goat island archive – we have discovered the performance by making it
Performance Space and Activations
February 2–June 23, 2019
Chicago Cultural Center, Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 4th Floor North
Exhibition
March 30–June 23, 2019
Chicago Cultural Center, Exhibit Hall, 4th Floor North
Free Admission
Chicago Cultural Center > Visual Art Program > Exhibitions > Past Exhibitions > goat island archive
Throughout the 23 years of its existence (1986–2009), the Chicago-based Goat Island contributed to the conception of nine major performance works, accompanied by publications, film and video projects, workshops, summer schools, lectures and symposia, inventing a complex institution bigger than the individual works. Freed from prescribed narrative and dialog, the work of Goat Island is built slowly in a creative process informed by repetition, chance and individual perception. Their democratic, shared activations continue to influence generations of artists, theatre makers, cultural theorists and social philosophers.
In conjunction with the city's Year of Chicago Theatre, nine national and international performance groups and artists have been commissioned to develop and present new work, each inspired by one of Goat Island's original performances. The works-in-progress are presented at partner cultural venues throughout Chicago as part of the IN>TIME Festival, and “final” works take place at the Chicago Cultural Center's Sidney R. Yates Gallery, which is transformed into a scale re-imagining of the church gymnasium where the collective rehearsed. A tenth performance, created as a composite of “Missing Scenes” from the prior nine works, is presented in June during a week of concluding events. The accompanying exhibition in the Chicago Cultural Center's Exhibition Hall will present archival materials that reflect Goat Island's generative and pedagogic processes and still invite consideration and reinterpretation.
Public Programs
(all events are free and open to all)
IN>TIME FestivalJanuary 26–April 4 Citywide venues IN>TIME is Chicago’s triennial performance festival featuring performances, presentations and exhibitions by local, national and international artists at venues throughout the city. |
Performance Space and ActivationsFebruary 2–June 23 Chicago Cultural Center, Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 4th Floor North The Chicago Cultural Center’s Sidney R. Yates Gallery is transformed into a to-scale re-imagining of Goat Island’s rehearsal space – a church gymnasium. The space will host several residencies and performances. |
Exhibition PreviewMarch 29, 6–9pm; performance at 7pm Chicago Cultural Center, Exhibit Hall & Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 4th Floor North |
hancock & kelly (Richard Hancock and Traci Kelly, United Kingdom, now based in Germany)World Premiere Performance: An Extraordinary Rendition responding to Soldier, Child, Tortured Man (1986)March 29–30, 7pm & March 31, 2pm Chicago Cultural Center, Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 4th Floor North Work-in-progress presented as part of the IN>TIME Festival on March 23, 7pm at 6018North, 6018 N. Kenmore Ave. Strobe lighting effects will be used during this performance |
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ExhibitionMarch 30–June 23 Chicago Cultural Center, Exhibit Hall, 4th Floor North The accompanying exhibition displays the physical archive of materials, from drawings and choreographic scores to traveling cases and costumes. This project is co-curated with Nicholas Lowe, associate professor and curator of the Goat Island Archive at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The exhibition of the archive changes intermittently to allow a focus on each of the original nine Goat Island performances as well as a special framing of works included in the first international tour of the company:
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Meet the Artist ActivitySaturdays, April 6–27, 1-3pm Meet the artists whose work has been inspired and shaped by Goat Island and participate in hands-on activities. |
Augusto Corrieri (United Kingdom)World Premiere Performance: Play to delete responding to We Got A Date (1989)April 12–13, 7pm & April 14, 2pm Chicago Cultural Center, Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 4th Floor North Work-in-progress presented as part of the IN>TIME Festival on February 18, 7:30pm, at High Concept Labs, Mana Contemporary Chicago, 2233 S. Throop St., 4th Floor |
