Elena Dahn, Pendiente, 2024. Performance at PROA21, 2022. Courtesy the artist.
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About the exhibition
Movements Toward Freedom, on view at MCA Denver September 20, 2024-February 2, 2025, will explore the power, possibility, and vulnerability of bodily movement in contemporary life.
Linking physical and social definitions of movement, Movements Toward Freedom examines how the articulation of our bodies, collectively and singularly, informs and shapes a vital society. Showcasing recent work and new commissions that span genres of performance, sculpture, video, painting and installation, the exhibition considers the ways that physical movement plays an integral role in exercising personal and collective agency, as a means for community-building, civic change and liberation, as well as serving as an antidote to strife and a vehicle for healing and care.
Exhibiting artists: Sadie Barnette, Ben Coleman, Elena Dahn, Karon Davis, Brendan Fernandes, GeoVanna Gonzalez, EJ Hill, Karlo Andrei Ibarra, tara jae, Steffani Jemison, Liz Magic Laser, Carolyn Lazard, Francisco Masó, Senga Nengudi, Kambui Olujimi, Ronny Quevedo, Eric-Paul Riege, Davina Semo, Laura Shill, Naama Tsabar and Cosmo Whyte.
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Curated by
Leilani Lynch, MCA Denver's Associate Curator
Leilani Lynch, MCA Denver's Associate Curator
On view from
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Major funding for Movements is generously provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. Support for Movements is provided by the Hollingsworth Foundation. MCA Denver also thanks the citizens of the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) for their support of the exhibition.
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Movements Performances
Time-based programming is core to the framework of the Movements exhibition. Many of the artists in the show expand on their installations and sculptures through performances. Over half of the works on view will be activated during monthly programming of activations by the artists, performances with local dancers, and participatory events. This exhibition will host the most accompanying programs of any project MCA Denver has organized to-date.
Performances take place in the galleries and are FREE with museum admission (with the exception of Steffani Jemison’s performance at the Holiday Theater).
Brendan Fernandes: Within Seeing
When: 9/20/24 @ 6PM; 10/26/24 from NOON–4PM; 10/27/24 from NOON–4PM; 12/7/24 from 2:45–4PM; 12/8/24 from 2:45–4PM
Within Seeing, by Brendan Fernandes, are choreographed performances with local dancers that explore collective movement and dynamics of visibility and opacity through the activation of Fernandes’ We came to dance hybrid installation as part of the Movements Toward Freedom exhibition.
GeoVanna Gonzalez: PLAY, LAY, AYE ACT: 7
When: 9/21/24 @ 1PM & 1:30PM; 11/23/24 @ 2PM & 2:30PM; 11/24/24 @ 2PM & 2:30PM
PLAY, LAY, AYE ACT: 7 explores the paradox of being both unseen and visible, navigating spaces where recognition and acknowledgment intersect with the freedom to redirect oneself. Each "Act" presents a new configuration and performance, transforming the installation into a continually reinvented work. The structure is built, dismantled, and reimagined each time, offering a new exploration of connection and interaction.
Elena Dahn: Delta
When: 9/21/24 from 3–3:30PM
Elena Dahn will perform within her latex-based painting, stretching the material almost to the point of breaking.
Eric-Paul Riege: Jaatloh4Ye’iitsoh [15-16]
When: 9/21/24 from NOON–1PM & 2–3:45PM
The artist will perform a durational ‘weaving dance’ in and around with his soft sculpture work Jaatloh4Ye’iitsoh [15-16].
Ronny Quevedo: at the line, performed by HOLDTIGHT performance art company presented by Presenting Denver
When: 9/28/24 from 1–2:30PM
Presenting Denver will invite HOLDTIGHT, an interdisciplinary performance art company based between Denver and NYC, to perform on exhibiting artist Ronny Quevedo’s floor installation, at the line.
Laura Shill: Working On Myself
When: 10/6/24 from NOON–4PM; 11/17/24 from NOON–4PM; 1/19/25 from NOON–4PM
10/6/24: Join artists Laura Shill, John Lake, and Phillip Herford as they exercise and create musical accompaniment for visitors engaging with the installation Working on Myself #1. Herford and Lake will perform sonic interpretations of the body movements and workout routines creating a dialog between movement and sound. Their ‘gym playlist” will be available to scroll allowing them to switch between methods of engagement and styles of music allowing for an endless combination of play and experimentation. These improvised and experimental musical performances will be entirely original and new for each visitor depending on the workout routine and the ways in which participants respond to the music and sounds.
11/17/24: Join artists Laura Shill and John Lake as they exercise and engage with the installation Working on Myself #1. In addition, visitors will discover Shill and Lake working out in different areas of the museum: the rooftop, the elevator, the hallways, and the galleries.
Ronny Quevedo: at the line, performed by HOLDTIGHT performance art company presented by Presenting Denver
When: 12/7/24 from 1–2:30PM; 12/8/24 from 1–2:30PM
Presenting Denver will invite HOLDTIGHT, an interdisciplinary performance art company based between Denver and NYC, to perform on exhibiting artist Ronny Quevedo’s floor installation, at the line.
Liz Magic Laser, Karlo Andrei Ibarra, Ronny Quevedo, etc. | Workout Circuit - Activation of Contensiones, Exorcise 1-8, At the line
When: 1/8/25; 1/15/25; 1/22/25; 1/29/25
In a fitness-focused “workout circuit”, multiple works on the 2nd floor will be activated through a class-based format There will be breathwork exercises, a yoga class, and cardio-based exercises. Guests are encouraged to have happy hour on the roof following the class.
Naama Tsabar: Transition
When: 1/19/25
Transition is a series from Naama Tsabar that transforms functional amplifiers and speakers into visual compositions and sonic platforms.
Steffani Jemison and Quincy Flowers | Flight Theater
When: 1/31/25; 2/1/25
Flight Theater is an interdisciplinary meditation on the fantasy of a God’s-eye-view, the possibility of escape, and the enduring seduction of untethering ourselves from earth.
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Movements Youth Performances
During the month of January, MCA Denver will host youth dance activations—including performances and classes—on at the line, a reimagined professional basketball floor by exhibiting artist Ronny Quevedo. The activations seek to honor and create space for youth dance and sports groups in the city of Denver, while also encouraging youth in the community to partake in the movement. We encourage teens 13 – 18 to attend.
Adult admission is $5 after 5PM. No need to RSVP.
KonnectPop
When: 01/07/25 @ 5PM
KonnectPop will convene Kpop enthusiasts from the Denver Area and host a Kpop dance class and team/crew dance event on at the line.
North High School Cheer Team
When: 01/14/25 @ 5PM
From 5–6PM, the North High School Cheerleading Program will have cheer practice (including stunt practice), and then from 6–6:30PM there will be a performance, all of which will take place on at the line.
School of Breaking
When: 01/28/25 @ 5PM
The School of Breaking will first take part in a cypher and then a performance. Afterwards, youth and adult visitors are invited to partake in a workshop and a dance circle guided by the School of Breaking.