Armory artist-in-residence Carrie Mae Weems curates "The Shape of Things," a day-long convening that critiques the history of violence and questions the shape of things to come in the context of our current political state on Sunday, December 17, 12 p.m. to 10 p.m., at the Thompson Arts Center at Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue, New York, NY.
In "The Shape of Things," Weems continues to grapple with the history of violence in our country—personally and within her body of work. Audiences are invited to join participants in interrogating this complex topic through a series of readings, performances, conversations, and other artistic responses held throughout the day in the Armory’s first and second floor historic rooms.
Notable participants include: choreographer and dancer Kyle Abraham; poet Elizabeth Alexander; performance and installation artist Tania Bruguera; urban revitalization strategist Majora Carter; architect Elizabeth Diller; The Met’s Kimberly Drew; photographer John Edmonds; juvenile justice reformer Adam Foss; writer and performance artist Malik Gaines; social practice artist Theaster Gates; filmmaker Tony Gerber; FLEXN dance pioneer Reggie (Regg Roc) Gray; trombonist Craig Harris; vocalist Nona Hendryx; playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins; cinematographer Arthur Jafa; gaming pioneers Navid and Vassiliki Khonsari; NYU Professor and musician Jason King; Wooster Group founing member and director Liz LeCompte; philosopher Gregg Lambert; composer and Bang on the Can co-founder David Lang; Harvard Professor Sarah Lewis; filmmaker John Lucas; poet Aja Monet; jazz pianist and composer Jason Moran; visual artist Shirin Neshat; playwright Lynn Nottage; professor of contemporary rhetorical theory Kendall Phillips; poet Claudia Rankine; poet Carl Hancock Rux; guitarist and composer Marvin Sewell; trumpeter Jawwaad Taylor; performance artist Carmelita Tropicana; conceptual artist Hank Willis Thomas; puppeteer Basil Twist; theater director Roberta Uno; vocalist and composer Imani Uzuri; and Wooster Group founding member and actress Kate Valk, among others.