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NICK CAVE THE LET GO
WELCOME
CONTENTS
Since our first production in 2007, the Armory has opened its doors to artists, directors, and impresarios who have provided audiences with immersive performances and installations that could not happen elsewhere in New York and are still revered as major and unique happenings in the cultural life of New York City.
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This project joins that lineage as a dance-based town hall that acts as a platform to express oneself through movement. In today’s tumultuous world, Nick’s artistic vision and desire to build understanding through dance are more vital than ever. Part installation, part performance, part social gathering space, the work invites the community of New York to “let go” and participate in a collective act of catharsis. The project serves as a testament to Nick’s unwavering commitment to uplifting communities and affecting change through art. His participatory performances have become some of the most beloved experiences to be found in the contemporary art landscape today, and we are thrilled to bring his energy and aesthetic to the Armory by creating an installation that will include all New Yorkers in its realization. Throughout his career, Nick has challenged traditional conceptions of visual art to create new forms of expression that have made a lasting impact on audiences. As an institution that embraces interdisciplinary concepts that defy expectations, it is fitting that we welcome Nick to our roster of artists who have drawn upon the unique setting of the Armory to develop new narratives in their work.
5 UP RIGHT, Katie Delmez 6 WORK/ WORK/ WERK SPECIAL PULL-OUT SECTION
DIY T-SHIRT
THE LET GO LINE DANCE
AURA OF INCLUSION + ACCEPTANCE
LETTING GO
7 MAKING THE LET GO ARTISTS/PRODUCTION DJS/DANCERS MUSICIANS/CAST 10 PARK AVENUE ARMORY 11 SUPPORTERS
We are extremely delighted to welcome Nick to the Armory to realize this Armory commission. We are also eager to open our doors to songwriter and musician Nona Hendryx, vocalist and artist Helga Davis, dancer and choreographer Francesca Harper, and FLEXN dance pioneer Reggie (Regg Roc) Gray and his company of dance activists the D.R.E.A.M. Ring as they respond to the work; baritone Jorell Williams and Vy Higginsen’s Sing Harlem Choir; and all of the dancers, DJs, and hundreds of community group participants who so imaginatively activate Nick’s creation. By harnessing and cultivating the power of community, this commission serves as a spirited reminder of our shared humanity. REBECCA ROBERTSON Founding President & Executive Producer PIERRE AUDI Marina Kellen French Artistic Director
Program concept and design: FaustLTD.com
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JUNE 7, 2018 – JULY 1, 2018 THOMPSON ARTS CENTER AT PARK AVENUE ARMORY UP RIGHT PERFORMANCES Wednesday–Friday at 8:00pm Installation open for ticket holders from 7:30pm–11:00pm INSTALLATION HOURS Saturday–Sunday: 11:00am–6:00pm Live DJs 2:00pm–6:00pm Saturday, June 9: ANA MATRONIC Sunday, June 10: JOHNNY DYNELL Saturday, June 16: JOE CLAUSSELL Sunday, June 17: JD SAMSON Saturday, June 23: NOISE CANS Sunday, June 24: SABINE BLAIZIN Saturday, June 30: SAMMY JO Sunday, July 1: TEDD PATTERSON
THE FREEDOM BALL Thursday, June 14 at 7:00pm-12:00am Competition at 11:00pm Party-goers are invited to don their most outrageous looks in this high octane evening of fashion, dance, and house music by the legendary MARSHALL JEFFERSON and hosted by celebrity night life glitterati. A “dress to express” ball-style competition hosted by a panel of leading tastemakers takes place at 11:00pm with multiple categories and $20,000 in cash prizes.
Season Sponsors
AN EVENING OF ARTISTIC RESPONSES: THE LET GO Tuesday, June 26 at 7:30pm Songwriter and musician NONA HENDRYX, vocalist and artist HELGA DAVIS, dancer and choreographer FRANCESCA HARPER, and FLEXN dance pioneer REGGIE (REGG ROC) GRAY and his company of dance activists, the D.R.E.A.M. Ring, will respond to the installation in an evening of site-specific performative responses curated by Nick Cave.
ARMORY AFTER HOURS Join us after Up Right performances when the bars will be open in our historic period rooms for libations with fellow attendees. ARTIST TALK: THE LET GO Thursday, June 7 at 6:00pm NICK CAVE explores the inspirations, ideas, and
creative development of his installation with a range of artistic collaborators and responders.
Support for Park Avenue Armory’s artistic season has been generously provided by the Charina Endowment Fund, the Altman Foundation, The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, the Howard Gilman Foundation, the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, The Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Foundation, the Marc Haas Foundation, The Kaplen Brothers Fund, the Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds Foundation, the Leon Levy Foundation, the May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, the Richenthal Foundation, and the Isak and Rose Weinman Foundation.
Installation view of “chase,“ 2018. Mylar ribbon, motorized track. Photo by Da Ping Luo.
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NICK CAVE THE LET GO
“I see ‘chase’ as a tangible reminder that our expressions of self—the very freedoms that flow thorugh us—can also raise suspicions and instigate irreversable reactions in others.”— Nick Cave
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THE LET GO TOM ECCLES CURATOR
The immense Wade Thompson Drill Hall of the Park Avenue Armory is a site of suspended reality – a block long pause in the city’s relentless grid of traffic-filled roads and buildings. In this darkened, cool space, Nick Cave recognized the opportunity for an artwork that offers temporary release, a kind of gigantic, adult-friendly playground – a dance-hall, in fact, where the bodies of the participants become the animating force to free the mind of its quotidian concerns. Trained at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in the eighties, for Cave, movement has always been an essential component of his work and The Let Go, the artist’s Armory installation, offers-up a ball-like environment that is at once celebratory, communitarian, and liberatory. The latter is significant for Cave, a gay Black man born of a family of seven siblings in the South, and an artist whose work is deeply embedded in the political concerns of the past, present, and future. For Cave, the act of participation is profoundly political. Nick Cave is perhaps best-known for his Soundsuits, many of which are included in the Armory installation and animated throughout the evening performances accompanied by singing choirs and operatic performers. The first such suit was created in response to the brutal beating of the unarmed Rodney King by officers of the Los Angeles Police Department in 1991. The suit was made of sticks, twigs and debris gathered from the streets creating a rustling body armor that “erases gender, race, and class.” In speaking of that period Cave recounts: “I remember thinking that my identity is really only protected in the privacy of my own home. That the moment I leave this space, I could be just another profile.” Dressing the participants in the full-body suits is itself a lengthy and ritualistic act, often the centerpiece of extensive community-based workshops the artist initiates in under-served communities; an act of transformation. Colorfully overloaded sweaters, beads, buttons, raffia, toys, synythetic human hair, pipe cleaners and a panoply of found materials, the Soundsuits are a sculptural tour de force together forming an alternate universe of magical characters – a twenty-first century incarnation of shaman-like figures that recall both indigenous and African ceremonial costumes. This resemblance is important, for in their animation through dance, Cave aims to evoke, if not actually create, a moment of almost religious significance, a moment of transfiguration (a complete change of form or appearance into a more beautiful or spiritual state).
