In conjunction with the city's Year of Chicago Theatre, nine national and international performance groups and artists will develop and present new work inspired by Goat Island

The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events is pleased to announce the details for goat island archive–we have discovered the performance by making it at the Chicago Cultural Center (78 E. Washington St.). 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 exhibition archive will occupy adjacent galleries and open in two parts, with the performance space and activations open February 2–June 23 in the Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 4^th Floor North, and the exhibition open March 30–June 23, in the Exhibition Hall, 4th Floor North.

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. The company was known for its sustained collaborative production approaches with work created over the years by Karen Christopher, Joan Dickinson, Matthew Goulish, Lin Hixson, Greg McCain, Tim McCain, Mark Jeffery, Bryan Saner and Litó Walkey. Their democratic, shared activations continue to influence generations of artists, theatre makers, cultural theorists, social philosophers and teachers.

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. A tenth performance created from fragments of the nine new responses will be presented in June during a week of concluding events. These will take place at the Chicago Cultural Center’s Sidney R. Yates Gallery, which will be transformed into a to-scale re-imagining of Goat Island’s rehearsal space – a church gymnasium – available for viewing and creative engagement on February 2. Additionally, the works-in-progress will be presented at partner cultural venues throughout Chicago as part of the IN>TIME Festival and final world premieres at the Chicago Cultural Center's Sidney R. Yates Gallery.

The accompanying exhibition in the Chicago Cultural Center’s adjacent Exhibit Hall opens on March 30 and will display the physical archive of materials, from drawings and choreographic scores to traveling cases and costumes. The exhibition has been devised to replicate the generative and pedagogic processes of Goat Island while reflecting upon the extent of the company’s influences. 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.

 

Performance and Exhibition Schedule

During the exhibition run at the Chicago Cultural Center, works-in-progress will be presented at partner cultural venues throughout Chicago as part of the IN>TIME Festival, and final world-premiere works will take place at the Chicago Cultural Center's Sidney R. Yates Gallery, which will be transformed into a to-scale, re-imagined rehearsal space of the church gymnasium where the collective rehearsed. All performances and the exhibition are free admission.

 

IN>TIME Festival

January 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. For a complete schedule, visit in-time-performance.org

 

Performance Space and Activations

February 2–June 23

Chicago Cultural Center, Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 4^th Floor North

The Chicago Cultural Center’s Sidney R. Yates Gallery will be 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 Preview

Friday, March 29, 6–9pm; performance at 7pm

Chicago Cultural Center, Exhibit Hall & Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 4^th Floor North

 

Exhibition

March 30–June 23

Chicago Cultural Center, Exhibit Hall, 4^th Floor North

The accompanying exhibition will display the physical archive of materials, from drawings and choreographic scores to traveling cases and costumes. The exhibition has been devised to replicate the generative and pedagogic processes of Goat Island while reflecting upon the extent of the company’s influences. 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.

 

hancock & kelly (Richard Hancock and Traci Kelly, United Kingdom, now based in Germany)

World Premiere Performance: Performing the Archive: Jackie Kennedy Flees the Scene of Her Husband’s Murder responding to Soldier, Child, Tortured Man (1986)

March 29-30, 7pm and March 31, 2pm

Chicago Cultural Center, Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 4^th Floor North

Work-in-progress will be presented as part of the IN>TIME Festival on Saturday, March 23, 7pm at 6018North, 6018 N. Kenmore Ave.

 

Augusto Corrieri (United Kingdom)

World Premiere Performance: Play to delete responding to We Got A Date (1989)

Friday–Saturday, April 12–13, 7pm, and Sunday, April 14, 2pm

Chicago Cultural Center, Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 4^th Floor North

Work-in-progress will be presented as part of the IN>TIME Festival on Monday, February 18, 7:30pm, at High Concept Labs, Mana Contemporary Chicago, 2233 S. Throop St., 4^th Floor

 

Robert Walton (Australia)

World Premiere Performance: Can’t Take Johnny to the Funeral responding to Can’t Take Johnny to the Funeral (1991)

Friday–Saturday, April 19–20, 7pm, and Sunday, April 21, 2pm

Chicago Cultural Center, Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 4^th Floor North

Work-in-progress will be presented as part of the IN>TIME Festival on Thursday, 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)

Friday–Saturday, April 26–27, 7pm, and Sunday, April 28, 2pm

Chicago Cultural Center, Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 4^th Floor North

Work-in-progress will be presented as part of the IN>TIME Festival on Saturday, 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)

Friday–Saturday, May 10–11, 7pm

Chicago Cultural Center, Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 4^th Floor North

Work-in-progress will be presented as part of the IN>TIME Festival on a date TBD at Gallery 400, 400 S. Peoria St.

