Curator | Producer
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Kevin Beasley

Produced Kevin Beasley’s The Sound of Morning, an outdoor performance and sonic sculpture staged at the intersection of Orchard and Rivington Streets on New York’s Lower East Side for the 2021 Performa Biennial. Working closely with Beasley and choreographic director Paul Hamilton, oversaw all aspects of production—including city permitting, and interdepartmental coordination—to realize a complex, site-responsive work that merged sculpture, movement, and amplified sound.

Kevin Beasley will present his first outdoor live performance staged at a downtown Manhattan intersection where two distinct neighborhoods meet marking the contrasts inherent to the architecture, inhabitants, and histories that have evolved over the past several decades. Taking place in the Lower East Side—on streets demarcated for closure in NYC’s Open Spaces initiative—Beasley will insert a series of his sculptures, comprised of industrial and utilitarian materials, into the existing infrastructure, creating objects that appear to be interchangeable with existing street furniture. A group of performers will adapt and alter everyday gestures and movements, shifting these actions from the familiar to the foreign. With microphones, that faint sounds that usually disappear into the white noise of the city will be enhanced, creating a sonic sculpture live mixed by the artist.

Curated by Kathy Noble, Senior Curator & Head of Curatorial Affairs
Produced by Sasha Okshteyn, Senior Producer

PERFORMERS:
Dwayne Brown, Ley Gambucci, Wendell Gray II, Paul Hamilton, Raymond Pinto, Angie Pittman, jess pretty, Katrina Reid, Gabriela Silva, and Amadi Washington


PRODUCTION:

Sound Designer and Technical Producer: Daniel Neumann
Choreographer: Paul Hamilton
Kevin Beasley Studio: Barbara Elting, Dante Migone-Ojeda
Stage Manager: Caitlin Adams
Audio Technician: Jade Guterman
Production Assistants: Austin Brown, Mitchell Cheng, Justin Germek
Costume Prep: Maggie Beutner
Volunteers: Kelvin Ponder, P.J. Verhoest, Aliza Russell
Security: Elite Security


SPECIAL THANKS:

Jim Toth, NYC Department of Transportation, SAPO, LES Partnerships, NYPD, Sauce Pizzeria, Trapizzino Restaurant, Plaxall, and Essex Street Academy.