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NICK CAVE THE LET GO
“Back in the day, the clubs felt like the only place I was truly safe and celebrated for being who I was born to be. I am using The Let Go as a way to share that feeling.” — Nick Cave
For The Let Go, Cave situates his performance, your performance, within a disco-land – almost an outsized prom night utilizing brightly colored mylar to create “chase,” a monumental moving curtain that swishes around the dance-floor as well as a singular sculpture that both conceals and reveals. This kinetic sculpture is made up of mylar strands: black, red, black, and green, followed by blue, black, blue, black as a emblem of a minority being chased by police; the opposite side gold, silver, copper, and bronze as a commentary on “bling-bling” and class; and sandwiched in between are rainbow flag colors. Inspired by seventies and early eighties disco (think Tina Turner or Sylvester’s Do you want to funk?), The Let Go offers a dreamlike space in which to mix and congregate where the artist has invited performers and participants from across the city’s communities, a new democratic space, one that in previous times served as the playground to only its most elite members. Through a series of daytime happenings, visitors and community organizations such as yoga practitioners, hula-hoopers, church choirs, and PTA groups will be invited to come together to express themselves through movement to music curated by some of New York’s leading DJs. Participants will be engaged by dancers leading games of Twister, Soul Train lines, a special line dance called “The Let Go” created for the installation, soundsuit invasions, and other dancebased encounters as the ever-gliding 100-foot-long curtain, sweeps across the dance floor. Renowned choreographer Francesca Harper, together with Cave, will choreograph the dancers, drawing out their individual experiences as they move through and engage visitors in the Drill Hall. Cave will also curate an evening of site-specific performative responses by Nona Hendryx, Helga Davis, Francesca Harper, and Reggie Gray and the D.R.E.A.M. Ring that will take place within the installation on June 26, 2018. In the head house, a site-specific presentation of Cave’s Up Right soundsuits will be on display in the Armory’s historic period rooms that evoke a multiplicity of meanings ranging from the spiritual to the carnivalesque. On weekday evenings, Cave will orchestrate a cast of dancers in a re-visioned, site-specific and fully immersive restaging of his signature Up Right performances that will activate the soundsuits and be accompanied by baritone Jorell Williams and Vy Higginsen’s Sing Harlem Choir. In a grand procession around “chase,” the initiates come together to perform new site-situated choreography by Francesca Harper that celebrates independence and selfdetermination. These ongoing performances will culminate in The Freedom Ball, a one-night only event led by the legendary Marshall Jefferson where party-goers are invited to don their own most outrageous costume in a “dress to express” competition reminiscent of voguing balls of LGBT subculture throughout the United States in which people “walk” or compete for prizes through dance, dress and perfomativity.
For Cave, The Let Go is all about participation, the more the better. Come as you are, come as you want to be.
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UP RIGHT KATIE DELMEZ CURATOR, FRIST ART MUSEUM NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
Transformation is at the core of Nick Cave’s artistic practice. In addition to offering a shamanistic-like transformative experience through Soundsuits, most of Cave’s works are made by upcycling mundane materials in a process that gives them new purpose and, by extension, bestows value on the people and memories associated with them, most of which are typically overlooked by mainstream society.
The concept of transformation is also manifested in Cave’s Up Right performances, one of several compositions that Cave conceives and directs as part of the performance and social engagement branches of his practice (other compositions include Heard, which was presented at Grand Central Station in 2013, Blanket Statement, and Smear). In April 2018, Cave brought his Up Right performances to Nashville in conjunction with his exhibition Nick Cave: Feat. at the Frist Art Museum. For the Nashville iteration of the performances sited at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, established leaders from Nashville’s the local cultural community (practitioners) ceremonially dress twelve young men still finding their way (initiates) in particularly bold and complex Soundsuits. Through this act, practitioners ignite a sense of worth and potential within a group that historically has been targeted for violence and discrimination. At the Symphony Center, the stage is set for the Up Right performance as a colorful and textured gardenscape with components of the Soundsuits mounted on tables or arranged on the floor. Then, with search lights circling the floor and live music creating a somber tone, the initiates slowly walk out with their arms up. They sit on wooden stools (suggestive of stripped down versions of some African thrones), take off and fold their street clothes, and place them at their side. Practitioners, marked as authority figures by wearing white gloves and lab coats, enter and carefully begin to construct the Soundsuits. After they put raffia-made pants and “skirts” on the initiate, they position a metal armature, which may seem reminiscent of a slave’s shackles, on the young man’s shoulders. The practitioner then retrieves the individual pieces of the Soundsuit one-by-one from the table. There is a sense of tenderness to the process, evocative of the grooming a parent bestows on a beloved child to ensure that he or she enters the world as complete and prepared as possible. Practitioners also quietly share pieces of wisdom with the young men from their experiences on how to achieve their goals and dreams based on their own experiences. Music reflective of the character of the performance as well as the local community plays throughout the ritual. When the initiates are fully dressed, they rise—reborn as proud, emphatic, valued men. The elders remove the stools and the original attire, which is now a remnant of the old identity, and leave the stage. The initiates begin to move together almost as a tribe, presenting their new selves and their majestic adornment to the audience. The group then offers a deep and haunting howl, a release of the collective pain of discrimination endured for generations. Freed from that burden, at least momentarily, the men ecstatically dance to exuberant high-tempo music, fully realizing the depth of their selfhood and humanity. There is an increased sense of urgency and poignancy in Cave’s recent work given that circumstances for black men seem equally, if not more, grim almost three decades after Rodney King’s beating. The Up Right performances are a visual and performative fulfillment of the fact that Black Lives Matter and offer an opportunity for healing from the wounds of racism and hate.
Stills from localized Up Right performances in Chicago and Shreveport.. Photos by James Prinz. Courtesy of Nick Cave and The Jack Shainman Gallery.
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NICK CAVE THE LET GO
Work/Work/Werk JUNE 26: AN EVENING OF ARTISTIC RESPONSES IN THE LET GO While Nick Cave’s work is often uncategorizable, it’s always embued with purpose and a palpable energy. Upon completion, the artist often speaks of it as human, saying “I have to get out of its way and let it do its job out in the world.” And in an effort to honor this as well as to celebrate those that inspire him, Cave has been inviting select artists into the work both literally and figuratively—then steps aside to watch and learn from this hands-off collaboration. HELGA DAVIS Helga Davis is a New York-based performer whose interdisciplinary work includes theater, opera and fine art. Leading artists and composers have written works for her including: Oceanic Verses by Paola Prestini, Elsewhere by Missy Mazzoli, You Us We All by Shara Nova and Andrew Ondrejcak, and Yet Unheard, a tribute to Sandra Bland by Courtney Bryan, based on the poem by Sharan Strange. Davis starred in the 25th anniversary remount of Robert Wilson and Philip Glass’ seminal opera Einstein on the Beach and is the host of the eponymous podcast HELGA on WQXR/New Sounds. REGGIE (REGG ROC) GRAY The American dancer and choreographer Reggie (Regg Roc) Gray was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He is one of the innovators of a new hybrid dance form Flexn: a combination of various styles such as bone breaking, get-low, connecting, hat tricks, and pauzing, the style he evolutionized. Gray produced his first major choreography at the Park Avenue Armory: FLEXN (2015) and FLEXN EVOLUTION (2017), and has toured both productions around the world. In 2011 Gray founded THE D.R.E.A.M. RING (DANCE RULES EVERYTHING AROUND ME), which aspires to build character and develop creative individuals that are community-oriented and produce social change by using their talents. FRANCESCA HARPER
Pictured top to bottom: Nona Hendryx, Francesca Harper, Reggie (Regg Roc) Gray, and Helga Davis
Dancer, choreographer, and multi-disciplinary artist Francesca Harper is the founder and artistic director of not-for-profit performing arts ensemble The Francesca Harper Project (FHP), where she creates groundbreaking dance, music, and theatre works. She choreographed works for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Dance Theater of Harlem, Balé Da Cidade, Richmond Ballet, Ailey II, Hubbard Street II, and Dallas Black Theater. Harper is honored to be working with Nick Cave and Bob Faust at Park Avenue Armory. NONA HENDRYX Revolutionary art-rock, new-wave goddess Nona Hendryx is a vocalist, songwriter, musician, and author. Tackling social issues, love, and politics, Hendryx’s career spans decades of sound and style evolution. A member of the groundbreaking group Labelle; their No.1 worldwide hit Lady Marmalade (Voulez Vous Coucher Avec Moi C’est Soir?). Hendryx came into her own as a solo artist post-Labelle. On her album Mutatis Mutandis, Hendryx lends gravitas to a striking rendition of Billie Holiday’s Strange Fruit with a smoky vocal tessitura somewhere between funk and the stratosphere. She is Ambassador for Artistry in Education for Berklee College and Joe’s Pub’s 1stVanguard Artist in Residency for 2018.
