Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC)’s Corpus Festival

The Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) of Troy is hosting Corpus Festival, a weekend long festival of art installations and performance pieces, many of which are interactive and group participation based. The curator of Corpus Festival, Tara Willis, and I sat down to talk about the upcoming event.

Corpus, of course, refers to the body, or even a body of work. Fitting, for a festival that asks the question, “How do our bodies shape experiences and make meaning?” Willis explains that the concept of the festival was created as a throughline after seeing artists’ work over the last several years and the recurring themes that emerge from seeing artists in residency at EMPAC.

“I notice questions returning upon seeing certain acts,” explains Willis. “Sometimes, even years later, I’m still thinking about the act’s core question. I like to see how those questions become pertinent in life, the world, and our culture at large. What new facet can we open up in this question [by adding new acts and creating a festival]?”

Some of the pieces include “Raft,” a group partition piece by Yanira Castro and an artistic team, notably an access doula to assure participants’ comfort and to consider and accommodate participants’ needs, “Primordial,” a multi-channel video insulation by Meg Foley and Carmichael Jones, and “Black Holes Ain’t So Black,” a multi-sensory performance-talk considering black authors and references to outer space.

Festivals are relatively new to EMPAC, something Willis and other new curators are developing to welcome people into the building. “What we can do with artists is so incredible, but the architecture of the building feels impenetrable. We’re in wonderful conversations about how to make this place feel warm. We’re putting energy into qualitative relationships, putting trust in our audiences.”

To enhance the warmth of the community within the walls of EMPAC, Corpus Fest includes a community supper with a chef from Soul Fire Farm, a nonprofit Afro-Indigenous community-based farm that uses indigenous sustainable farming techniques. Fitting, since arguably a space at any dinner table is a performance in itself. Folks who attend are encouraged to tune in to their bodies and the way they participate in the meal.

Additionally, EMPAC will be hosting a book bar in collaboration with Troy’s Yellow Lab Vintage and Books. Everyone is encouraged to browse the books for sale, read through books related to the essential questions of Corpus Festival, and look at displays of artists’ personal, annotated copies of books that affected their work.

All events at Corpus Festival are free as a welcoming gesture to the community. The large building, the call for participants, and just the idea of experimental art can be intimidating to most. But it doesn’t have to be. Come in, become a part of Corpus Fest even simply by walking through the halls.