Presents­­

 

Performance Art Series Event

 

Gabriel Barcia-Colombo

 in collaboration with

Benita de Wit

 

Monday April 14, 2014

6:00 - 8:30 p.m.

 

The Corner Room
1^st Floor

 

The New York Public Library

Mid-Manhattan Library

5^thAvenue at 40^th Street

New York, NY 10018

 

917-275-6975

 www.nypl.org

(Directions)

 

All events are FREE and subject to last minute change or cancellation

First come, first served

The Secret Society of Forbidden Literature presents a one night interactive performance entitled Banned! taking place within Mid-Manhattan Library. Created by Gabriel Barcia-Colombo and Benita de Wit, the performance places viewers in an alternate library reality where censored books come to life in a series of secret bespoke performances throughout the library. The performance commences incrementally in the Corner Room on the 1st floor. This is not a sit-down performance, rather a unique exploratory experience where the audience is invited to become part of the performance. Special Secret Society of Forbidden Literature pins are given away at the event.

Gabriel Barcia-Colombo is a New Media artist based in Brooklyn, New York. His work has been featured in group shows and art fairs across the globe. Barcia-Colombo’s early work  Animalia Chordata won honorable mention at the 2007 Prix Ars Electronica Festival in Linz, Austria. He was awarded both the Concordia Career Opportunity Advancement grant and the New York Foundation for the Arts grant in video. In 2012 he gave a TED talk entitled Capturing memories in Video Art and he was recently made a TED fellow. Barcia-Colombo received his Bachelor’s degree in film production from the University of Southern California and his Master’s degree from the Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) at the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University, where he now serves as a member of the faculty. He also serves as a member of the artist advisory board at the New York Foundation for the Arts as well as an education committee member at the Museum of Art and Design in Columbus circle. His site-specific exhibition 

The Secret Society of Forbidden Literature is currently on view in the Corner Room on the 1st floor of Mid-Manhattan library.

Benita de Wit is currently undertaking a Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Directing at Columbia University and is a recipient of the Theatre Dean’s Fellowship. Originally hailing from Australia, Benita has previously worked on projects for festivals including The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, Sydney Festival, The Sydney Fringe, Woodcourt Art Theatre and with companies including Griffin Theatre Company, Ensemble Theatre, James Anthony Productions and Siren Theatre. Benita graduated from a Bachelor of Arts (Performance Studies) at the University of Sydney in 2008 and was an active member of the Sydney University Dramatic Society. Benita has been awarded grants from the Dame Joan Sutherland Fund, Ars Musica Australis, The Layne Beachley Aim for the Stars Foundation and The Ian Potter Cultural Trust.

Initiated and organized by Arezoo Moseni, and in its first year, Performance Art Series  events stage provocative interdisciplinary happenings by contemporary visual artists. Banned!  event is specifically held in celebration of Library Week.