BEHIND THE PERFORMANCE

As audience members, we often take a seat before a finished product: a play, a concert, a dance performance. Works & Process, an independent commissioning arts organization that hosts programming in both the rotunda and theater at the Guggenheim Museum, does more for their artists and audiences. They aim to support the former from studio to stage, and let the latter bask in it all. Further, Executive Director Duke Dang strives to platform the virtuosity that exists all around us—whether that’s beatboxers, the ballroom community, ballet dancers or emerging composers. For VICINITY, Dang explains his role, along with the mission of Works & Process and its relationship to the Upper East Side.

Tell us about what makes Works & Process different.

The program was founded by Mary Sharp Cronson, who comes from a quintessential Upper East Side family. The family was always very involved in the arts. Mary was on the board of the Guggenheim and the New York City Ballet. Evelyn Sharp, Mary’s mother, was the chair of Martha Graham. In the 1970s, the Guggenheim had an exhibition of Evelyn Sharp’s art collection, which was auctioned off at Sotheby’s Auction House. In the early ‘80s, the Guggenheim had to cut budgets. They approached Mary and asked if she would underwrite a performing arts program. She said, “absolutely, but I want to make sure that the funds I donate go directly to artists.” She created a non-profit called Works & Process so that she could guarantee it.

What does your programming look like?

When you come to Works & Process, the idea is that you go behind the scenes to get a better understanding of how the work is made. You get to meet the artist. It creates a more robust ecosystem where audiences and patrons are more engaged and know more about what’s happening. We continue to prioritize paying artists and we recognize that the artistic process is where most of the work is done. We, as a society, are so oriented toward product when, in fact, artists spend most of their time engaged in their practice and the process of creation.

A substantial portion of your events take place at the Guggenheim. Can you explain this relationship?

Our curatorial direction is influenced by the building that most of our performances happen in: the Guggenheim. Unlike most buildings, the Guggenheim is round. It’s a circle. It’s a “cypher” [a word that nods to beatboxing and freestyle rap sessions performed in a circle]. We’ve been thinking about what performing art traditions come from a cypher, rather than a proscenium stage. We’ve been thinking about how a circle is symbolic of what we need right now. We don’t need spaces that distance us: artists on stage, audiences in the seat. We need circles, where we are all coming together. The Guggenheim is the perfect shape to support this aspiration.

What is something people might not know about Works & Process or the Guggenheim?

It’s still a secret to so many people that there’s a theater at the Guggenheim— and it’s a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed theater! It’s beautiful. Where can you see world-class performing artists sharing their practice? It’s right here at the Guggenheim.

Can you tell us about your personal story?

I was born in a refugee camp. I grew up on Section 8 vouchers and food stamps in the welfare system. English is a second language for me. As a young intern, I was placed with our founder, Mary. We were people from completely different ends of the spectrum. Mary completely embraced me. She mentored me. Fast forward and I’m now the Executive Director of this organization. The system embraced and supported me and that’s what Works & Process tries to do with artists.