Robert Walton (Australia)World Premiere Performance: Can’t Take Johnny to the Funeral responding to Can’t Take Johnny to the Funeral (1991)April 19–20, 7pm & April 21, 2pm Chicago Cultural Center, Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 4th Floor North Work-in-progress presented as part of the IN>TIME Festival on February 21, 6pm, at Hyde Park Arts Center, 5020 S. Cornell Ave. |
Judith Leemann (Boston, MA)World Premiere Performance: enter, the symptom [I will show self-control.] responding to It’s Shifting, Hank (1993)April 26–27, 7pm & April 28, 2pm Chicago Cultural Center, Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 4th Floor North Work-in-progress presented as part of the IN>TIME Festival on February 16, 4pm, at Comfort Station, 2579 N. Milwaukee Ave. |
Jefferson Pinder (Chicago, IL)World Premiere Performance: This Is Not A Drill responding to How Dear To Me the Hour When Daylight Dies (1996)May 10–11, 7pm Chicago Cultural Center, Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 4th Floor North Work-in-progress presented as part of the IN>TIME Festival on February 26, 6pm, at Gallery 400, 400 S. Peoria St. |
BADco. (Croatia)World Premiere Performance: Impossible Dances responding to The Sea & Poison (1998)May 24–25, 7pm & May 26, 2pm Chicago Cultural Center, Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 4th Floor North The May 24 performance is preceded by an artist talk at 7pm with Erin Manning with the performance at 8pm Work-in-progress presented as part of the IN>TIME Festival on February 21–23, 8pm, at Links Hall, 3111 N. Western Ave. |
Damon Locks Black Monument Ensemble Performance
June 2, 3:30–4:30pm Chicago Cultural Center, Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 4th Floor North The Black Monument Ensemble performance will be in celebration of their debut release, Where Future Unfolds. Where Future Unfolds is a new work spirited by Chicago–based sound & visual artist Damon Locks. Starting as a solo sound collage piece (where Locks pulled samples from Civil Rights era speeches and recordings to create an improvisational pallet for performance on his drum machine), over 4 years the project has blossomed into his 15-piece Black Monument Ensemble – featuring musicians (including Angel Bat Dawid on clarinets, Dana Hall on drums,and Arif Smith on percussion), singers (alumni of the Chicago Children's Choir), and dancers (members of Chicago youth dance company Move Me Soul). Recalling the spirits of Phil Cohran's Artistic Heritage Ensemble, Eddie Gale's Black Rhythm Happening, Archie Shepp's Attica Blues, and Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, the album presents an inspired, innovative & immediate intersection of gospel, jazz, activism & 808 breaks. |
Vlatka Horvat (United Kingdom)World Premiere Performance: Third Hand responding to It’s an Earthquake in My Heart (2001)June 4–6, 7pm Chicago Cultural Center, Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 4th Floor North Work-in-progress presented as part of the IN>TIME Festival on April 4, 7pm, at Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies, 4 W. Burton Pl. |
Ryan Tacata (San Francisco, CA)World Premiere Performance: Minor Repair responding to When will the September roses bloom? Last night was only a comedy. (a double performance) (2004)and Ian Hatcher (New York, NY)World Premiere Performance: Private Screening responding to The Lastmaker (2007)June 7–8, 7pm & June 9, 2pm Chicago Cultural Center, Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 4th Floor North Ryan Tacata’s work-in-progress presented as part of the IN>TIME Festival on February 10, 6pm at Defibrillator Performance Art Gallery (dfbrl8r), Zhou B. Art Center, 1029 W. 35th St. Ian Hatcher’s work-in-progress presented as part of the IN>TIME Festival on February 23, 7pm, at Red Rover Series, Outer Space Studios, 1474 N. Milwaukee Ave. |
Convening Performance and ActivitiesJune 13–15 Chicago Cultural Center, Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 4th Floor North Over a three-day period, artists and members of the public are invited to consider three ideas—environment, response and body—in proximity to the archive of Goat Island. |
World Premiere Performance: nine missing scenes in responseFriday, June 14, 5–6:30pm Chicago Cultural Center, Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 4th Floor North This multimedia event weaves the research and performative responses by the nine commissioned artists into a singular happening. |
Why look back? How to look forward?Saturday, June 15, 3–5pm Chicago Cultural Center, Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 4th Floor North A closing conversation convened by Stephen Scott-Bottoms (University of Manchester UK) |