Dear List,
I wanted to notify the list about the upcoming opening of the
Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) this weekend.
The program is intended to nurture a rich context for the creation
contemporary art and performance with a specific focus on technology
based practice through commissions, artist residencies, research and
ongoing programming. As such, it extends the tradition of
multidisciplinarity within media institutions, acting as an open-ended
platform for artistic production and research in the fields of the
arts, engineering and technology. We invite your questions and
reactions.
Warm regards,
Emily
EMPAC Opening October 3-19, 2008
The Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, NY 12180
RESERVATIONS NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE
http://www.empac.rpi.edu
Participating artists: The Wooster Group; dumb type; Workspace
Unlimited; Verdensteatret; Vox Vocal Ensemble and International
Contemporary Ensemble; Per Tengstrand; Madlib; Cecil Taylor; Pauline
Oliveros; Richard Siegal/The Bakery; Robert Normandeau, Fieldwork,
Gamelan Galak Tika + Ensemble Robot, and more.
The Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center opens with a
celebration spanning three weekends, from October 3-19 (see schedule
below).
EMPAC is located 2.5 hours north of New York City, 3 hours south of
Montreal, and 3 hours west of Boston in Troy, NY. All opening events
are free and open to the public, and most events require tickets.
Reserve now, as seating is limited!
Dedicated to the advancement of artistic production integrating new
approaches and research at the intersection of technology, media and
the performing arts, a major emphasis at EMPAC is the commissioning of
new performances and time-based installations.
EMPAC's new 220,000-square foot building, designed by the British firm
Grimshaw, is both a signature work of architecture and a unique
facility that combines many specialized venues under one roof,
including: a 1,200-seat concert hall; a 400-seat theater; two black-
box studio spaces; and artist/researcher work spaces, all capable of
simultaneous, acoustically isolated use. Technical innovations are
found in all venues: from the Concert Hall's adjustable fabric
ceiling, which allows acoustical flexibility, and its near-silent
HVAC; the Studios' "tunable" tilting wall tiles; to the Theater's 70-
foot fly tower and computer controlled rigging.
Both a place and a program, EMPAC is an arts institution that draws
strength from being part of a great research university. It operates
nationally and internationally: attracting innovative artists, both
renowned and emerging, from around the world; offering artists,
researchers, and audiences opportunities that are available nowhere
else; providing unsurpassed facilities for research and creative
exploration, sending new artworks onto the global stage.
FRIDAY – SUNDAY, OCTOBER 3 – 5, 2008
The Gala Weekend offers audiences an introduction to the EMPAC program
and mission with performances ranging from 15th-century choral music
performed in a 21st-century concert hall to interactive 360-degree
video installations to contemporary performances that merge visual
media, theater and sound. A Presidential Colloquy and the official
Ribbon Cutting on October 3 begin the weekend—and the festivities.
Public artistic performances and research presentations begin
Saturday, October 4.
THURSDAY – SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9 – 11, 2008
The Symposium Weekend brings together an internationally diverse group
of directors from leading research institutions to share their work in
art, design and media-based research, spanning augmented reality to
the visualization and auralization of scientific data. Performances,
installations and exhibitions continue throughout the long weekend.
FRIDAY – SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17 – 19, 2008
Homecoming and Family Weekend focuses on the greater Rensselaer
community. Events and performances ranging in genre and style—
including many student groups—will reflect the diversity of the
Rensselaer campus activities.
For full schedule, reservations and further information, go to www.empac.rpi.edu
.
Emily Zimmerman
Curatorial Assistant
Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC)
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Winslow Building, 2nd Floor
110 8th Street
Troy, NY 12180
[log in to unmask]
518.276.4547(phone)
518.276.4017 (fax)
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