The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s performance series, MetLiveArts, will present an eight-week summer series of timely, edgy, and pointedly political performances and films beginning Friday, June 23 at The Met Breuer. The series, titled Theater of the Resist, takes its name from a technique in art making—when an artist uses layers of opposing material to “resist” the medium, thus generating negative space in which the artist can create. The series is presented in conjunction with the exhibition The Body Politic: Video from The Met Collection. It will highlight dance, spoken word, comedy, music, and film from artists and communities beyond the cultural hegemony.
The series, which will take place on Friday and Saturday evenings from June 23 through August 12, will open with Egyptian political comedian Bassem Youssef and his signature brilliant and outrageously scathing observations. Performers include Kyp Malone, Gina Yashere, and Stew. A special focus on composer Julius Eastman will punctuate the season with performances of some of his key works. (A full list of performers is below.)
Theater of the Resist is co-organized by MetLiveArts and political journalist and musician Kali Holloway. “This summer at The Met Breuer will be about providing a platform for artists whose work engages the political and social climate through any medium that supports their practice,” said Limor Tomer, General Manager of MetLiveArts, “and the metaphor of the ‘resist’ is our organizing framework.”
The series will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. on the fifth floor of The Met Breuer and is free with Museum admission.
Theater of the Resist series performers include:
American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME), musicians
Vinie Burrows, actress
cullen + them, choreographer/dancer
Davalois Fearon Dance
Helga Davis, performer
DJ Mojo
Gerry Eastman, musician
For Living Lovers with Brandon Ross and Stomu Takeishi, musicians, and Sadiq Bey, poet
Heems, rapper
Emtithal Mahmoud, poet
Kyp Malone, musician
Mazz Swift, musician, and Therese Workman, musician
Mega Bog, musician
The Mighty Third Rail, musicians
Leva Misevičiūtė, artist and performer
Lifers Group members: Maxwell Melvins, president, and Picard “Original” Galette, rapper, in conversation with Nicole Fleetwood, Associate Professor in the Department of American Studies, Rutgers University
Aparna Nancherla, comedian
PUBLIQuartet, muscians
Shilpa Ray, musician
Sidra Bell Dance New York
Kim David Smith, singer/performer
Stew singer/performer
Davóne Tines, opera singer
Tongues in Trees, musicians
Maria Usbeck, musician
Gina Yashere, comedian
Bassem Youssef, comedian
Zebra Katz, aka Ojay Morgan, rapper
And screenings of the films Strong Island (2017), Whose Streets (2017), Field of Vision shorts 100 Days: A Lens on Resistance (2017).
Hosts include: political journalist and musician Kali Holloway, WQXR host Terrance McKnight, and musician and NYPR host/podcaster Helga Davis.
About MetLiveArts
The critically acclaimed performance series at The Metropolitan Museum of Art commissions and presents contemporary performance through the lens of the Museum’s exhibitions and gallery spaces. MetLiveArts invites artists, performers, curators, and thought leaders to create groundbreaking new work, including live and digital performances as well as site-specific durational performances that have been named some of the most “memorable” and “best of” performances in New York City by The New York Times, New Yorker, and Broadway World.
Credits
This series is made possible by Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon B. Polsky. It is offered Free with Museum Admission thanks in part to The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc.
The Body Politic: Video from The Met Collection will be on view at The Met Breuer June 20–September 3, 2017.
#MetLiveArts
# # #
Updated July 17, 2017
Contact: Meryl Cates
212 650 2684
meryl.cates@metmuseum.org
Communications
212 570 3951
communications@metmuseum.org
Press resources