A series of performances, exhibitions, and workshops featuring visiting artists Miranda July and Circo Zero.
ICE Collab 2 took place at various locations in Athens in May, 2002. Over three hundred people attended the events, organized by Tara Rebele (independent artist) and Brian Henry (Head, Creative Writing).
Miranda July, a multi-media performer and video artist, presented new material from her work in progress, How I Learned to Draw, a performance involving text, music and improvisation. July’s videos (The Amateurist, Nest of Tens, Getting Stronger Every Day) have screened internationally at sites such as MoMA, the Guggenheim Museum, and the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Nest of Tens was included in the 2002 Whitney Biennial, in addition to a sound installation commissioned for the show. She has toured internationally with The Swan Tool, a multi-media performance commissioned by the Rotterdamse Schouwburg, the I.F.F.R., and the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art. July’s previous multi-media performance, Love Diamond, was commissioned by P.I.C.A., and has been performed at sites around the country, closing at The Kitchen in New York.
July has recorded several performance albums, available on the Kill Rock Stars and K record labels. During breaks from her own work, July has directed a video for the all-girl rock band Sleater Kinney, made her feature film acting debut in Alison Maclean’s Jesus’ Son, and provided consultation for Wayne Wang’s feature film, The Center of the World. In 1995 she founded Joanie 4 Jackie (formerly Big Miss Moviola), a movie distribution network for independent women movie makers. This project has allowed women of all ages and backgrounds to exchange their movies and give each other support.
Circo Zero is a fusion of popular and experimental, contemporary and ancient performance forms. Directed by Keith Hennessy, a diverse team of circus and music artists create a hybrid spectacle for the urban environment. Circo Zero intends to evolve performance language and build community through collaboration while crossing lines of artistic discipline, personal and cultural identity, and social expectations. The work is intended to be both intimate and spectacular. Performance elements integrate traditional circus arts (aerial fabric, cloud swing, acrobatics, contortion, aerial hoop, juggling) and contemporary performance within a musical landscape of American roots/folk songs supported by contemporary rhythms (hip hop, breakbeat, ambient groove).
In the 1970s a phenomenon of circus renewal, both nostalgic and progressive, was witnessed in several countries. Circus Oz in Australia, Big Apple and Pickle Family in the US, Cirque du Soleil in Canada, Cirque Plume and others in France inspired a movement that is now recognized as Nouveau Cirque. After many years as both a solo performer and primary collaborator in the local dance/performance companies Contraband and Core, Keith relocated to France to be initiated into the world of nouveau cirque, co-creating the French-American company Cahin-Caha, cirque batard, which sold out four weeks at Yerba Buena Center in November 2000, and has toured extensively throughout Europe since 1999. CIRCO ZERO is Hennessy’s return home to collaborate with an emerging community of Bay Area circus artists.
ICE Collab performance directed by Keith Hennessy and created in collaboration with Amanda Starr, Benn Mendoza, and Susan Voyticky (aerial arts), Tyler Downing (tumbling and trampoline), Jade-blue Eclipse (hand balance and contortion), Gabriel Todd and Loren Olds (vocals, bagpipe).
CORE Concert Dance Company, performed Tensile Involvement (1953), choreographed by Alwin Nikolais.
ICE Collab 2 began with open performances. Students, faculty, and local writers and artists shared poetry, spoken words, fiction, drama, comedy, performance art and music. As an integral part of the two-day event, Tara Rebele, a performance artist living in Athens, led a full day of on-site collaborations. The exhibition, Digigraphical, showcased artists working in video and digital media. Curated by local artists Samantha Barnum and Kathryn Refi, this show featured large-scale projections and interactive web-based projects by Kevin Hoth, Kathryn Jill Johnson, Michael Oliveri, Bill Paul, Ryan Roth, John Rudel, and Susan Watson.