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MAKING THE LET GO PRODUCTION BOB FAUST Special Projects Director for Nick Cave BRIAN REEDER Staging and Associate Movement Director ERIKO IISAKU MARISSA MAISLEN JENNA SACCURATO Dance Captains
Production test for “chase.” Photos by Da Ping Luo.
NICK CAVE Nick Cave is an artist and educator working between the visual and performing arts through a wide range of media inclusive of sculpture, installation, video, sound, and performance. His solo exhibitions have toured globally from the United States through France, Africa, Denmark, Asia, South America, and the Caribbean. Cave also works as a professor at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and received his MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art and his BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute. Two exhibitions related to The Let Go will be presented at Jack Shainman Gallery: Weather or Not in May 2018 and If a Tree Falls in November 2018. Recent exhibitions and projects include: Nick Cave: Feat. (The Frist Center for Visual Arts, 2018); Nick Cave: Until (Mass MoCA, 2017); Nick Cave (Telfair Museums, 2017); Spotted by Nick Cave (artspace 2016); Nick Cave: Here Hear (Cranbrook Art Museum, 2015); Currents 109: Nick Cave (Saint Louis Art Museum, 2014); Nick Cave: Sojourn (Denver Art Museum, 2013); and HEARD•NY in New York’s Grand Central Terminal (2013). FRANCESCA HARPER MOVEMENT DIRECTOR
GARTH MACALEAVEY SOUND DESIGNER
Francesca Harper, a Presidential Scholar in the Arts, is an internationally acclaimed choreographer and Multi-disciplinary artist. She is the recipient of the Louis Vuitton Innovation and Technology Award, a Living History Award, and has been awarded Choreographic Fellowships from The Center for Ballet and the Arts, and Urban Bush Women in 2017. Harper is committed to works rooted in artistic expression, empowerment, and social awareness.
Garth MacAleavey specializes in site-specific sound design and concert amplification. Recent credits include: Michael Gordon’s Acquanetta (Prototype Festival in partnership with Meyer Sound); Brooklyn Youth Chorus’ Silent Voices Series (BAM); Paola Prestini’s Hubble Space Cantata (Ford Amphitheater LA, Kennedy Center, Celebrate Brooklyn); Ted Hearne’s The Source (SF Opera, LA Opera); David Lang’s anatomy theater (LA Opera); The Colorado Project with Glenn Kotche, Jeff Zeigler, and Roomful of Teeth (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Stanford, Da Camera, Kennedy Center); FLEXN (Park Avenue Armory); and David T. Little’s Dog Days (LA Opera, Bielefeld Opera Germany, Fort Worth Opera). MacAleavey is the current acting Technical Director and Chief Audio Engineer at Brooklyn’s National Sawdust
BRIAN H. SCOTT LIGHTING DESIGNER Brian H. Scott, a Lighting Designer based in New York City, recently designed Lost In The Stars for LA Chamber Orchestra. He created lighting for tears become…streams become, Bound to Hurt, and Neck of the Woods with Douglas Gordon, and habitus, the event of a thread, and theatre is a blank page with Ann Hamilton. He designed lighting for Laurie Anderson and Kronos Quartet’s Landfall. As a SITI Company member he designed lighting for Steel Hammer with Bang on a Can All Stars and Chess Match No.5.
MEGHAN M. WILLIAMS Stage Manager HANNAH SARKESIAN Assistant Stage Manager VICTORIA BEK Wardrobe WEDNESDAY DERRICO Production and Company Management Assistant ERIC SEBASTIAN HARRIS Programming Intern THE LET GO FREEDOM BALL MATTHEW PLACEK Creative Consultant FREMONT BLUE EVENTS / AUSTIN FREMONT Event Production SPECIAL THANKS JoAnne Ruggeri and The Ailey School Ryan Baker and Mama Foundation for the Arts ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Lighting & Rigging Equipment by 4Wall Entertainment Track & Rain Curtain by Rose Brand BNW Rigging Inc. The Lighting Syndicate
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NICK CAVE THE LET GO
THE LET GO DJS + DANCERS JUNE 9: ANA MATRONIC Ana Matronic is a light artist, musician, author, DJ, radio & television presenter, and public speaker best known as co-leader of international pop phenomenon Scissor Sisters. She is the host of Disco Devotion on BBC Radio 2 in the United Kingdom. Her book Robot Takeover: 100 Iconic Robots of Myth, Popular Culture, and Real Life was published by Hachette in 2015. She frequently speaks on the subject of robots, artificial intelligence and Transhumanism. JUNE 10: JOHNNY DYNELL Johnny Dynell is a New York City DJ, producer, songwriter, and impresario. His club residencies have included The Mudd Club, Danceteria, Area, BoyBar, Susanne Bartsch parties, The Tunnel, The Roxy, Greenhouse, Le Bain, and Club Cumming. Known for quirky records like the 1983 classic “Jam Hot” and the 1989 Vogue anthem “Elements Of Vogue”, he has collaborated with Malcolm McLaren, Pink Martini, fashion house Max Mara and his nightclub art collective The Jackie Factory. JUNE 14: MARSHALL JEFFERSON Born in Chicago in 1959, Marshall Jefferson is one of the founding fathers of house music as it is known today. He produced seminal house anthems including “Move Your Body”, “7 Ways To Jack”, and “Open Our Eyes.” Jefferson has worked with renowned house DJs, including Frankie Knuckles, Roy Davis Jr., Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley, Felix Da Housecat, and Lil Louis. He is currently touring extensively, continuing to spread his love of music around the world. JUNE 16: JOE CLAUSSELL Joe “Joaquin” Claussell was born in Brooklyn to a Puerto Rican family with deep musical roots. He was first exposed to DJing through his neighborhood’s annual block association events, inspiring him to hit the clubs and begin collecting vinyl at age 15. Claussell continues to run his world renowned music label Sacred Rhythm Music, as well as his community center Cosmic Arts. JUNE 17: JD SAMSON JD Samson is best known as leader of the band MEN and for being one-third of the electronic-feminist-punk band and performance project, Le Tigre. Throughout Samson’s career as a musician, producer, and DJ she has toured the world, produced
songs for Grammy award winning artists, created multi-media artwork, hosted documentary programs for VICE, and engaged in direct support with a wide-range of progressive social and political causes.
