OUTDOORS

MONIRA FOUNDATION presents:

OUTDOORS, LET’S SOCIAL DISTANCE TOGETHER

In response to Covid-19, Monira Foundation, Mana Contemporary, The Brooklyn Rail, Pegasus the Orchestra and Pomegranate Arts will partner to provide free arts programming for Jersey City residents, and the greater community on Saturday, October 17th. While many cultural institutions remain closed, Monira will present ​OUTDOORS, LET’S SOCIAL DISTANCE TOGETHER,​ a series of art exhibitions and public programs to create a place for dialogue and cultural exchange between our communities with the support of Mana Contemporary, New Jersey and Jersey City Economic Development Corporation.

The ​OUTDOORS exhibition will feature works by New Jersey based artists to celebrate the reopening of the Journal Square area. Artists will take over Mana’s grounds as their canvas to explore current and urgent subjects such as isolation in a world that needs to be more just and inclusive. Artists include: Justin Brice Guariglia, Tom McGlynn, Ben Keating, Woolpunk, Nancy Nowacek and Rashad Wright

Monira Foundation and Pomegranate Arts will present film screenings of ​Einstein on the Beach, an Opera in Four Acts by Robert Wilson and Philip Glass with choreography by Lucinda Childs and text by Christopher Knowles. Widely recognized as one of the greatest creative achievements of the 20th century, Einstein on the Beach (1976) was an international breakthrough for two of America’s most celebrated artists. The production, in turn, radically and indelibly broadened what audiences might expect from opera, theater or performance art. The 2012-3 revival of the opera was produced by Pomegranate Arts, a resident company of Mana Contemporary, and toured to thirteen international cities bringing the opera to new audiences and an entirely new generation. The tour culminated in the filming of the opera by Telemondis and Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, directed for the screen by Don Kent. Thirty-seven years after it was originally created, Einstein on the Beach received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Opera Production. The Einstein on the Beach film screenings at Mana will be introduced by principal performer in the production and radio and podcast host, Helga Davis in conversation with a special guest.

Pegasus: The Orchestra, will perform ​Folk Inspirations​, ​a concert where the audience ​will be swept from the intricate Spanish folk melodies of de Falla to the raw and energetic Romanian melodies of Bartók; from the joyful Armenian folk melodies of Khachaturian to Schoenfield’s modern take on Klezmer to Gershwin’s and Kapustin’s bold and exuberant jewels of classical Jazz. The program will also feature showpieces by Bach, Weber, Poulenc and even John William’s famous arrangement of Gardel’s “Por una cabeza”. Let Pegasus fly you from Europe to Manhattan’s Upper West Side with a global musical journey, from Russia to Hungary, Armenia, and Austria, to Spain and the U.S., and several countries in between. Featured performers are Pegasus’s concertmaster Eiko Kano at the violin, principal Moran Katz at the clarinet with the artistic director Karén Hakobyan at the piano.

Monira Foundation. 888 Newark Ave Jersey City, NJ 07306

PROGRAM OCTOBER 15TH, 2020

All day, OUTDOORS exhibition, Mana Contemporary grounds. 888 Newark Ave. Jersey City. NJ 07306 6-6:30pm, ​Einstein on the Beach ​artist conversation with Helga Davis. Mana Contemporary Glass Gallery. 25 Senate Pl. Jersey City. NJ 07306
6:30-11pm, Screening: ​Einstein on the Beach​ (Film Duration 4 hours, 23 minutes)

OCTOBER 16TH, 2020

All day, OUTDOORS exhibition, Mana Contemporary grounds. 888 Newark Ave. Jersey City. NJ 07306 6-6:30pm, ​Einstein on the Beach ​artist conversation with Helga Davis. Mana Contemporary Glass Gallery. 25 Senate Pl. Jersey City. NJ 07306
6:30-11pm, Screening: ​Einstein on the Beach​ (Film Duration 4 hours, 23 minutes)

OCTOBER 17TH, 2020

3-6pm, OUTDOORS exhibition, Mana Contemporary grounds. 888 Newark Ave. Jersey City. NJ 07306 3-5pm, Face mask making with artist-in-residence Machine Dazzle, Mana Contemporary grounds. 4:30-5:30pm, music concert: ​Folk Inspirations​ by Pegasus, Mana Contemporary grounds.
6-6:30pm, ​Einstein on the Beach ​artist conversation with Helga Davis. Mana Contemporary Glass Gallery, 25 Senate Pl. Jersey City NJ 07306

6:30-11pm, Screening: ​Einstein on the Beach​ (Film Duration 4 hours, 23 minutes)

ABOUT MONIRA FOUNDATION ​an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit institution, functions as a radical experimental laboratory, working in close collaboration with artists, curators, musicians, producers, and writers to conceive, realize, and present innovative projects in all media. Its aim is to spark, intensify, and promote an evolving cultural and social dialogue between creators, audiences, and institutions. Focusing on the unique potential of interdisciplinary work in a context distinct from the distracting pressures of academia and the market, Monira Foundation advances the practices and products of today’s foremost artists, amplifying their contributions to communities both local and distant.

ABOUT MANA CONTEMPORARY, ​founded in 2011, Mana Contemporary is dedicated to providing a platform for contemporary art and artists through exhibitions, residencies, and public programs. Mana’s community network began in New Jersey and has since expanded to include Mana Contemporary Chicago and Mana Contemporary Miami.

ABOUT POMEGRANATE ARTS, f​ounded by Linda Brumbach in 1998, Pomegranate Arts is an independent production company based in New York City dedicated to the development of international performing arts projects. As a creative producing team, Pomegranate Arts works in close collaboration with contemporary artists and arts institutions to bring bold and ambitious artistic ideas to fruition. With a hands-on approach, Pomegranate creates unique structures and partnerships in all performance mediums. Whether creating a new work with established artists at the peak of their career or introducing the vision of a younger artist, Pomegranate specializes in producing provocative performance events of the highest quality.

ABOUT PEGASUS: THE ORCHESTRA, ​Mana Contemporary’s first musicians-in-residence, Pegasus: the Orchestra are led by founder, artistic director, and conductor Karén Hakobyan. They have launched an ongoing residency program “Pegasus at Mana”, which encompasses piano, chamber, jazz, orchestra, and youth programs. Pegasus: the Orchestra is a nonprofit professional orchestra with a mission to empower rising musicians with artistic freedom and promote innovative repertoire in an environment of creative thought and expression. The Orchestra brings together musicians and audiences of diverse backgrounds and cultural heritages by harnessing the power of music.