk of vendors featuring an array of accessories

– Deco by NephilNine + friends

– Multiple bars

+ many more announcements to come 🙂

Vendor form – http://bit.ly/2red36H

Volunteer form – http://bit.ly/2qqDVQ4

Sol Selectas

Sabo
https://soundcloud.com/djsabo 

Unders
https://soundcloud.com/undersmusic 

KMLN  (LIVE)
https://soundcloud.com/kmln-berlin 

Monolink (LIVE)
https://soundcloud.com/monolink 

Amentia  (LIVE)
https://soundcloud.com/amentia

Dévotion

Nicholas Maddix
https://soundcloud.com/iammaddix

Ostro
https://soundcloud.com/djostro

Tuckahoe
https://soundcloud.com/tuckahoe

Reminders

– This is not your ordinary gathering of conscious bodies, we encourage everyone to connect, be present and most importantly express yourself creatively & comfortably. We are a community with an ethos founded with a passion for mindfulness and connectivity.

– If we’ve had the pleasure of your presence in the past, then you know words fail to capture the moments and memories that make these gatherings such a wild success. If you’re here for the first time, congratulations for finding us, welcome to our community of lovers & dreamers – don’t hesitate to reach out to the community if you need help or have any concerns 🙂

About OVERTIME
This summer, we’re teaming up with the best promoters, hosts, and DJs to bring you an outdoor party every weekend! Come get down in the Ruins and kick back with a frozen drink and your favorite acts.

EVERY SATURDAY ALL SUMMER LONG
Tickets Start At $15

Radeberger is the official sponsor of OVERTIME

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Mawnin Neighbor – The Memorial Mayfair

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New York City’s leading Soca party kicks the summer off at Knockdown Center Memorial Day weekend! Outside in the Ruins, our backyard, with frozen drinks, food, and good food!

About Good Mawnin Neighbor:

Good Morning NYC

Good Mawnin Neighbor

A day that commences with family, friends, fun and games , that ends with networking, socialising and dancing!

Join us in 2017 in a Newly found OUTDOOR Neighborhood.

Mawnin Neighbor 2017 will be a ticket only event and has reduced to a strict capacity per venue specifications.

Things to expect :

An Outdoor Space

Great Ambience and Decor

Fun and Games

Great Music by the best Local and International DJs

And as always… SURPRISE SURPRISE SURPRISE

The Dream Wanderer

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In June, The Dream Wanderer arrives at Knockdown Center! This transformed shuttle bus now houses an immersive and interactive virtual reality installation currently on a nationwide tour, exhibiting an original VR work created by Flatsitter Media Arts Collective.

The VR experience is suitable for children ages 8+.

Schedule:
Thursday, June 15, 5:00pm – 9:00pm
Friday, June 16, 5:00pm – 9:00pm
Saturday, June 17, 2:00pm-8:00pm

ABOUT THE DREAM WANDERER

This has never been done before…

The Dream Wanderer was once a forgotten Ford Econoline transit shuttle parked in the back lot at a used car dealership in Olean, NY. After being gutted and wrapped and retrofitted, the Dream Wanderer has a third life as a touring virtual reality gallery showcasing all-original virtual reality artworks by Buffalo-based arts collective Flatsitter. So far, tour stops have included Miami Beach (Satellite Art Fair during Art Basel), Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp in Central Florida, SOUP Experimental Space (Tallahassee), The Music Box Village (New Orleans), The French Quarter (New Orleans), Cheer Up Charlie’s (Austin, TX), Museum of Human Achievement (Austin, TX), Pump Project (Austin, TX), Convivio (Oaxaca), Material Art Fair (Mexico City), and Lawn Gnome Books (Phoenix), NOMAD (Los Angeles), Marfa Myths (Marfa), SXSW (Austin), Castillo Blanc0 (New Orleans), Ace Hotel (Pittsburgh), and Elephant Gallery (Nashville). Upcoming stops include Moogfest in May.

ABOUT LILY DALE

The original VR work being exhibited is titled “Lily Dale” and is a virtual reality exploration of spiritualism and the afterlife. This experience features a custom-drawn tarot deck and 20 different VR vignettes for multiple viewings. More info: http://lilydale.flatsitter.com

Lily Dale was founded in 1879 as a camp and meeting place for Spiritualists and Freethinkers. Residents of this small town in Western New York claim to communicate with the dead. The ‘Guidelines for Spiritualism’ are posted on the wall of the Assembly Hall in downtown Lily Dale.