DANCE INSTIGATORS Miguel Anaya Nicholas Begun Antuan Byers
JUNE 23: NOISE CANS
Solange Camacho
Noise Cans is a musical experience that is an alluring amalgam of Caribbean influences fused with modern electronic sounds. Drawing inspiration from the Gombey, an iconic symbol of Bermuda born of resistance to authority, Noise Cans expresses a contemporary embodiment of this rich folkloric tradition. On stage, Noise Cans appears in modern interpretations of Gombey masks flanked by vibrant dancers in intricate masquerade costumes. In this, he pays homage to the spirit of the historical Gombey while also celebrating cutting edge art, music, and unequivocal rebellion.
Emory Campbell Evan Fisk Mistral Hay Tori Hey Eriko Iisaku Mathis Joubert Sam Kaltenthaler Ginger Kearns Marissa Maislen
JUNE 24: SABINE BLAIZIN
Shaina McGregor
DJ Sabine Blaizin’s work focuses on the exposure and pleasures of African diasporic music. Her creative projects include Brooklyn Mecca, Cumbancha, and Oyasound, and she is a resident DJ for Fania Records’ Fania Collective. She has toured nationally and internationally, sits on several panel discussions, and curates showcases such as “Lakay Se Lakay: Home Is Home”, a Haitian electronic artists conversation series and party.
Chelsey Ng Aarron Ricks Jenna Saccurato Gage Self Tim Stickney Neil Totton Isabel Umali
JUNE 30: SAMMY JO
Tina Wang
Sammy Jo began his career in 1998 at the groundbreaking nightclub MOTHER. He has held various residencies at infamous NYC venues such as The Cock, The Slide, and Mr. Black. In 2004 Sammy Jo was invited to be the tour DJ for Scissor Sisters. He has spent the last ten years DJing globally, both on tour with Scissor Sisters as well as club gigs on his own. He currently has several residencies in NYC.
Maleek Washington
JULY 1: TEDD PATTERSON Tedd Patterson’s distinctive sound has been resonating in clubs across the world, and influencing dance music for decades. In addition to regular gigs in NYC – Output, Flash Factory, House Of Yes, Analog, Cielo, and Le Bain, to name a few – Patterson also plays his signature blend of Deep House, Techno, Disco, and AfroTech in clubs around the globe in cities such as in Berlin, Ibiza, London, Montreal, Moscow, and Tokyo.
Marcus Williams Stephanie Rae Williams
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UP RIGHT ARTISTS MUSICIANS
CAST
VY HIGGINSEN’S SING HARLEM CHOIR
CHOIR
PRACTICIONERS
Vy Higginsen’s Sing Harlem Choir is a celebrated group of performers elevated from the Mama Foundation for the Arts’ Music School of Gospel, Jazz and R&B. This award winning and nationally recognized choir has accompanied many of today’s pop icons including Ariana Grande, Chance the Rapper, Pharrell Williams, Alessia Cara, SZA, and Madonna. Recent television performances: The Grammy Awards, SNL, First Look, Nickelodeon Halo Awards, Wonderama, The View, and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Nova Bodo
Miguel Anaya
Mekhi Bratton
Jacopo Calvo
G’Nelle Clarke
Solange Camacho
Alexia Diaz
Emory Campbell
Chayse Dixon
Donna Costello
Austin Eaton
Tori Hey
Starr Farrell
Eriko Iisaku
Nakai Fox
Ginger Kearns
Chalange Francois
Shaina McGregor
Cheriese Gissentanner
Stuart Meyers
Marlon Gordon
Chelsey Ng
Tywla Hopkins
Amauris Ortega
Adonia Hosier
Jeff Robinson
Faith Howard
Neil Totton
Amra Jean
Tina Wang
VY HIGGINSEN Vy Higginsen has garnered an excellent reputation and received many awards for providing products and services to African-American audiences. She co-wrote, produced and directed the classic black Gospel musical Mama, I Want To Sing!, which ran for eight years at the OffBroadway Heckscher Theater in East Harlem. Higginsen continues to write and produce original work as the executive director of the award-winning Mama Foundation for the Arts in Harlem, New York. AHMAYA KNOELLE HIGGINSON Ahmaya Knoelle Higginson is an international stage performer and serves as executive program director and musical instructor at the Mama Foundation for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit located in central Harlem. In 2006, she co-founded the acclaimed Gospel for Teens music education program from which the “Sing Harlem Choir” is elevated. As an enthusiastic New York Harlem resident, Higginson continues to serve her community through teaching music to the next generations. DARRELL NICKENS Darrell Nickens, born and raised in New York City, is a well versed keyboard player, pianist, organist and anything else that has black and white keys. Darrell has been playing and directing in churches and bands most of his life in and around the New York area, and abroad in countries including China, Japan & Europe. Comfortable in all types of music, be it Gospel, Rock, Jazz, Reggae, Calypso, Latin and Alternative, Darrell has served as score writer and music director for Creative Stages Entertainment since 1999. JORELL WILLIAMS Top Prize winner of the 2018 Rochester Classica Idol XII, Jorell Williams is an American operatic baritone with a wide variety of experience from standard repertoire to premiere pieces. In the 2017-2018 season, Mr. Williams returns to the Caramoor International Music Festival as Nardo in a remount of On-Site Opera’s production of Mozart’s La finta giardiniera, Dr. Falke in Finger Lakes Opera’s production of Die Fledermaus, and will make his role and company debut as Le Genie Oroès in the American premiere of Rameau’s Sympathie (or Acante et Céphise) with Victory Hall Opera. Williams has also had the honor to perform with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in “A Celebration of America” at the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater on the occasion of the first Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama.
Elijah Lewis Regan Malloy
INITIATES
Joseph Mcbain
Nicholas Begun
Noelle McCre
Teige Bisnought
Dante McNeal
Elliott Blaize
Kamal Morales
Antuan Byers
Mercedes Ortiz
Evan Fisk
Marcus Pitt
Charles Grant
Julian Queen
Mathis Joubert
Kiara Ray
Sam Kaltenthaler
Michael Reid
Aarron Ricks
Brittany Richardson
Jeff Robinson
Capricia Richardson
Gage Self
Kareda Robinson
Tim Stickney
Kayandra Rodriguez
Neil Totton
Chloe Thompson
Jorell Williams
Jada Young
Marcus Williams
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NICK CAVE THE LET GO
ABOUT THE ARMORY Part American palace, part industrial shed, Park Avenue Armory is dedicated to supporting unconventional works in the visual and performing arts that need non-traditional spaces for their full realization, enabling artists to create, students to explore, and audiences to consume epic and adventurous presentations that cannot be mounted elsewhere in New York City. Since its first production in September 2007, the Armory has organized and commissioned immersive performances, installations, and cross-disciplinary collaborations by visionary artists, directors, and impresarios in its vast Wade Thompson Drill Hall that defy traditional categorization and push the boundaries of their practice. In its historic period rooms, the Armory presents small-scale performances and programs, including its acclaimed Recital Series in the intimate salon setting of the Board of Officers Room; the Artists Studio series in the newly restored Veterans Room; and Interrogations of Form, a series of conversations which featured artists, scholars, activists, and cultural trailblazers encouraging us to think beyond conventional interpretations of and perspectives on art. The Armory also offers robust arts education programs at no cost to students from underserved New York City public schools, engaging them with the institution’s artistic programming and the building’s history and architecture. Built between 1877 and 1881, Park Avenue Armory has been hailed as containing “the single most important collection of nineteenth century interiors to survive intact in one building” by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. The 55,000-square-foot Wade Thompson Drill Hall, with an 80-foot-high barrel vaulted roof, is one of the largest unobstructed spaces in New York City. The Armory’s magnificent reception rooms were designed by leaders of the American Aesthetic Movement, among them Louis Comfort Tiffany, Stanford White, Candace Wheeler, and Herter Brothers. The building is currently undergoing a $215-million renovation designed by Herzog & de Meuron and Platt Byard Dovell White Architects as Executive Architects.
