Join us on September 20th! Gates, Borders, Barriers: Julian Louis Phillips and Musicians from The New School

Posted on Thursday, September 8th, 2022

Gates, Borders, Barriers: Julian Louis Phillips and Musicians from The New School 

On Tuesday, September 20th, artist Julian Louis Phillips will be presenting “if they started the rhythm, how do we keep the beat?“—a site-specific performance at Fred Wilson’s Mind Forged Manacles/Manacle Forged Minds. Opening Julian’s performance will be a live instrumental jazz ensemble featuring students from the New School of Performing Arts with Kal Ferretti on trumpet, Jackson Trout on percussion, and Jasper Grigsby-Shulte on upright bass.

The performance is a loosely scripted work that combines speeches from African and Black revolutionaries and the laws and policies that excluded Black people from land and property throughout American history. This performance will take the point of view of someone who is aware of the omnipotent eye of neo-colonialism and who is struggling to escape it. Phillips will recite these passages while moving around the sculpture evoking “ring shouts,” which is a collective transcendent dance performed throughout the African Diaspora.

This event is part of Gates, Borders, Barriers, a series of public programs in connection with Fred Wilson’s year-long installation Mind Forged Manacles/Manacle Forged Minds. This program is presented in partnership with Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, the Dumbo Business Improvement District, DTBK + Dumbo Art Fund, New York State’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative, VIA Art Fund, and Pace Gallery.

Julian Louis Phillips

Image: Julian Louis Phillips; image by Sean Pressley.

Julian Louis Phillips (he/him) is a multidisciplinary artist working with performance, sculpture, video, and participatory practices. He is a graduate of Social Practice Queens at CUNY Queens College. Phillips is interested in socio-psychological dissonance and how it manifests in various forms of popular media. Mythologies around sport, national identity, and the police are where he finds material to explore the phenomenon of cognitive dissonance as a problem of perception. Phillips has been the recipient of the More Art Engaging Artist Fellowship, the Queens Museum Artist in Residency, Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning Artist in Residency Fellowship, and NARS Foundation Residency. He has exhibited and performed throughout the region, including the Southeast Queens Biennial at York College and Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning (JCAL), Jamaica, NY and New York Live Arts, New York, NY.

Musicians from The New School College of Performing Arts: Kal Ferretti, Jasper Grigsby-Schulte, and Jackson Trout

Images clockwise from top left: Kal Ferretti, Jasper Grigsby-Schulte, Jackson Trout.

Kal Ferretti is a jazz trumpet player based in New York City, currently studying at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. She has studied under esteemed faculty such as Bruce Harris, Jimmy Owens, and currently, Alex Norris. She has performed at venues such as Birdland, Dizzy’s Club, and the Bimhuis in Amsterdam during the Keep an Eye collegiate competition. She also appears on the Grace Fox Big Band debut record “Eleven O’ Seven.” She has been part of various honor bands including the JALC Youth Orchestra, New York Youth Symphony, and is an alum of the prestigious LaGuardia High School.

Jasper Grigsby-Schulte is an upright bassist based out of Brooklyn, NY. Originally from Portland Oregon, Jasper moved to New York to pursue a degree in Jazz Performance at The New School, where he is entering his senior year. During his time in New York, Jasper has studied with some of the most notable jazz and improvised music artists involved with the scene today, including Nicole Glover, Reid Anderson, and Or Bareket.

Since 2020, Jasper has performed with notable world-class musicians George Colligan, Matt Wilson, Steve Cardenas, and Rob Scheps, as well as represented The New School at the Berne Jazz festival in Berne, Sweden.

Jackson Trout is from Lancaster PA, currently living in Greenwich Village, New York, and studying performance at The New School. He has studied with teachers Amir Ziv, Kenny Washington, Pablo Rieppi, Jonathan Haas, Greg Gianiscolli, Leigh Howard Stevens, John Riley, and has performed in ensembles under the direction of Cheryl Moore (2011-2012), The Juilliard Pre-College Percussion Ensemble (2013 – 2015), The Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra (2013 – 2015), Bill Cunliffe Combo and Jimmy Greene Combo (SUNY Purchase Jazz intensive Summer 2016), Nicole Glover Improv. Ensemble (The New School Fall 2021 – Spring 2022), Laurence Hobgood Improv. Ensemble (The New School Fall 2021), Gene Perla Improv. Ensemble (The New School Fall 2022), Andy McKee (The New School Charles Mingus Ensemble Fall 2022). Both formally and informally, Trout has been acquainted in the styles of pit percussion, rock and roll, psychedelic rock, classical, contemporary, jazz, funk, RnB, hiphop, fusion, jam band, singer songwriter, and more. He is currently exploring the NYC jazz scene, and working as a freelance musician in New York and Pennsylvania.

