EMPAC Begins Series Titled Ephemeral Organ with Talk from Tara Aisha Willis November 12
Troy, NY—EMPAC-the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and its curatorial program proudly continues its 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.
Developed by Curator-in-Residence, Dance & Theater Tara Aisha Willis, programming for the Ephemeral Organ series explores choreography and bodily motion as technologies for transmitting memory, history, and Black lived experience. The series exemplifies the center’s commitment to new research at the intersection of art, science, and technology with artists who are making challenging works in experimental media and performance.
All Ephemeral Organ activities take place at the center located on the corner of 8th Street and College Avenue in Troy. Residencies provide the artists with dedicated resources for creative exploration uniquely enabled by the center’s production engineers and infrastructure. Audiences are invited to all series presentations, beginning with two talks on November 12 and November 14, and culminating with a two-day festival, April 17–18, 2025.
November 12, 2024—In the first presentation of the Ephemeral Organ series, curator, writer, and dance artist Tara Aisha Willis introduces its thematic arc during the talk Ephemeral Organs: Dance Curation, Research, and Performance, and connects this series to her forthcoming book projects, and to her past curatorial work with MCA Chicago and with Movement Research (NYC).
November 14, 2024—While at the center for a research residency, new media artist SHAWNÉ MICHAELAIN HOLLOWAY (Chicago) invites technologists and new media enthusiasts into her process with the presented talk Investigating trigger mechanisms, machine learning, and bodily gesture.
“Known for her experiments with noisy, electronic sculpture and her unique approach to expanded cinema, SHAWNÉ MICHAELAIN HOLLOWAY is shaping the grammars of computer programming and sadomasochism into tools for exposing structures and narratives of power,” writes Willis. “I am thrilled to launch the Ephemeral Organ series this same week with her. I can’t wait to find out how she’ll use the resources available at the center to develop two different projects and share her findings with the region’s adventurous audiences.”
April 17–18, 2025—Newly announcing full artist line-up—The Ephemeral Organ Festival celebrates each ambitious investigation happening throughout the series by convening its artists for two days of simultaneous performance, installation, and presented talks with audiences. A performance of With Marion (2023) by Leslie Cuyjet (NYC), a new installation and performance of Gestures Investigating the Good and Not So Good In Relationships – As Shown to Us by Blondell Cummings (2022) by Katherine Simóne Reynolds (southern Illinois) and A.J. McClenon (Chicago), and artist talks on their latest works by the prolific Steffani Jemison (NYC) and dance artist Justine A. Chambers (Vancouver) activate the center’s spaces, so that gathering at the facilities becomes a vital part of our collective human enterprise.
Learn more about the series curator, artists, artworks, and activities.
Ticket Info
No reservations are necessary for talk programs, which are open to the public at no cost to attend.
Info and Tickets for the Ephemeral Organ festival presentations are available in January 2025.
Please let us know if you’d like to arrange for any interviews or would like media access to a performance, or if there’s anything else you need for coverage consideration.
Curators
Katherine C. M. Adams, Associate Curator, Time-Based Visual Art
Amadeus Julian Regucera, Curator, Music
Tara Aisha Willis, Curator-in-Residence, Theater & Dance
Special thanks
EMPAC’s programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. EMPAC is made possible by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.
Media contact
For media inquiries, or to subscribe to the EMPAC press list, please use our Contact form.
Main Image: Leslie Cuyjet, With Marion, The Kitchen, 2023. Courtesy of artist. Photo: Walter Wlodarczyk; SHAWNÉ MICHAELAIN HOLLOWAY, DEWCLAW, Institute for Contemporary Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University, 2022. Courtesy the artist. Photo: Keshia Eugene; Steffani Jemison, In Succession (Means), 2024. Performed by Nimia Gracious, Loren Tschannen, and Steffani Jemison at Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève, June 7–8, 2024. Courtesy the artist. Photo: Zoé Aubry; A.J. McClenon, Inspirited by For J.B. and 3B49, collages with video stills from recording of Blondell Cummings For J.B. and 3B49 at The Kitchen, November 30–December 3, 1989, 2022. Courtesy the artist; Tara Aisha Willis. Photo: zakkiyyah najeebah dumas o'neal.