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Samantha Cortez, Production Coordinator
Michael Lonergan, Producing Director
Leandro Dasso, Porter
Wayne Lowery, Director of External Operations
Khemraj Dat, Accountant
Claire Marberg, Production Manager
Jordana De La Cruz, Program Manager
Lars Nelson, Technical Director
Mayra DeLeon, Porter
Lori Nelson, Executive Assistant to the President
Sam DeRubeis, Building Engineer
Timothy Nim, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer
Nathalie Etienne, Administrative Assistant, President’s Office
Aarti Ogirala, Associate Director of Education Isabel Orbon, Associate Director of Major Gifts
Jonatan Amaya, Adjani Reed, House Managers
Rafael Flores, Associate Director of Corporate Relations
Jeff Payne, General Manager
Terrelle Jones, Assistant House Manager
Melanie Forman, Chief Development Officer
Drew Petersen, Education Special Projects Manager
Alexander Frenkel, Controller
Anna Pillow, Office Manager
Lissa Frenkel, Managing Director
Charmaine Portis, Executive Assistant to the Chief Development Officer
David Burnhauser, Collection Manager
Monica Weigel McCarthy, Director of Education
Olga Cruz, Mario Esquilin, Carlos Goris, Victor Lora, Josthen Noboa, Candice Rushin, Antonio Sanders, Porters Kara Kaufman, Erik Olson, Box Office Managers
11
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
ARTISTIC COUNCIL
Elihu Rose, PhD., Co-Chairman
Co-Chairs
Adam R. Flatto, Co-Chairman
Noreen Buckfire
Rebecca Robertson, President
Michael Field Caryn Schacht and David Fox
Marina Abramovic´
Heidi and Tom McWilliams
Harrison M. Bains Wendy Belzberg
Benigno Aguilar and Gerald Erickson
Emma Bloomberg
Wendy Belzberg and Strauss Zelnick
Martin Brand
Sonja and Martin J. Brand
Cora Cahan
Elizabeth Coleman
Hélène Comfort
Hélène and Stuyvesant Comfort
Paul Cronson
Mary Cronson
Tina R. Davis
Emme and Jonathan Deland
Emme Levin Deland
Leslie and Thomas DeRosa
Thomas J. DeRosa
Krystyna Doerfler
Sanford B. Ehrenkranz
Lisa and Sanford B. Ehrenkranz
David Fox
Adam R. Flatto
Marjorie L. Hart
Janet Halvorson
Edward G. Klein, Major General NYNG (Ret.)
Anita K. Hersh
Ken Kuchin
Wendy Keys
Mary T. Kush
Ken Kuchin and Tyler Morgan
Pablo Legorreta
Mary T. Kush
Ralph Lemon
Almudena and Pablo Legorreta
Heidi McWilliams
Christina and Alan MacDonald
David S. Moross
Janet and David P. Nolan
Gwendolyn Adams Norton
Gwen and Peter Norton
Joel Press
Lily O’Boyle
Genie H. Rice
Sanford L. Smith
Amanda J.T. Riegel
Slobodan Randjelovic´ and Jon Stryker
Janet C. Ross
Michael D. Rhea
Joan Steinberg
Richard and Amanda J.T. Riegel
Emanuel Stern
Susan and Elihu Rose
Mimi Klein Sternlicht
Janet C. Ross
Angela E. Thompson
Brian S. Snyder
Deborah C. van Eck
Joan and Michael Steinberg Liz and Emanuel Stern
Founding Chairman, 2000-2009
Mimi Klein Sternlicht
Wade F.B. Thompson
Deborah C. van Eck Robert Vila and Diana Barrett Mary Wallach
COMING UP THE DAMNED July 17-28 Tony Award-winning director IVO VAN HOVE unleashes his visionary creativity with the prestigious COMÉDIE-FRANÇAISE for the North American premiere of his adaptation of Luchino Visconti’s desperately dark drama The Damned.
THE SIX BRANDENBURG CONCERTOS October 1–7 Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker explores the movement and transcendental dimension found in J.S. Bach’s iconic masterpiece in North American premiere of an evening length work featuring her company ROSAS and the baroque ensemble B’ROCK, who perform the concertos live under the baton of AMANDINE BEYER in their North American debut.
THE HEAD AND THE LOAD December 4–15 Renowned artist WILLIAM KENTRIDGE conjures his grandest and most ambitious production to date in a new Armory commission, a processional musical journey that melds inventive music with film projections and shadow play to create a landscape that upends standard notions of scale.
12
NICK CAVE THE LET GO
SUPPORTERS Park Avenue Armory expresses its deep appreciation to the individuals and organizations listed here for their generous support for its annual and capital campaigns. $1,000,000 + Charina Endowment Fund Citi Empire State Local Development Corporation Richard and Ronay Menschel New York City Council and Council Member Daniel R. Garodnick New York City Department of Cultural Affairs The Pershing Square Foundation Susan and Elihu Rose The Arthur Ross Foundation and J & AR Foundation Joan and Joel Smilow The Thompson Family Foundation Wade F.B. Thompson* The Zelnick/Belzberg Charitable Trust Anonymous $500,000 to $999,999 Bloomberg Philanthropies Lisa and Sanford B. Ehrenkranz Marina Kellen French Almudena and Pablo Legorreta The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Assemblymember Dan Quart and the New York State Assembly Adam R. Rose and Peter R. McQuillan Donna and Marvin Schwartz Liz and Emanuel Stern $250,000 to $499,999 American Express Michael Field Adam R. Flatto Olivia Tournay Flatto Ken Kuchin and Tyler Morgan The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation Marshall Rose Family Foundation $100,000 to $249,999 The Achelis and Bodman Foundations R. Mark and Wendy Adams Linda and Earle Altman Booth Ferris Foundation Sonja and Martin J. Brand Hélène and Stuyvesant Comfort Emme and Jonathan Deland Leslie and Thomas DeRosa Howard Gilman Foundation Marjorie and Gurnee Hart Daniel Clay Houghton Anna Maria & Stephen Kellen Foundation, Inc.
