OLD WAYS NEW TOOLS: A Festival of Online Performance
February 19, 20 and 21; 2021
www.oldwaysnewtools.com

The Performance Department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, in association with SAIC’s Admissions Department, is pleased to present OLD WAYS NEW TOOLS, a showcase of online performance created and performed by the current class of graduate students in the Performance Department at SAIC.

With the shift to online learning in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the medium of live performance has faced particularly acute challenges. The works presented in OLD WAYS NEW TOOLS demonstrate how performance makers and live artists continue to innovate in response to this moment. The works, presented entirely within the Zoom platform, confront the edges of liveness, the possibilities of digital intimacy, and the urgency of art in a time of crisis.

The festival features three full evenings of boundary-pushing performance. Friday, February 19th highlights prerecorded work for the camera and Saturday, February 20th offers a series of live performances over Zoom. The festival concludes on Sunday, February 21st with a panel discussion on Live Art under pandemic.

OLD WAYS NEW TOOLS showcases the SAIC Performance community as a vital contemporary think tank, constantly challenging yesterday’s notions of what performance is and can do.

This event is free and open to the public.

Showcase Event Order:

Friday, February 19th; 5pm CST to 6pm CST, digital reception to follow.
Performance for Video Works screened and introduced live by the artists: Sylvia Bowersox, Yaismel Alba Garib, Keny Sanchez, Jade Ortega White and Aram Atamian (Alumni)
Registration for the Zoom Link at oldwaynewtools.com

Saturday, February 20th; 8pm CST to 9pm CST, digital reception to follow.
Live Performance and Performance for Video Works by the artists: Ále Campos, Jordan Knecht, Anthony Sims, Corey Smith, Jess Smoot and Llio Zogra
Registration for the Zoom Link at oldwaynewtools.com

Sunday, February 21th; 2pm CST to 3pm CST, digital reception to follow.
BEYOND THE RECTANGLE: Artist Presentations and Panel Discussion: Leila Ghasempor, Maria Plotnikova and Seth Sexton; Moderated by Lauren Steinberg (SAIC Exhibitions/Alum)
Registration for the Zoom Link at oldwaynewtools.com

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s (SAIC) Department of Performance was founded in an experimental spirit and is unique in the United States as one of the only contemporary performance departments in an art school at the undergraduate and graduate level focused on performance practice and performance studies. Our curriculum combines intensive studio practice with rigorous critical, theoretical, and historical study to inform artist’s aesthetic choices and expression, while our interdisciplinary approach builds on a broad range of performative modes, including live action, performance installation, movement research, tactical and site performance, interactive digital technologies, and performative writing.

Official Website

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Tags: Ále Campos, Anthony Sims, Aram Atamian, Chicago, Corey Smith, Jade Ortega White, Jess Smoot, Jordan Knecht, Keny Sánchez, Lauren Steinberg, Leila Ghasempor, Llio Zogra, Maria Plotnikova, OLD WAYS NEW TOOLS: A Festival of Online Performance, Performance Department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, SAIC, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Seth Sexton, Sylvia Bowersox, Yaismel Alba Garib