Guideline #4 reads: “We Never Die”

The virtual reality experience incorporates interviews with Lily Dale resident mediums, motion capture from movement artist Ginger Wagg, and a deck of hand-drawn tarot cards by artist Bobby Griffiths.

ABOUT FLATSITTER

FLATSITTER is an interdisciplinary collaborative that incorporates video, film, software programming, performance and installation. The artistic works nurture a perception of society, community and environment as interlocking parts of a creative experience and are exhibited in an array of formats, such as ephemeral web collections, live performances, site-specific installations, short films, and live virtual reality experiences.

***

The bus was funded with generous donations from kind people. Major contributors include: Rick Smith from Silo City and the VRTC Foundation.

The interior of the bus was built with generous assistance from carpenter Robert Sturm.

The Subpac haptic feedback vests were provided with support from Subpac.

 

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Sunday Service: Andrea Arrubla Presents… (Special BABZ Fair Edition)

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This month, Knockdown Center’s free monthly performance series Sunday Service is hosted by Andrea Arrubla for the BABZ Fair. The evening will reflect and celebrate the legacy of the seminal poet Essex Hemphill established among contemporary literary and visual artists with Tiona Nekkia McClodden, James Allister Sprang, Peter BD, and Karmenife X.

Bios

Tiona Nekkia McClodden is a visual artist, filmmaker, and curator whose work explores, and critiques issues at the intersections of race, gender, sexuality and social commentary. McClodden’s interdisciplinary approach traverses documentary film, experimental video, sculpture, and sound installations. Themes explored in McClodden’s films and works have been re-memory and more recently narrative biomythography.

Peter BD is a writer on the internet.

Karmenife X is an artist, writer and stand-up comedian from Harlem, NYC. Karmenife is most known for her photo project entitled “Reclamation” where she reclaimed fraternities for survivors of sexual violence. Karmenife graduated from Wesleyan University in 2016 and in 2015, she published a memoir entitled “Sea Salt and Sandalwood” through Wesleyan’s Gorilla Publishing Collective. Karmenife currently lives in New York City and is working on a collection of short stories revolving around her experiences with online dating and an art project entitled “Put Him In His Place,” which combines her artwork with harassing messages she has received on online dating sites in an effort to reclaim space, power, and voice. Karmenife has also begun an illustrious career as a stand-up comedian whose work focuses on uplifting marginalized groups that are often targeted in the white, male, cis dominated comedy world. Karmenife plans to continue creating and working to make more safe spaces for survivors of sexual assault, especially survivors of color.

James Allister Sprang is an artist and writer currently based in Philadelphia. A graduate of The Cooper Union and an MFA candidate at the University of Pennsylvania, Sprang works as an interdisciplinary concerned with race and the embodied/disembodied voice. Working through both time and objects, Sprang’s work exists in gallery spaces, theater spaces and the spaces generally found between the ears. James has spoken, shown and performed in institutions such as the Apollo Theater, The Brooklyn Museum, The Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art,  Pioneer Works, Abrons Arts Center and the Public Theater and The Kitchen.

About the curator
Andrea Arrubla is a Colombian interdisciplinary artist living in Brooklyn, NY. Her artwork revolves around issues of personal histories, institutional critique, and language through accessible mediums that confront professionalized methods of art making. Arrubla was the Student Liaison of the Bruce High Quality Foundation University (‘14-’16) where she focused on genuine and inclusive community building in the arts. Her first solo exhibition took place at New Release Gallery; New York. She has exhibited work in group exhibitions at Essex Flowers and various educational institutions across the United States. Arrubla has been featured in print in OSMOS Magazine, The Third Rail, and Packet Biweekly.

***

About BABZ FAIR

The 5th annual BABZ Fair presented by BLONDE ART BOOKS is a weekend long event that features small press art and poetry publishers, and individual artist projects, alongside a program of performance, readings, and workshops. BABZ Fair will be taking place Friday, June 2 through Sunday, June 4, 2017.

Over the years the BABZ Fair has grown dramatically and this year the fair will feature art books and zines by over 100 publishers and artists from across the country.

This year we are collaborating with artist Andrea Arrubla to produce the weekend programming. The full program schedule, including a new expanded program series, and workshop series, will be announced shortly.

About Sunday Service
Sunday Service is a curated series of short-form live performances across mediums. Taking place the first Sunday of each month in the Ready Room, a guest curator is invited to organize a salon style evening of in-progress works, performances, and presentations, anchored by a framing principle such as a question, proposition, theme, or formal structure. Sunday Service encourages works in progress and interdisciplinary endeavors showcased in a lo-fi environment to foster experimentation and critical discourse amongst peers.

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