Kirkland & Ellis LLP Mary T. Kush Mr. and Mrs. Peter L. Malkin and The Malkin Fund, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Lester S. Morse, Jr. National Endowment for the Arts New York State Assembly Gwen and Peter Norton Rebecca Robertson and Byron Knief Daniel and Joanna S. Rose Janet C. Ross Caryn Schacht and David Fox Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust Joan and Michael Steinberg M K Reichert Sternlicht Foundation Mr. William C. Tomson Deborah C. van Eck The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts $25,000 to $99,999 Art Dealers Association of America AECOM Tishman Benigno Aguilar and Gerald Erickson The Avenue Association Harrison and Leslie Bains Emma Bloomberg Janna Bullock The Cowles Charitable Trust Caroline and Paul Cronson James and Gina de Givenchy The Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Foundation Andrew L. Farkas, Island Capital Group & C-III Capital Partners Elizabeth Morse Genius Foundation Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Deborah and Allen Grubman Anita K. Hersh Josefin and Paul Hilal Rachel and Mike Jacobellis The Emily Davie and Joseph S. Kornfeld Foundation Christina and Alan MacDonald Christine & Richard Mack Marc Haas Foundation New York State Council on the Arts Frank and Elizabeth Newman Stavros Niarchos Foundation David P. Nolan Foundation Donald Pels Charitable Trust Slobodan Randjelovic´ and Jon Stryker The Reed Foundation Michael D. Rhea Rhodebeck Charitable Trust Genie and Donald Rice Amanda J.T. and Richard E. Riegel The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation Nicholas and Shelley Schorsch The Shubert Foundation Sydney and Stanley S. Shuman Amy and Jeffrey Silverman
Peter and Jaar-mel Sloane / Heckscher Foundation Sanford L. Smith Howard & Sarah D. Solomon Foundation Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia Sharzad and Michael Targoff TEFAF NY Anonymous (3) $10,000 to $24,999 Jamie Alter and Michael Lynton Abigail Baratta Helaine and Victor Barnett Ginette Becker Noreen and Ken Buckfire Marco Cafuzzi Eileen Campbell and Struan Robertson Elizabeth Coleman Joyce B. Cowin Mary Cronson / Evelyn Sharp Foundation Cultural Services of the French Embassy Jennie L. and Richard K. DeScherer Krystyna Doerfler Jeanne Donovan Fisher William F. Draper Peggy and Millard Drexler Ehrenkranz & Ehrenkranz LLP Andra and John Ehrenkranz Florence Fearrington Lorraine Gallard and Richard H. Levy Barbara and Peter Georgescu The Georgetown Company Kiendl and John Gordon Jeff and Kim Greenberg Janet Halvorson Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Hite Jack Shainman Gallery Kaplen Brothers Fund Jennie Kassanoff and Dan Schulman Randy Kemper and Tony Ingrao Suzie and Bruce Kovner Leonard and Judy Lauder Fund Lavazza Chad A. Leat Leon Levy Foundation Aaron Lieber and Bruce Horten George S. Loening Andrea Markezin Press and Joel Press Cynthia Woods Mitchell Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation Patty Newburger and Bradley Wechsler Lily O’Boyle PBDW Architects Joan and Joel I. Picket Noel Pittman Kimberly and Scott Resnick Roberto Cavalli Mary Jane Robertson and Jock Clark Deborah and Chuck Royce Fiona and Eric Rudin May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, Inc.
Susan Rudin Mr. and Mrs. William Sandholm Susan and Charles Sawyers Stacy Schiff and Marc de la Bruyère Dr. and Mrs. Thomas P. Sculco Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP Brian S. Snyder Jennifer and Jonathan Allen Soros Sotheby’s Dr. and Mrs. Eugene E. Stark, Jr. Michael and Veronica Stubbs Mr. and Mrs. Dave Thomas Tishman Speyer Properties, LP Barbara and Donald Tober Jane and Robert Toll Christopher Tsai and André Stockamp / Tsai Capital Corporation Michael Tuch Foundation Robert Vila and Diana Barrett Mary Wallach David Wassong and Cynthia Clift Diana Wege WME Anonymous (2) $5,000 to $9,999 Jody and John Arnhold Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation Tony Bechara Debra and Leon Black Leslie Bluhm and David Helfand Nicholas Brawer Catherine and Robert Brawer Amanda M. Burden Marian and Russell Burke Canard, Inc. CBRE Anna Chapman and Ronald Perelman Betsy Cohn Diana Davenport and John Bernstein Mary Ellen G. Dundon Eagle Capital Management, L.L.C. David and Frances Eberhart Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Israel Englander Dr. Nancy Eppler-Wolff and Mr. John Wolff EverGreene Architectural Arts The Felicia Fund Fisher Marantz Stone, Inc. Ella M. Foshay and Michael B. Rothfeld Mr. and Mrs. Stephen and Amandine Freidheim Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP Bart Friedman and Wendy A. Stein Teri Friedman and Babak Yaghmaie Inger McCabe Elliott Sarah Jane and Trevor Gibbons Debbi Gibbs Sarah Gould and David Steinhardt Agnes Gund Molly Butler Hart and Michael D. Griffin Daisy Hook Ionian Management
Sonny and Michelle Kalsi Adrienne Katz Erin and Alex Klatskin Mr. and Mrs. Fernand Lamesch Lazard Gail and Alan Levenstein Phyllis Levin Lili Lynton and Michael Ryan The Honorable and Mrs. Earle I Mack Diane and Adam E. Max Rick and Dee Mayberry Renee and David McKee Joyce F. Menschel Sergio and Malu Millerman Claire Milonas Christine Moog and Benoit Helluy Sue Morris Beth and Joshua Nash Mr. and Mrs. Michael Newhouse Nancy and Morris W. Offit Liz and Jeff Peek Gabriela Peréz Rocchiette Susan Porter Anne and Skip Pratt Preserve New York, a grant program of Preservation League of New York Katharine and William Rayner David Remnick and Esther Fein Richenthal Foundation Ida and William Rosenthal Foundation Chuck and Stacy Rosenzweig Valerie Rubsamen and Cedomir Crnkovic H. Onno and Renée Ruding Sana H. Sabbagh Bonnie J. Sacerdote Mr. and Mrs. Mortimer Sackler Nancy Josephson Sanitsky Claude Shaw and Lara Meiland-Shaw Lea Simonds Patricia Brown Specter Debbie and Jeffrey Stevenson Elizabeth Stribling and Guy Robinson The Jay and Kelly Sugarman Foundation Bill and Ellen Taubman The Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts Merryl H. and James S. Tisch Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Ulrich Jan and Cynthia van Eck Andrew E. Vogel and Véronique Mazard Anastasia Vournas and J. William Uhrig Isak and Rose Weinman Foundation, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Weingarten Michael Weinstein and Millen Magese Lynne Wheat David Wolf and Lisa Bjornson Wolf Cynthia Young and George Eberstadt Richard and Franny Heller Zorn Zubatkin Owner Representation, LLC Anonymous (2) $2,500 to $4,999 Debra Abell
13
Cristiana Andrews Cohen and David Cohen Vanessa Ana Barboni Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Berger Stephen Berger Mr. and Mrs. Robert Birnbaum Claudia and George Bitar Hana and Michael Bitton Allison M. Blinken Mr. and Mrs. Mark Bloom John Bonanno / Phoenix Interior Contracting Marc Brodherson and Sarah Ryan Stacey Bronfman Amy and Kevin Brown Veronica Bulgari and Stephan Haimo Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Carter Cartier S.A. Emy Cohenca Margaret Conklin Ellie and Edgar Cullman The Cultivist Joshua Dachs / Fisher Dachs Associates Theatre Planning and Design Joan K. Davidson (The J.M. Kaplan Fund) Virginia Davies and Willard Taylor Jacqueline Didier and Noah Schienfeld Ms. Elizabeth Diller and Mr. Richard Scofidio Francesca and Michael Donner Christopher A. Duda Karen Eckhoff Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Martin and Rebecca Eisenberg Foundation First Republic Bank Edmée and Nicholas Firth Laura Fisher Sylvia Golden Elizabeth and David Granville-Smith Great Performances Mr. and Mrs. George Grunebaum Susan Gutfreund John Hargraves Harkness Foundation for Dance Daisy Helman Stephanie and Stephen Hessler Robert Jaffe and Natasha Silver Bell Mr. and Mrs. Morton Janklow Hon. Bruce M. Kaplan and Janet Yaseen Kaplan Herbert Kasper Richard Katzman Diana King / The Charles & Lucille King Family Foundation Phyllis L. Kossoff Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Krevlin Justin Kush The Ronald and Jo Carole Lauder Foundation Kamie and Richard Lightburn Lisson Gallery Jane K. Lombard Liz Lubnina and Tom Sternfeldt Billy and Julie Macklowe Judith and Michael Margulies Angela Mariani
