MCA Chicago announces Resonance Spring Performance Series

 MCA Chicago announces Resonance Spring Performance Series


CHICAGO—Each spring the MCA presents a series of performances that are shaped by a curatorial theme reflecting our contemporary moment. The 2024 series, which takes place from March 28 through May 12, focuses on the theme of “resonance” through works by four artists who explore the physicality of sound and voice: Anna Martine Whitehead, Samita Sinha, Laura Ortman, and 7NMS | Marjani Forté-Saunders and Everett Saunders. Together, the artists and their respective pieces form voices expressing the present power of protest.

Resonance is organized by Tara Aisha Willis, Former Curator in Performance, with Laura Paige

Resonance Programming

Anna Martine Whitehead

FORCE! An opera in three acts

March 28–30, 7:30 pm

Edlis Neeson Theater

FORCE! is a sprawling, surrealist opera from artist Anna Martine Whitehead that blends experimental dance with the sounds of gospel, folk, pop, and contemporary experimental jazz. Opening upon a group of Black women and femmes as they realize they must enter a prison to escape the rapidly deteriorating society outside, FORCE! uses silence, sound, and rhythm to question who truly has control over how their time is spent.

Samita Sinha

Tremor

April 18–20, 7:30 pm

Edlis Neeson Theater

Artist and composer Samita Sinha’s latest performance work, Tremor, is born from Sinha’s practice of decomposing, distilling, and transforming Indian vocal traditions through the body, employing sound as a vessel that harnesses and liberates energy. Performed in relationship to a live sonic environment created by composer Ash Fure, and within a set designed by architect Sunil Bald, Sinha is joined on stage each night by a rotating cast of sound- and movement-based collaborators.

Live Music: Laura Ortman

April 26–27, 7:30 pm

Edlis Neeson Theater

Violinist and composer Laura Ortman (White Mountain Apache) performs at the MCA for two evenings of live, multimedia concerts. Ortman’s performances are informed by her practice as a sculptor and installation artist; she uses this background to bridge the gap between music and fine art, describing her approach to music as “sculpting sound.” Performed in the MCA’s Edlis Neeson Theater, Ortman’s original music is presented alongside her video works, and is in response to Chicago’s historic and contemporary Indigenous communities.

7NMS | Marjani Forté-Saunders and Everett Saunders

Prophet: The Order of the Lyricist

May 9–11, 7:30 pm and May 12, 2:30pm

Edlis Neeson Theater

Prophet: The Order of the Lyricist is a multigenre coming-of-age story following a lyricist and emcee developed by 7NMS (pronounced “seven names”), a collaboration between artists Marjani Forté-Saunders and Everett Saunders. Illuminating the distinctive practices, systems, philosophies, and political ideologies that have shaped hip-hop’s emcees and lyricists, Prophet immerses audiences in a world of courage, self-determination, and devotion in an offering to radical Black expression.

SUPPORT

Lead support for the 2023-24 season of MCA Performance and Public Programs is provided by Elizabeth A. Liebman.

Generous support is provided by Ginger Farley and Bob Shapiro, Martha Struthers Farley and Donald C. Farley, Jr. Family Foundation, N.A., Trustee; Susan Manning and Doug Doetsch; Carol Prins and John Hart/The Jessica Fund; and an anonymous donor.

Additional generous support is provided by Diane Kahan and Anne L. Kaplan.

The MCA is a proud member of the Museums in the Park and receives major support from the Chicago Park District.

Resonance is in-part funded by the New Works Initiative, a structure for the MCA to fund and support the development of new artworks, placing the creative process at the heart of the museum’s relationship with Chicago. This year, 7NMS, through the help of the New Works Initiative, will present Prophet: The Order of the Lyricist.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. The MCA interweaves exhibitions, performances, collections, and educational programs while providing a place for audiences to contemplate and discuss contemporary art in pursuit of a creative and diverse future. The MCA believes in the values of inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA) as a platform to enact structural change. The museum is generously supported by its Board of Trustees; individual and corporate members; private and corporate foundations, including the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; and government agencies. Museum capital improvements are supported by a Public Museum Capital Grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The MCA is a proud member of Museums in the Park and receives major support from the Chicago Park District.

The MCA is located at 220 E. Chicago Avenue and is open 10 am to 5 pm Wednesday to Sunday and Tuesdays (free for IL residents) from 10 am to 9 pm. The museum is closed on Mondays. Admission is free for all youth 18 and under, members of the military and veterans, and MCA members. Find more information about MCA's exhibitions, programs, and special events at mcachicago.org or at 312.280.2660.

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