Performance
These Conditions: Duvet
Mar 6, 2022
1:00–6:00pm ET
Annex, Level C, Brooklyn Army Terminal, 80 58th St, Brooklyn, NY 11220
These Conditions, an exhibition and pedagogical film set by Adelita Husni Bey, hosts Duvet for a durational performance on Sunday, March 6, 1–6 pm. The exhibition will be open to the public from 12–6 pm.
“Duvet is a group of artists, movers, friends, and researchers. We are Leslie Cuyjet, Weena Pauly, Eleanor Smith, David Thomson, Katie Workum, Anna Thérèse Witenberg, and Darrin Wright. We originally assembled in 2018 as the cast for a show by Katie Workum Dance, and it was immediately clear that we had explosive collaborative chemistry. At the time, Authentic Movement (a long form, closed-eyed, witnessed, movement exploration) and group improvisational scores were the meat of our work, but we operated as a hierarchy. When the pandemic hit and existing working conditions failed us as dancers, we realized we needed to restructure to survive, utilizing the wealth of knowledge and care of the whole group. We call ourselves Duvet. We have expanded our focus from developing work for ‘shows’ to creating a culture where our impulses and listening are our driving force. Duvet is a company of circular knowledge and shared leadership. We work continuously, cultivating a system of care and creation simultaneously. We hold all-day practices where we do Authentic Movement and improvisation. In addition, we hold meetings where the Authentic Movement is the ethos from which we build a company structure. Our continual return every Tuesday, every season of the year, is a commitment to friendship, intention, and above all, to building an emergent system of shared leadership. For this presentation we will be sharing our practice.”
—Duvet
Adelita Husni Bey’s These Conditions is a 2020–2022 Vera List Center Fellowship-commissioned project and has been supported by research assistance, production grants, and curatorial support by the Vera List Center for Art and Politics as part of its As for Protocols focus theme. It is curated by Eriola Pira and Carin Kuoni, with curatorial assistance from Camila Palomino. The project is also supported by the Italian Council (10th edition, 2021), a program to promote Italian contemporary art in the world by the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity of the Italian Ministry of Culture. Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea is the cultural partner and receiving museum of the commissioned work in Italy. Additional support has been provided by the Brooklyn Army Terminal (New York City Economic Development Corporation). Special thanks to Catherine Gund, DIVA TV, and ACT UP (actupny.com).
This project and the Spring 2022 programs of the Vera List Center for Art and Politics at The New School are generously supported by members of the Vera List Center Board, individual donors as well as the following institutional funders:
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
Boris Lurie Art Foundation
Dayton Foundation
Ford Foundation
Italian Council
Kettering Fund
Native Arts and Cultures Foundation
Pryor Cashman LLP
and
The New School