James C. Marlas and Marie Nugent-Head Marlas Nina B. Matis Constance and H. Roemer McPhee Mr. and Mrs. Prakash Melwani Mr. and Mrs. William Michaelcheck Sally Minard and Norton Garfinkle Allen Model and Dr. Roberta Gausas Mr. and Mrs. Robert Morse Mr. and Mrs. Saleem Muqaddam Mary Kathryn Navab Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Newhouse Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Numeroff Kathleen O’Grady Simon Oren David Orentreich, MD / Orentreich Family Foundation Peter and Beverly Orthwein Mario Palumbo Mindy Papp Madison J Papp Marnie Pillsbury Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon B. Polsky Tracey and Robert Pruzan Richard Reiss Diana and Charles Revson Heidi Rieger Jonathan F.P. and Diana Rose Aby and Samantha Rosen Susan and Jon Rotenstreich Jane Fearer Safer Dr. and Ms. Nathan Saint-Amand Paul H. Scarbrough / Akustiks, LLC. Mr. and Mrs. Wilfred N. Schlumberger Caroline Schmidt-Barnett Victoria Schorsch Mr. and Mrs. Joe Schueller Sara Lee and Axel Schupf Lise Scott and D. Ronald Daniel Uma Seshamani and Jason van Itallie Jonathan Sheffer Lee Shull and Arthur Pober Stephanie and Fred Shuman Alan and Sandy Siegel Gillian Hearst Shaw Laura Skoler Margaret Smith Sara Solomon Mr. and Mrs. David Sonenberg Sonnier & Castle Daisy M. Soros Gayfryd Steinberg and Michael Shnayerson Doug Steiner Leila Maw Straus Tom Strauss Dorothy Strelsin Foundation / Enid Nemy Elizabeth F. Stribling and Guy Robinson L.F. Turner John Usdan Peter Van Ingen and Alexandra Oelsner Ambassador and Mrs. William J. vanden Heuvel Susan and Kevin Walsh
David Reed Weinreb Jacqueline Weld Drake Katherine Wenning and Michael Dennis Gary Wexler Kate R. Whitney and Franklin A. Thomas Brian and Jane Williams Maria Wirth Mr. and Mrs. Glen Wood Amy Yenkin and Robert Usdan Judy Francis Zankel Anonymous (5) $1,000 to $2,499 Marina Abramovic´ Catherine Adler Mr. and Mrs. John Argenti David and Alatia Bach Rebecca Lynn Bagdonas Femenella & Associates Peter Bails Laura Zambelli Barket Norton Belknap Dale and Max Berger Elaine S. Bernstein Katherine Birch Bluestem Prairie Foundation Dr. Suzy and Mr. Lincoln Boehm Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon Bonovitz Mr. and Mrs. Livio Borghese Mr. and Mrs. Michael Bradley Mr. and Mrs. Louis Brause Diane Britz Lotti Mr. and Mrs. Cliff Brokaw Gabriela Bronfman Matthew Bronfman Spencer Brownstone Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert Butler Cora Cahan and Bernard Gersten Sommer Chatwin Shirin and Kasper Christoffersen Bradley A. Connor Alexander Cooper Jessica and David Cosloy Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Crisses Austen and Ernesto Cruz Boykin Curry Lynn Dale and Frank Wisneski Mr. and Mrs. Charles Daniels Suzanne Dawson Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Debs Jeffrey Deitch Luis y Cora Delgado Diana Diamond and John Alschuler Mr. and Mrs. John Dunn Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Elghanayan Jacqueline Elias Yevgeniya Elkus Leland and Jane Englebardt Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Erb Jared Feldman / Anchin Private Client Mr. and Mrs. Alessandro Fendi Mr. and Mrs. Brian Fisher
Candia Fisher Megan Flanigan Paul and Jody Fleming The Fribourg Family Scott Fulmer and Susan Kittenplan Fulmer Shawna Cooper Gallancy Julie Geden Mr. and Mrs. Scott Gerber Alberta Gerschel and Peter Wasserman Mr. and Mrs. David Getz Mark Gimbel Kathleen and David Glaymon Nina Gorrissen von Maltzahn Marieline Grinda and Ahmad Deek Kathleen and Harvey Guion Cheryl Haines Raymond Hannigan Herrick Feinstein LLP William T. Hillman Hodgson Russ LLP Caroline Eve Hoffman Christopher and Hilda Jones Jeanne Kanders Drs. Sylvia and Byram Karasu Margot Kenly & Bill Cumming Cynthia and Stephen Ketchum Major General Edward G. Klein, NYNG (Ret.) Mr. and Mrs. Chris Kojima Kate Krauss Polly and Frank Lagemann Lagunitas Brewing Co. Nanette L. Laitman Gregg Lambert (co-founder), Perpetual Peace Project, CNY Humanities Co Barbara Landau Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon Landau Judith Langer Mark and Taryn Leavitt Julia Ledda Ralph Lemon David and Alexia Leuschen Brenda Levin Ms. and Mrs. Paul Lowerre Donna and Wayne Lowery Henry Luce Foundation John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Alexander Maldutis and Reena Russell Nasr Christophe W. Mao Bonnie Maslin Match 65 Brasserie Melissa Meeschaert The Meyer Family Laurent Mialhe Lauren Michalchyshyn Nicole Miller and Kim Taipale Sandra Earl Mintz Adriana and Robert Mnuchin Valerie Mnuchin Whitney and Andrew Mogavero Mr. and Mrs. Pierre Mordacq Cindy and David Moross
Mr. and Mrs. Mark Newhouse Robert Ouimette and Lee Hirsch Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Parker Mr. and Mrs. Lee Parks Mr. and Mrs. Brian Pfeifler Mr. and Ms. Robert Pittman Mrs. and Mr. Geri Pollack Michael F. Poppo Laura Poretzky-Garcia Prime Parking Systems Eileen and Tom Pulling Martin and Anna Rabinowitz Mr. and Ms. John Rice Mr. and Mrs. David Rogath Alexandra Lind Rose Marjorie P. Rosenthal RoundTable Cultural Seminars Whitney Rouse Elizabeth Sarnoff and Andrew Cohen Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Satnick Pat Schoenfeld Kimberly Kravis and Jonathan Schulhof Marshall Sebring and Pepper Binkley Kimia Setoodeh Nadine Shaoul and Mark Schonberger Mr. and Mrs. Michael Shuman Neil Simpkins and Miyoung Lee Salwa J. Aboud Smith and Robert P. Smith Mary Elizabeth Snow Ted Snowdon Squadron A Foundation Mark Stamford Colleen Stenzler Allen Stevens Tricia Stevenson Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Summers Summit Security Services, Inc. Lee Wyndham Tardivel Jeffrey Alan Teach Vincent Teti Jennifer Tipton Amelia & Steven Usdan Mr. and Mrs. Christophe Van de Weghe Joseph Vance Architects Dionysios Vlachos Mr. and Mrs. John Vogelstein Teri and Barry Volpert Mr. and Mrs. Alexander von Perfall Vranken Pommery America Annell Wald and Ivor Cummings Walter B. Melvin Architects, LLC Caroline Wamsler and DeWayne Phillips Lauren and Andrew Weisenfeld Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Williams Mr. and Mrs. Steven Wisch Lisa Wolfe Jon and Reva Wurtzburger Meghan and Michael Young Mr. and Mrs. Alexis Zoullas Anonymous (4) List as of April 30, 2018 * Deceased
14
NICK CAVE THE LET GO
A HOUSE MUSIC moment, celebrating ART, DANCE + the power of collective COMMUNITY. Feat. MARSHALL JEFFERSON Dress up and let go in “CHASE,” Nick Cave’s monumental kinetic installation. THURSDAY 6.14.18 PARK AVENUE ARMORY 7PM-12AM DRESS TO EXPRESS C O M P ETITI O N AT 11P M
Speak your passion through fashion.
