DC EMPTY
dallas contemporary’s time-based programming series with regional artists and collaborators activating vacant gallery spaces with short-term interventions.
past
christian cruz: breaking backs: a solo exhibition of living portraits
saturday, 13 janaury 2024
dallas contemporary is pleased to announce DC EMPTY, breaking backs: a solo exhibition of living portraits created by conceptual and multimedia artist and educator christian cruz. this one-day solo installation featuring three durational performances spanning seven hours is scheduled for january 13, 2024 during the museum’s open hours from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm. a reception will be held immediately following the conclusion of the performance.
cruz's day-long series of performances will unfold through the efforts of three compensated performers, each engaged in acts of labor throughout the gallery space. breaking backs critically explores tools of empowerment and resistance, encompassing hybridization, juxtaposition, and integration tactics. the installation of three performances, crafted in rasquachismo style—a term commonly used in chicano and mexican art movements that characterizes aesthetics of the working class, which make the most from the least—serves as symbolic allegories for struggle, hope, and grief.
breaking backs: a solo exhibition of living portraits is funded by the city of dallas office of arts & culture and the national endowment for the arts through the “culture of value” grant.
about christian cruz
christian cruz (b. dallas, 1989) is an independent educator, writer, and award-winning multimedia artist whose practice encompasses installation, sculpture, and performance within a visual arts context. her performances have taken place nationally and internationally in galleries, museums, universities, festivals, and public spaces. cruz earned a bachelor of arts in visual arts management from columbia college chicago and is now pursuing studies in visual and performing arts at the university of texas at dallas. she currently holds an artist residency at the cedars union arts incubator. in addition to being a mother and a survivor, she is also the founder of the artist mama fund and the dallas performance art index.
agora artists: the eldert lofts
friday, 03 march 2023
the eldert lofts is a collaborative dance work with creative direction by co-founders lauren kravitz and avery-jai andrews.
ever wonder about those strange noises coming from the apartment upstairs? waltz through the hallways of the eldert lofts as a unique cast of characters explores the intimacies and intricacies of community. take a peek behind closed doors to catch that familiar fight in the kitchen, or hide among the curtains as the woman downstairs dances alone. the original movement-based work is a series of vignettes that follows the stories of five tenants as they investigate their own relationships, exploring themes of connection, isolation, and identity.
organized by dallas contemporary’s communications and graphic design manager, alexandra hulsey. created by avery-jai andrews and lauren kravitz in collaboration with cami holman, jennifer mabus, and omar humphrey.
excerpts performed by: avery-jai andrews, cami holman, jennifer mabus, and lauren kravitz.
original sound by brittany padilla
costumes by kelsey olver
set by tori reynolds
lighting by ryan burkle
about the agora artists:
agora artists is a 501c3 non-profit organization focused on providing programming and resources that contribute to a supportive ecosystem for dance in dfw. through workshops, forums, and other creative assets agora artists aims to help individual dancers maintain an active and sustainable creative life. led by booker t washington hspva and nyu tisch school of the arts alums, avery-jai andrews and lauren kravitz, the organization collaborates with local and regional movement artists to cultivate new opportunities for dance in dfw. agora artists hosts much of its programming at arts mission oak cliff and has partnered with other local arts spaces including odyssey studios and sweet pass sculpture park to offer dance programming in non-traditional spaces.
kasey short: the tuna, the whale, the hillbilly and the subterranean
saturday, 18 february 2023
kasey short’s the tuna, the whale, the hillbilly and the subterranean is an immersive, interactive multimedia installation that challenges the relationship between humans and animals and the environment and technology. the project combines ideas from the artist's family history, mythology and objects inspired by trauma, popular culture, poetry and theater.
this experience is delivered through methods of new media including video, performance, sound, sculpture and augmented reality.
organized by dallas contemporary’s louis l. borick foundation renaissance intern seth tarango.
about kasey short:
kasey short is an interdisciplinary artist working in installation, performance, sculpture and new media with interest in expanded media through visions of immersive ecosystems. his work investigates intersections of art and technology, urbanism, ecology, video, sound and site-specific exchanges through utilization of time-based and interactive platforms. kasey received his mfa from the university of pennsylvania and a bfa from texas state university. kasey has exhibited works nationally and internationally and attended residencies such as the vermont studio center; acre projects, chicago, il; avl-mundo foundation, rotterdam, nl. kasey is a recipient of the charles addams memorial prize, the vermont studio center scholarship award, the dallas chamber of commerce emerging artist award and a grant recipient from the houston art alliance support for artists and creative individuals. kasey’s studio is based in dallas, tx and he currently teaches in the new media studio art department at the university of north texas.
college night + DC EMPTY: anti-avant garde avant garde artist collective
saturday, 04 february 2023
college night featured an after-hours experience at the museum with a new DC EMPTY performance by unt-based arts collective anti-avant garde avant garde artist collective, gallery exhibitions by shepard fairey and gabrielle goliath, and art making activities with local artists.
anti-avant garde avant garde artists collective’s piece ‘cooperative conundrum,’ explores notions of community and methods of gathering and connectivity through an allegorical performance of movements, conflicts, compromises, and synchronicities. utilizing a spool of yarn, members of the artist collective will embody archetypal figures -- providers, weavers, community -- and engage in a connective act that exhausts collective resources.
colton james white: they love me, they love me not
sunday, 08 january 2023
for the second presentation of DC EMPTY, dallas artist colton james white presents they love me, they love me not, a 5-hour durational performance piece that considers themes of uncertainty, infatuation, delusion, and the challenges of personal relationships – monogamy/polyamory and platonic/romantic. centered on a copious mound of flowers around which white will perform a series of repetitive actions, they love me, they love me not aims to activate an atmosphere of rococo neo-romance, creating an overwhelming dramatic tone within the space. the performance is organized by dallas contemporary’s louis l. borick foundation renaissance intern seth tarango.
about the artist:
colton white is a fake pop-star, 28 years-young queer from dallas, texas, with a bfa in new media studio arts from university of north texas. their work is primarily durational / interactive performance art that can also thrive within the realms of installation, photography and video. exploring such themes as queerness, sexual frustration, intimacy and persona, these themes are shown through a glittery lens of what white believes as “70’s glamour wanting to be grit”. follow on instagram @juliaroberts275.
kitchen sink performa
saturday, 03 december 2022
the first project to launch DC EMPTY is kitchen sink performa, a multimedia happening curated in collaboration with artist and university of north texas professor kasey short and dallas contemporary’s louis l. borick foundation renaissance intern seth tarango. exhibiting a group of artists working in performance and time-based mediums, kitchen sink performa is a platform for expounding upon performative and reactive aesthetics in performance art, performative computing, experimental cinema, and video art that examine genres in narrativity, abstraction, artificial intelligence, identity, and gender.
kitchen sink performa artists include: brandy michele adams @brandymicheleadams, in collaboration with lynné bowman cravens @lynnebowmancravens and julie mckendrick @momwow, gren bee @itmegrenbee, melanie clemmons @auraquartz, in collaboration with zak loyd, diana gonzalez @dimagogo.art, zak loyd @zakloyd, connor mizell @connor.mizell, erick ortiz @vive_somnia, teresita navidad @sourmoonjuice, kamyrn robins @okamco, kasey short @sirdukeofkasey and colin stokes @colinstokes22
about kitchen sink performa:
kitchen sink performa is an incubator project that exists to exchange a wide array of established, emerging, and selected student artists from the university tier working through a diverse range of material in performance-based media.
DC EMPTY images by alexandra hulsey.
‘breaking Backs: a solo exhibition of living portraits’ images courtesy of the artist chirstian cruz