Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) has named Dena Beard, MA, the new executive director of the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC).
Recognized for her distinguished perspective and approach in the experimental media and performing arts fields, Beard joins RPI from Brooklyn College, where she was director of the iconic Leonard & Claire Tow Center for the Performing Arts. Prior to that, she was executive director of The Lab, the cultural landmark in San Francisco for experimental and avant-garde music.
Troy, NY—EMPAC and its curatorial program proudly continue the 2024 FALL season with the start of Ephemeral Organ, a series of residencies, talks, and performances from visionary artists Justine A. Chambers, Leslie Cuyjet, SHAWNÉ MICHAELAIN HOLLOWAY, Steffani Jemison, and collaborative duo Katherine Simóne Reynolds & A.J. McClenon. Presentations begin with two talks November 12 & 14, 2024.
Troy, NY—EMPAC–the Curtis R. Priem Center for Experimental Media and Performing Arts at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and its curatorial program celebrate the premiere of two commissions during the 16th fall season at the Center:
EMPAC invites you to Evelyn’s Café for lunch with a view!
Located on Level 5 beneath the hull of the concert hall, the café space offers sweeping views, as well as a tempting outdoor terrace.
While the space is always open during building hours for studying, relaxing, and gatherings, now lunch service from Rensselaer Dining is available from 11AM to 2PM on Wednesdays when classes are in session.
EMPAC announces its schedule of public presentations for the fall 2024 season.
From August through December, the EMPAC Curatorial Program presents 20 opportunities for audiences to explore the boundaries of art, science, and technology with the curators and artists of its commissioning and residency initiatives.
Presented by Rensselaer, Storytelling and Memory will be performed by Tanglewood Music Center’s Fromm Quartet at EMPAC on Friday, August 2 at 7PM.
EMPAC is pleased to share that artist Marina Rosenfeld was recently announced as a featured artist in the 15th Gwangju Biennale, taking place September 7 through December 1, 2024, in Gwangju, South Korea. Rosenfeld’s project for the biennial is a co-commission between Gwangju Biennale and EMPAC / the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Congratulations to EMPAC 2023 artist-in-residence Aura Satz on receiving the New:Vision Award from CPH:DOX for her film "Preemptive Listening." Satz was in residence for post-production film work with EMPAC curatorial staff and engineers.
EMPAC announces their Spring 2024 season. From January through May, EMPAC presents a robust slate of interdisciplinary programming—concerts, film screenings, dance, talks, and a two-day transducer symposium—that furthers its mission of gathering artists, thinkers, and audiences together to explore the boundaries of art, science, and technology.
Troy, NY: EMPAC / the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center and the Department of Arts at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute jointly announce Reembodied Sound 2024: A Festival and Symposium on Transducer-based Music and Sonic Art, February 2–3, 2024. Project submissions due Friday, November 17, 2023.
Deep Listening: Creativity, Accessibility, and Well-being is a three-day symposium of workshops, performances, and talks that explore listening, participation, and accessibility through both technological innovation and creative practice. September 28-30, 2023 | Open to the Public | Free
Beginning in September with a pair of artist studio talks and conversations followed by two full-scale productions, the EMPAC curatorial team and artists in residence announce their programs through December, where audiences of creatives, technologists, and arts enthusiasts can share in their investigations of travel and migration, materials and acoustics, cultural and geological histories, and more.