Image: Mind Forged Manacles/Manacle Forged Minds, image by Kris Graves.

location.

The sculpture site is located in the plaza inside of Columbus Park, in Downtown Brooklyn, which is situated close to the Borough Hall subway station and near the Kings County Supreme Court. You can enter the plaza from the North at Johnson Street and Cadman Plaza, or from the south at Court St and Montague Street. It is close to where the Brooklyn Borough Hall Greenmarket is held.

Click here for Google Map directions.

By Subway: Take the 4/5 or the 2/3 to Borough Hall, or the A/C/F to Jay St, MetroTech.

By Bus: Take the B38, B41, B25, B52, B26 to Cadman Plaza West/Montague St.

accessibility.

The closest accessible subway station is the 4/5 2/3 Borough Hall Subway Station (Manhattan and Bronx-bound only).

The Jay St-MetroTech Subway Station is also an accessible station, however it is a 7-minute walk away.

The sculpture site and plaza is paved and single-level with bench seating nearby.

Accessible public restrooms are available until 8pm on Tuesday evenings at the Prospect Heights branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, located one block away at 286 Cadman Plaza W, Brooklyn, NY 11201. For hours, visit the BPL website.

Please contact info@moreart.org with any accessibility needs or inquiries.

Join us on August 28th! Gates, Borders, Barriers: Resistance Revival Chorus and Pennants & Poets

Posted on Friday, August 19th, 2022

Gates, Borders, Barriers: Resistance Revival Chorus and Pennants & Poets 

Join us on August 28th from 3-4:30 pm for an afternoon with Resistance Revival Chorus, presented alongside Pennants & Poetsan installation by the artist Jenny Polak featuring spoken word performances by writers from The Fortune Society. The program will be held at the site of Fred Wilson’s Mind Forged Manacles/Manacle Forged Minds in Columbus Park, Downtown Brooklyn.

This afternoon event marks a significant date in the history of freedom as the anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech (1963), the murder of Emmett Till (1955), and the signing of the Slavery Abolition Act (1833) in the UK. The program will explore issues of equality, incarceration, and social and racial justice in a powerful and compelling series of vocal and spoken word performances.

This event is part of “Gates, Borders, Barriers,” a series of public programs in connection with Fred Wilson’s year-long installation Mind Forged Manacles/Manacle Forged Minds. This program is presented in partnership with Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, the Dumbo Business Improvement District, DTBK + Dumbo Art Fund, New York State’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative, VIA Art Fund, and Pace Gallery.

Resistance Revival Chorus

Image: Resistance Revival Chorus; image by Erin Patrice O’Brien.

The Resistance Revival Chorus (RRC) is a collective of more than 60 women and non-binary singers who join together to breathe joy and song into the resistance, and to uplift and center women’s voices. Chorus members are touring musicians, film and television actors, Broadway performers, solo recording artists, gospel singers, political activists, educators, filmmakers, artists, and more, representing a multitude of identities, professions, creative backgrounds, and activist causes. The RRC centers women in music, and addresses how historically marginalized women have been in the music industry.

Pennants & Poets: The Fortune Society with Jenny Polak

Nestor “Panama” Eversley shares his poem with the Pennants as a backdrop on The 6 Foot Platform in DUMBO, Brooklyn on August 21, 2021.

The Fortune Society believes in the power of people to change. The New York City-based nonprofit helps individuals with justice involvement rebuild their lives, through innovative services and advocacy. Organized by artist Jenny Polak in collaboration with writers from The Fortune Society, Pennants & Poets is an installation and spoken word event. The Pennants, printed with poems and messages from people who have been directly impacted by incarceration, were created in collaboration with Writers from Fortune and Hour Children Working Women, as well as currently incarcerated writers, for the Offshore project at Socrates Sculpture Park in 2020. In 2021 Polak began making public art events in which the Writers perform their words with 50 flying pennants as a backdrop. The work has appeared in Dumbo Brooklyn, and PS1-MoMA in Queens where the artist also led a public pennant-making workshop. For this iteration of the installation, community members will share writing made in response to Fred Wilson’s work.

Writers and Readers from The Fortune Society will include:

Helen Taylor

Ryan “Blustone” Bennett

Lionel “Doc da Edutainer” Limage

Hilton N. Webb Jr.

Spiritual Activist Marvin Wade

Becky Jane Dunham

Randy Bryant

Daniel Kelly

Erobos Abzu Lamashtu, OKA, “E”

Felix Guzman

Clemese Jack

Image: Mind Forged Manacles/Manacle Forged Minds, image by Kris Graves.

location.

