IDEAS CITY
Riffing on “The Invisible City” as its theme, this installment of the New Museum’s annual three-day event will explore transparency, surveillance, citizenship, suppression, participation, dissent, and expression — all within the context of how we strive to be a part of, disappear into, or define the ever-evolving urban centers we choose to call home.
On Thurs., May 28, a daylong conference features talks, panels and discussions at Cooper Union. In “Seeing Through the Noise,” Keynote speaker Lawrence Lessig, Director, Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard University, addresses our increasing dependence on global-network infrastructures (government records, trading platforms, social media). Other events include “Maps for the Invisible City,” which will explore techniques for engaging citizens. Its panel includes Occupy Wall Street co-creator Micha White.
“Make No Little Plans” is a conversation that challenges architects and activists to think about creating an urban habitat able to accommodate future events, such as overcrowding and climate change. Addie Wagenknecht, founder of Deep Lab, will conduct a drone painting performance. The cyberfeminist research collaborative will also host conversations, workshops and performances, while developing new installations and participatory experiences.
Fri., May 29 features dance battles, poetry slams, urban-design pitches, sound and video environments, games, and mobile art spaces — including “Pitching the City.” Held at the Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral, audience members hear high-concept pitches followed by a vote for the next “best design idea.” Urban entrepreneurs from around the world will compete. “BattleFest,” at the same venue’s Aula, is a high-energy dance competition between troupes from around the nation.
On Sat., May 30, a street festival envelops the area surrounding the New Museum. Highlights include a hands-on bacteria-printing workshop led by DNA Learning Center scientist Christine Marizzi — making NYC’s microbiomes “visible and accessible” (don’t bother Googling that; just go and learn). Giant chunks of EPS geofoam along the Bowery will make for a surreal pedestrian experience, while a Mayan Ball Game Tournament mashes the ancient Mesoamerican sport with NYC street basketball (neighborhood institutions fiercely compete against each other, but heads will not roll). A “Pigeon’s Perspective” walking tour explains their Lower East Side context, and a Smog Tasting run by the Center for Genomic Gastronomy harvests air pollution, houses it in egg foam and invites you to compare urban atmosphere from different locations. Lest that leave a bad (or at least unfamiliar) taste in your mouth, artist Jordi Jorba’s “Nomadic Place” creates temporary structures from hot air balloons, filling them with community events, performances and workshops.
A mix of free and ticketed events, IDEAS CITY takes place in and outside of the New Museum (235 Bowery btw. Rivington & Stanton Sts.), and at other nearby venues. For more info, visit ideas-city.org.
AL SON SON — FLAMENCO
Barcelona-born dancer and choreographer Sonia Olla teams with her frequent collaborator, vocalist Ismael de la Rosa Fernández, for a rare U.S. performance. The result of a six-month developmental workshop, this 90-minute spectacle — whose title roughly translates as “Take us to the rhythms of the heart of Flamenco” — merges the duo’s distinctive techniques with the work of guitarist Pedro Cortés and 30 members of the Sonia Olla Flamenco Studio. There, teachers Olla and Fernández encourage their students to master the form while bringing their individuality to the performance — resulting in this stage show, which transmits to American audience “an understanding of the Cante Flamenco [songs and singing of Flamenco], which derives from the lyrics and poetry of the people from Andalusia in the south of Spain.”
Thurs., May 28, at 8 p.m. at Tribeca Performing Arts Center at BMCC (199 Chambers St. btw. West & Greenwich Sts.). For tickets ($20), visit tribecapac.org/al-son-son-flamenco-may-28. Aritst info: soniaolla.com.
—By Scott Stiffler