$20,000
PRIZE PURSE
Top look per category wins $5,000. Top look overall receives an additional $5,000! C ATE G O R I E S
1. 2. 3.
STATE O F TH E W O R L D Express your views through your body politic
U N L I K E A NY TH I N G E LS E Celebrate your beautiful difference and gorgeous self
D A R E-F L A I R Push your limits—werk the floor
H O STE
D BY A P P A RM AT T H E W P S A A D A AT U S S T U D I L A C E K , O, L OF O P E N I E V E R Y D A Y PA D Y F A G , NG EO + V I S I C E R E M O NY P L E, ONAIR SPECIA E L G U E ST
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UDGES NICK C MICK AVE R A C Q U A L E N E T H O, MAS, EL CH E + M O RV R E M O N T, E
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THE LET GO DJs
DJ LIAISON
ANA MATRONIC
JOHNNY DYNELL
MARSHALL JEFFERSON
JOE CLAUSSELL
JD SAMSON
NOISE CANS
SABINE BLAIZIN
SAMMY JO
TEDD PATTERSON
AMAURIS ORTEGA
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KIARA RAY
NONA HENDRYX
NOELLE MCCRE MEKHI BRATTON
MARLON GORDON
ALI
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FRANCESCA
HARPER
ELIJAH LEWIS
BRITTANY RICHARDSON
REGAN MALLOY
REGGIE
(REGG ROC)
GRAY
KAYANDRA RODRIGUEZ
HELGA
DAVI S
NICK CAVE THE LET GO
SPECIAL PULL-OUT SECTION
NICK CAVE THE LET GO #PAALETGO
LETting GO This semester, the Youth Corps — a group of New York City public high school students completing paid internships, who work with Armory artists and create artwork themselves — explored Nick Cave’s The Let Go through dance, movement, and oral history projects within their communities. Inspired by their experience with Nick Cave, they’ve created this list of ways to encourage others to let go in their own lives. REMEMBER TO BREATHE GO FOR A SWIM
WINDOW SHOP
LISTEN TO MUSIC AND ZONE OUT
DYE YOUR HAIR
HUG SOMEONE
HAVE A GOOD CRY
GET YOUR EYEBROWS DONE
PLAY VIDEO GAMES
PLAY WITH YOUR PET
TAKE A SHOWER
SLAM THE DOOR
GO TO THE GYM AND PUMP SOME IRON
WRAP YOURSELF IN A BLANKET
VISIT SOMEWHERE NEW
VOTE
2. Cut out this stencil and position it on your shirt.
GET A HAIRCUT
SPEND TIME WITH YOUR FRIENDS
TAKE A BUBBLE BATH
GET SOME QUALITY SLEEP
WATCH A REALLY GOOD MOVIE
VOLUNTEER
WATCH A REALLY BAD MOVIE
SPEND SOME TIME ALONE GO TO A PARK
HAVE A RACE WITH SOMEONE
LISTEN TO WHITE NOISE OR OCEAN WAVE SOUNDS
DO SOME YOGA
ROLL AROUND ON THE GROUND
HAVE A SLEEPOVER
TELL A RANDOM STRANGER TO HAVE A GOOD DAY
MAKE SOME ART
PROTEST DRINK A GLASS OF WATER
GET SOME CHORES DONE
3. Spray or brush with fabric paints. Or get super creative with fabric glitter or other embellishments!
POP BUBBLE WRAP
LAUGH (EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO FORCE IT)
EAT SOMETHING
1.
LIGHT A CANDLE
LOOK AT MEMES
SCREAM
TLG-DIY T-Shirt Choose a t-shirt to embellish.
DANCE IN THE RAIN
READ A BOOK
SPECIAL PULL-OUT SECTION
SPLASH COLD WATER ON YOUR FACE
PRETEND TO BE A SUPERHERO
TALK TO A FAMILY MEMBER
TALK TO YOURSELF IN THE MIRROR
WRITE DOWN ALL YOUR STRESSES ON PAPER, CRUMPLE IT UP, THROW IT OUT
V O I L A
GO UP ON A ROOF
Offered at no cost to underserved New York City public schools, the Armory’s arts education program exposes students to the work and creative process of world-class artists. Over 800 students will be letting go with Nick Cave this June – either through a student matinee of an Up Right performance, or through experiencing the piece as an installation. In addition to the student matinee, the Armory’s Youth Advisory Board is planning a free teen event open to all New York City high school students to “let go” of the school year through a dance party, art making activities, and peer led conversation. Students at three of the Armory’s partner schools have explored the themes and artistry of The Let Go all semester long: creating their own installation featuring hand crafted neon signs that are symbols of students’ self-expression; designing a mixed media experience illustrating their own cultural heritage and family histories; and connecting their studies of the Civil Rights movement with how art can move us forward though spoken word and visual art. Members of the Youth Corps internship program met with Cave to discuss the artistry, creative process, and ideas for the project, and spent the spring exploring oral histories and physical expression through these lenses. They interviewed members of their communities about the themes of his work, showcasing their subjects’ views—and the Youth Corps’ own reflections—in video format. They also created a movement-based language for physical expression to be used by students visiting the installation, to guide and inspire them to “let go.”
SPECIAL PU LL-OUT SECTION
NICK CAVE THE LET GO #PAALETGO
THE LET GO Line Dance
STE P 1: G ROU N D DOWN
Left 2, 3, Clap ... Right 2, 3, Clap ... Front 2, 3 Clap
“Back in the day the club was my safe place— and losing myself on the dance floor has always kept me centered.” — NICK CAVE
Pivot, Swoop, 3, Clap
Choreographed by FRANCESCA HARPER specifically for Nick Cave’s The Let Go.
Right and Left 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
STE P 5: E R I KO
STE P 6: R E PEAT R U NWAY WALK
STE P 2: WI G G LE
Up 2, 3, 4 ... Down 2, 3, 4 ... Up, 2, 3, 4
STE P 7: B U M P
Left and Right 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 STE P 9: R E PEAT R U NWAY WALK
STE P 10: R E PEAT CLAP (DOU B LE TI M E)
STE P 11: R E PEAT R U NWAY WALK
For more, check out the video at: ARMORYONPARK.ORG/LINEDANCE
STE P 3: R U NWAY WALK
STE P 4: J E N NA
Right and Left 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
STE P 8: N ICK CAVE “LET IT GO”
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Clap (double time) 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8