Who: Carrie Mae Weems, Craig Harris, Esther Armah, Nona Hendryx, Jennifer Koh, Carl Hancock Rux, Jawwaad Taylor
What: “Contested Sites of Memory”
Where: Alice Tully Hall, 1941 Broadway at West Sixty-Fifth St.
When: Thursday, January 28, and Friday, January 30, pay-what-you-wish ($5-$35+), 7:30
Why: In December 2021, American artist Carrie Mae Weems presented “The Shape of Things” at Park Ave. Armory, a masterful multidisciplinary examination of where we are as a nation as we face systemic racism, health and income inequality, police brutality, and the perpetuation of the Big Lie. The installation was accompanied by the “Land of Broken Dreams Convening and Concert Series,” three days of live music and dance, film screenings, and panel discussions.
On January 29 and 30, Weems will be at Alice Tully Hall for her latest gathering, “Contested Sites of Memory.” Produced in collaboration with Shore Art Advisory and Lincoln Center, it will feature live music, video art screenings, spoken word, and more, with trombonist, composer, sonic shaman, and musical director Craig Harris, British-born Brooklyn-based playwright, radio host, author, and Armah Institute of Emotional Justice CEO Esther Armah, singer, songwriter, producer, and activist Nona Hendryx, Grammy-winning violinist Jennifer Koh, poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, composer, pianist, professor, and writer Vijay Iyer, and recording artist Carl Hancock Rux, and emcee, trumpeter, composer, producer, educator, and social activist Jawwaad Taylor. The focus is on the purpose and meaning of American monuments and how they relate to the past, present, and future of the country.
Born in Portland, Oregon, and based in Syracuse, Weems is best known for such highly influential photographic projects as “The Kitchen Table Series,” “Family Pictures and Stories,” “The Louisiana Project,” “Constructing History,” and “Museums.” A National Academician and MacArthur Genius, she was busy during the pandemic, making the hypnotic short film The Baptism with Rux and hosting a podcast for the Whitney, “Artists Among Us,” in which she spoke with a wide range of artists, curators, and writers, including Glenn Ligon, Bill T. Jones, Lucy Sante, Jessamyn Fiore, An-My Lê, and Adam Weinberg.
“Contested Sites of Memory” should be another unique and fascinating high point in the career of one of America’s genuine treasures, who has been documenting the shape of things for more than four decades.
[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer and editor; you can follow him on Substack here.]