The sculpture site is located in the plaza inside of Columbus Park, in Downtown Brooklyn, which is situated close to the Borough Hall subway station and near the Kings County Supreme Court. You can enter the plaza from the North at Johnson Street and Cadman Plaza, or from the south at Court St and Montague Street. It is close to where the Brooklyn Borough Hall Greenmarket is held.

Click here for Google Map directions.

By Subway: Take the 4/5 or the 2/3 to Borough Hall, or the A/C/F to Jay St, MetroTech.

By Bus: Take the B38, B41, B25, B52, B26 to Cadman Plaza West/Montague St.

accessibility.

The closest accessible subway station is the 4/5 2/3 Borough Hall Subway Station (Manhattan and Bronx-bound only).

The Jay St-MetroTech Subway Station is also an accessible station, however it is a 7-minute walk away.

The sculpture site and plaza is paved and single-level with bench seating nearby.

Accessible public restrooms are available until 5 pm on weekend days at the Prospect Heights branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, located one block away at 286 Cadman Plaza W, Brooklyn, NY 11201. For hours, visit the BPL website.

Please contact info@moreart.org with any accessibility needs or inquiries.

Opening this weekend: Sean Desiree’s BEAM ENSEMBLE

Posted on Wednesday, July 20th, 2022

Image: Sean Desiree, BEAM ENSEMBLE, 2022.

Sean Desiree’s BEAM ENSEMBLE on view July 22 – August 28 at Basilica Hudson in Hudson, New York 

Sean Desiree, More Art’s 2021 EA Resident, will be presenting a new iteration of their public artwork BEAM ENSEMBLE on Friday, July 22nd at Basilica Hudson as part of Upstate Art Weekend!

BEAM ENSEMBLE is a public art project by Sean Desiree that combines their understanding of timber frame construction and music production. The installation is an outdoor orchestra that creates a space intended for the public to establish a connection with the buried history of African American composers. The architecture of the piece resembles that of an orchestra with four distinct sections, each representing a different instrument originating from the African diaspora—wood blocks, an amadinda, percussion, a harp. The intention of BEAM ENSEMBLE is to give orchestral music back to the people by providing a resource for composition.

The installation will be on view beginning Friday, July 22nd through Sunday, August 28th at Basilica Hudson in Hudson, New York

Click here to read more about this project! Both iterations of BEAM ENSEMBLE were commissioned by More Art: the first, in Crotona Park, Bronx, was commissioned through our 2021 Engaging Artists Residency Program, and the 2022 iteration is commissioned by More Art via the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.

Join The Future x 10 Campaign!

Posted on Tuesday, May 31st, 2022

Image: Shimon Attie, Night Watch, 2018. Photo by Kate Levy.

THE FUTURE x 10 is about showing how collective power can shape the future! 

Join More Art’s THE FUTURE x 10 campaign between June 2-12, and become part of a network of people who believe that art can empower all of us, and should be free, open, and accessible. Our goal is to raise $10,000 in 10 days through small donations of $10 and up to support More Art’s future as we kick-off and celebrate a major public art project with artist Fred Wilson, launch our new website and graphic identity, and help build support for our upcoming public art programs and Engaging Artist Fellowship and Residency.

About More Art:
More Art collaborates with artists across their careers to catalyze social change by producing meaningful participatory public art for a broad audience.

More Art, More Agency, More Action 

Art: More Art is known for its artistic integrity, for visually compelling work, and work that is socially engaged.

Agency: More Art supports self-determination within art. Our process is open, grounded, and flexible.

Action: More Art provides a platform for different people to experience art, this leads to action that paves the way toward transformation and change.

How to get involved:

  • Make a donation of $10 or more. All who donate will receive a special invite to the opening of our next public art project with Fred Wilson on June 21st.
  • Become a Team Leader by asking 10 people from your community to donate $10 each. We will provide you with a fundraising webpage and all the info you need.
  • Spread the word on social media.

Join the campaign today and be a part of the FUTURE of More Art.

With gratitude,

The More Art Team

Check out some of our recent public programs:

Learn more about what we do at moreart.org. Contact us with any questions by emailing info@moreart.org.

Listen now! Futures, Narratives, and Networks: Work from the More Art Fellowship

Posted on Tuesday, May 31st, 2022

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All images by Manuel Molina Martagon.

