September 29, 2016, 6–7pm
Old South Meeting House
310 Washington Street
Boston MA 02108
T 617 482 6439
Boston University announces The Body Of The People, a media performance that will take place Thursday, September 29, 2016, from 6 to 7pm at the Old South Meeting House in Boston.
The performance
The Body of the People will premiere at the Old South Meeting House in Boston. Curated by Dr. Lanfranco Aceti, director of Boston University’s Arts Administration program, the piece has been commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Cuts as part of THE SOCIAL, the 4th International Association for Visual Culture Biennial Conference ([email protected]), hosted by Boston University from September 29 to October 1, 2016.
Created by New York-based multimedia artist and educator Jeffrey Baykal-Rollins, The Body of the People draws on protests the artist has participated in and documented to create an immersive artwork that questions individual and class representation in the political upheavals taking place in the United States today.
For the work, Baykal-Rollins produced a series of drawings of protesters and compiled slogans, mission statements, and manifestos from major U.S. protest movements, including Democracy Spring, Democracy Awakening, and Black Lives Matter. Together, these elements comprise a surreal and poetic text that will be delivered as an address and also sung by opera singer Tiffany Jackson for the duration of the performance, accompanied by Rex Cadwallader on piano, Arti Dixon on drums, and Mike Asetta on bass.
Through this mix of drawings, installation, music, and performance, Baykal-Rollins offers a critique of a political moment in which larger strata of society are disenfranchised, disconnected, and isolated both financially and politically—setting the stage for viewers to re-think and analyze what “society” means and what “the body of the people” stands for.
The Body of the People will be hosted by Boston’s Old South Meeting House in collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Cuts, BU Arts Initiative, The Awesome Foundation, The Pollination Project, and a range of U.S.-based and international partners. Built in 1729, the Old South Meeting House was the gathering place for the Boston Tea Party organizers, paving the way for the American Revolution. Today, the museum is historically representative of efforts to preserve freedom of speech across cultural, political, and social divides.
The performance is free and open to the public. Advance registration is requested at osmhsept29-16.bpt.me.
Those who are interested in participating in the full [email protected] conference at Boston University can learn more at ocradst.org.
Boston University Arts Administration program
MET’s Arts Administration program emphasizes excellence, creativity, economic problem solving, internationalism, and a commitment to the technologies of our age as core values. The program includes a master’s degree and graduate certificates that challenge students to understand the value of a mission-driven approach to managing arts organizations—and to place that goal ahead of maximizing revenues. The curriculum underscores a deep conviction in the centrality of the role of the artist, and the fundamental importance of artistic excellence, as issues central to the health of all arts organizations. Graduates are prepared for the global responsibilities of the arts in the twenty-first century, and to hold leadership roles in visual, performing, and service organizations in the arts in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.
Founded in 1839, Boston University is internationally recognized as a top institution of higher learning and research. One of BU’s 17 schools and colleges, Metropolitan College was established in 1965 to broaden the reach of BU—ensuring that the resources of a leading research university remain accessible to the community and the world via part-time study during the evening or through innovative online and blended programs.