 

BADco. (Croatia)

World Premiere Performance: Impossible Dances responding to The Sea & Poison (1998)

Friday–Saturday, May 24–25, 7pm, and Sunday, May 26, 2pm

Chicago Cultural Center, Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 4^th Floor North

Note: The May 24 performance is preceded by an artist talk at 7 p.m. with Erin Manning with the performance at 8pm.

Work-in-progress will be presented as part of the IN>TIME Festival on Thursday–Saturday, February 21–23, 8pm, at Links Hall, 3111 N. Western Ave.

 

Vlatka Horvat (United Kingdom)

World Premiere Performance: Third Hand responding to It’s an Earthquake in My Heart (2001)

Tuesday, June 4–Thursday, June 6, 7pm

Chicago Cultural Center, Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 4^th Floor North

Work-in-progress will be presented as part of the IN>TIME Festival on Thursday, 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)

Friday–Saturday, June 7–8, 7pm, and Sunday, June 9, 2pm

Chicago Cultural Center, Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 4^th Floor North

Ryan Tacata’s work-in-progress will be presented as part of the IN>TIME Festival on Sunday, February 10, 6pm at Defibrillator Performance Art Gallery (dfbrl8r), Zhou B. Art Center, 1029 W. 35^th St.

Ian Hatcher’s work-in-progress will be presented as part of the IN>TIME Festival on Saturday, February 23, 7pm, at Red Rover Series, Outer Space Studios, 1474 N. Milwaukee Ave.

 

Archive Transitions

Most Wednesdays, April 10–June 12, noon–2pm

Chicago Cultural Center, Exhibit Hall, 4^th Floor North

The exhibition of the archive will change 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:

• Wednesday, April 10: We Got A Date
• Wednesday, April 17: Can't Take Johnny to the Funeral
• Wednesday, April 24: It's Shifting, Hank
• Wednesday, May 1: representing Goat Island’s first UK tour (first three shows are reorganized together)
• Wednesday, May 8: How Dear To Me the Hour When Daylight Dies
• Wednesday, May 22: The Sea & Poison 
• Wednesday, May 29: It's an Earthquake in My Heart
• Friday, June 7: When will the September roses bloom? Last night was a only a comedy. (a double performance)
• Friday, June 7: The Lastmaker
• Wednesday, June12: Final program TBD

 

Convening Performance and Activities

Thursday, June 13–Saturday, June 15

Chicago Cultural Center, Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 4^th 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. The Convening will re-articulate the archive through a series of reflections and echoes of Goat Island. A new tenth performance inspired by the original nine will be created and presented on the final day. Additional details will be released later this spring.

 

World Premiere Performance: nine missing scenes in response

Friday, June 14, 7pm

Chicago Cultural Center, Sidney R. Yates Gallery, 4^th Floor North

This multimedia event weaves the research and performative responses by the nine commissioned artists into a singular happening.

 

All exhibitions and performances, including goat island archive–we have discovered the performance by making it, at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St., are presented by the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE). Building hours are Monday–Friday, 10am–7pm, Saturday–Sunday, 10am–5pm; closed holidays. Admission is FREE. For information, visit chicagoculturalcenter.org, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ChiCulturCenter.

 

2019 Year of Chicago Theatre

The City of Chicago and the League of Chicago Theatres have designated 2019 as the ‘Year of Chicago Theatre.’ This citywide, year-long focus on theatre is the first of its kind in the U.S. The initiative includes performances and special events for the public at hundreds of cultural venues, theaters, parks and neighborhood locations throughout the city. The City of Chicago and its partners will also launch a marketing campaign; provide additional financial grants to theatre projects; encourage dialog around inclusion and equity; and call on civic, philanthropic, arts and business leaders to support the theatre community. To truly fall in love with Chicago, you must go to our theatres. This is where the city bares its fearless soul. From Broadway musicals to storefront plays and improv, there’s a seat waiting for you at one of our 200+ theatres. Book your next show today at ChicagoPlays.com.

 

Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events

The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) is dedicated to enriching Chicago’s artistic vitality and cultural vibrancy. This includes fostering the development of Chicago’s non-profit arts sector, independent working artists and for-profit arts businesses; providing a framework to guide the City’s future cultural and economic growth, via the 2012 Chicago Cultural Plan; marketing the City’s cultural assets to a worldwide audience; and presenting high-quality, free and affordable cultural programs for residents and visitors. For more information, visit cityofchicago.org/dcase.

 

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