The Wooster Group
dumb type
Workspace Unlimited
Verdensteatret
Vox Vocal Ensemble
International Contemporary Ensemble
Per Tengstrand
Madlib
Cecil Taylor
Pauline Oliveros
Richard Siegal/The Bakery
Robert Normandeau
Fieldwork
Gamelan Galak Tika
Ensemble Robot
The Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center opens with a celebration spanning three weekends. Dedicated to the advancement of artistic production integrating new approaches and research at the intersection of technology, media and the performing arts, a major emphasis at EMPAC is the commissioning of new performances and time-based installations.
Participating artists: The Wooster Group; dumb type; Workspace Unlimited;
Verdensteatret; Vox Vocal Ensemble and International Contemporary Ensemble; Per
Tengstrand; Madlib; Cecil Taylor; Pauline Oliveros; Richard Siegal/The Bakery;
Robert Normandeau, Fieldwork, Gamelan Galak Tika; Ensemble Robot, and more.
The Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center opens with a celebration spanning
three weekends, from October 3-19 (see schedule below).
EMPAC is located 2.5 hours north of New York City, 3 hours south of Montreal, and 3
hours west of Boston in Troy, NY. All opening events are free and open to the
public, and most events require tickets. Reserve now, as seating is limited!
Dedicated to the advancement of artistic production integrating new approaches and
research at the intersection of technology, media and the performing arts, a major
emphasis at EMPAC is the commissioning of new performances and time-based
installations.
EMPAC's new 220,000-square foot building, designed by the British firm Grimshaw, is
both a signature work of architecture and a unique facility that combines many
specialized venues under one roof, including: a 1,200-seat concert hall; a 400-seat
theater; two black-box studio spaces; and artist/researcher work spaces, all capable
of simultaneous, acoustically isolated use. Technical innovations are found in all
venues: from the Concert Hall's adjustable fabric ceiling, which allows acoustical
flexibility, and its near-silent HVAC; the Studios' "tunable" tilting wall tiles; to
the Theater's 70-foot fly tower and computer controlled rigging.
Both a place and a program, EMPAC is an arts institution that draws strength from
being part of a great research university. It operates nationally and
internationally: attracting innovative artists, both renowned and emerging, from
around the world; offering artists, researchers, and audiences opportunities that
are available nowhere else; providing unsurpassed facilities for research and
creative exploration, sending new artworks onto the global stage.
Friday – Sunday, oct. 3 – 5, 2008
The Gala Weekend offers audiences an introduction to the EMPAC program and mission
with performances ranging from 15th-century choral music performed in a 21st-century
concert hall to interactive 360-degree video installations to contemporary
performances that merge visual media, theater and sound. A Presidential Colloquy and
the official Ribbon Cutting on October 3 begin the weekend—and the festivities.
Public artistic performances and research presentations begin Saturday, October 4.
Thursday – Saturday, oct. 9 – 11, 2008
bThe Symposium Weekend brings together an internationally diverse group of directors
from leading research institutions to share their work in art, design and
media-based research, spanning augmented reality to the visualization and
auralization of scientific data. Performances, installations and exhibitions
continue throughout the long weekend.
Friday – Sunday, oct. 17 – 19, 2008
Homecoming and Family Weekend focuses on the greater Rensselaer community. Events
and performances ranging in genre and style—including many student groups—will
reflect the diversity of the Rensselaer campus activities.
EMPAC
110 8th street - Troy (NY)