Listen now! Futures, Narratives, and Networks: Work from the More Art Fellowship

Missed out on a conversation from Futures, Narratives, and Networks? Now you can listen to panels, performances, and presentations from More Art’s 2020 + 2021 Fellows! Click the link above for the recordings. ➕

About Futures, Narratives, and Networks

On April 10th, 2022, the More Art 2020 and 2021 Engaging Artist Fellows gathered at the Queens Musem to share their work as socially engaged artists through a series of workshops, performances, and conversations with invited guests. Complementing the work of Stephanie Dinkins and Suzanne Lacy, the EA Fellows drew from their vast experience and research practices to examine: the limits of public art; technology and nature; building networks of communication across generations and languages; the intersection of teaching and artistic practices; and personal embodied experience as a tool for community-building. Mirroring the ideas of Dinkins and Lacy, the EA Fellows explore new opportunities to “subvert cultural narratives” and engage with the potential of our collective and individual future histories.

Participating fellows included: Bryanna Bradley,  Chantal Feitosa-DesouzaAndrew Freiband, Cody Ann HerrmannHyperlink Press, Mafe Izaguirre, Amy Khoshbin, Althea Rao, Amy Ritter, and Hanae Utamura, with additional contributions by Bel Falleiros and Amy Wetsch and guest artists Adam ZuckerEsther Neff, and Stephanie Dinkins.

About the Engaging Artists Fellowship

The Engaging Artists Fellowship is a year-long program that provides an infrastructure and laboratory for eight NYC-based emerging and underrepresented artists (or collectives) to gain a deeper understanding of the history of the field of public art, incubate and develop their early-stage research and project, collaborate with communities in shaping society, and build sustainable careers. Click here to learn more.

At The Table: On Borders with george emilio sanchez

Posted on Thursday, April 21st, 2022

Borders: On Immigration, Invisible Lines + Indigenous Rights with george emilio sanchez on Monday, May 9, 2022, 6:00-7:30pm EST

Our next At the Table: Dialogue + Art will be held on Monday, May 9th from 6:00-7:30 PM EST via Zoom. We’ll be joined by guest artist george emilio sanchez in a discussion surrounding Borders: On Immigration, Invisible Lines, and Indigenous Rights. If you are interested in joining, please email info@moreart.org or DM us on Instagram at @moreartnycThe conversation is open to everyone who is interested and no expertise on the topic is necessary to participate.

Read below for some context for this discussion of Borders: On Immigration, Invisible Lines, and Indigenous Rights. 

New York City, marked by the Statue of Liberty and the dense history of Ellis Island, sits on the traditional, unceded lands of the Lenni-Lenape people, known as Lenapehoking. Here many citizens face the financial toil and emotional uncertainty of immigration and visa processes, while countless others live in fear that their undocumented status will leave them uprooted and criminalized. De-facto red-lining continues to leave Black and POC communities at a disadvantage, and ownership of land disputes have left countless others homeless and evicted. Political tensions around borders and who controls them hang over the heads of all citizens, documented or otherwise. All are welcome to join More Art in conversation around issues of immigration, invisible lines, borders, and how communities work with and against them for the common good. 

A performance artist, writer and social justice activist, george emilio sanchez recently premiered his new solo performance work, In the Court of the Conqueror, at Abrons Arts Center in March 2022. This new work was done in collaboration with visual artist Patty Ortiz. The performance revolves around the 200 year-old history of Supreme Court rulings that have diminished the Tribal Sovereignty of Native Nations in the U.S. The piece also parallels sanchez’ upbringing in an Ecuadorian immigrant household navigating generational trauma related to indigenous identity.  This new work will tour to three states this spring and will tour nationally in 2022-23. In the Court of the Conqueror is the second installment of his performance series, “Performing the Constitution.” sanchez was named the Keith Haring Artist Fellow at The MacDowell in 2021, and has served as a Social Practice Artist-in-Residence at Abrons Arts Center since 2017.  For the past 15 years he has also served as the Performance Director for Emergenyc, a program that explores the intersection of arts and activism. He teaches at the City University of New York’s College of Staten Island.

About At The Table: Dialogue + Art

More Art has been hosting At the Table: Dialogue + Art—intimate, salon-style conversations with 10 participants—with our community since 2019. Over the course of 2022, we will be addressing concepts related to gates and borders, physical and imaginary, including, but not limited to, mass incarceration, criminal justice reform, policing, gated communities, immigration, border security, and COVID-related barriers in anticipation of Fred Wilson’s project “Mind Forged Manacles/Manacle Forged Minds” opening in downtown Brooklyn on June 21, 2022. This spring we will hold a series of three At The Table conversations titled Gates, Borders, Barriers, respectively addressing Mass Incarceration, Immigration, and Gender Barriers.