Emcee: Negin Farsad Main Dish: Alex White Mazzarella & Artefacting With: Caron Atlas, Stephanie Gooel, Brian Halloran, Niki Singleton, Lawman Lynch, Chloe Bass, Dave Ruder, Abigail Levine and Wen-shaun Yang

Location: Bowery Poetry Time: 6-8pm $10

{Each evening begins with a happy hour from 6pm to 7pm, and a live radio broadcast from 7-8pm.}

ABOUT THE SERIES

Dates: Mondays, Oct 21, Nov 18, Dec 16

The United States Department of Arts and Culture (USDAC) and the Associação Espaço Cultural Lanchonete (aka Lanchonete) are taking over Bowery Poetry for a series of evening encounters and exchanges, one part happy hour and the other part radio talk show… shaken, stirred, and served straight up on the airwaves! For three evenings this Fall, Situational Junta poses a simple question: If artists are empowered to innovate on a large enough scale to interrupt the status quo, what would that look like?

Antonio Gramsci wrote that “The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.” Situational Junta convenes a cast of unlikely midwives to cross borders and spark whimsy as they search for workarounds (or gambiarra) to the present condition and stoke a hunger for something new. Equal parts salon, happening, cabaret, and fireside chat, Situational Junta is a mash-up of ideas and forms building new alliances and bridging Bowery Poetry’s past to the future.

Description: Each evening is designed as a radio talk show, hosted by an emcee, and featuring a main guest or guests. In addition to their interview-conversation or performance, guests may prompt the audience to speak amongst themselves as music takes over the broadcast. A rotating, intergenerational, interdisciplinary cast of characters round out the hour through a tightly choreographed sequence of commentary, artist work, news flashes, and ‘commercial breaks’. People and projects emerge in unlikely proximity. Music, ideas, and drinks flow and the evening culminates with a soapbox open mic that invites audience members to join the broadcast. The <> is surrounded by a sequence of newsflashes, ‘commercial breaks’, and urgent interventions by a retinue of of creative schemers and artful dreamers.

Two more nights:

Nov 18: Emcee: DW Gibson Main Dish: Lee Ann Norman’s ‘This is Our House: On music, memory, and the politics of culture’ (co-presented w/ Foundational Sharing) Plus More: Kristiania Collective

Dec 16: Emcee: Bob Holman Main Dish: Willing Participant (co-presented w/ Elastic City) Plus More: Spoken word by Sparrow.

While NewsFlashes & Commercial Breaks won’t be final until the night-of, they may include content from initiatives such as the Arts & Democracy Project and TrustArt. Our Cast of Characters & Pop-up Encounters may be on the stage or simply in the room, and include sculptures by Brian Fernandes-Halloran, jams from singer/songwriter Stephanie Gooel, art from Niki Singleton, books from Bureau of General Services Queer Division (BGSQD), a new-wave phenomenon called dance-casting, as well as regulars from the Bowery Poetry Club scene.

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS: One is a new national department. The other is a lunch counter in Brazil.

The United States Department of Arts and Culture (www.usdac.us) is a people-powered department that works to forge a future with cultural democracy, community cohesion, and social imagination at the nation’s core. Lanchonete (www.lanchonete.org) is a popular lunch counter in the fast-changing center of São Paulo, Brazil. It serves as a meeting spot for hungry people claiming their right to the city.

A cornerstone of Bowery Arts + Science’s fall season, Situational Junta gives airtime to a variety of projects, possibilities, and paradigm shifts, transporting audience members to a world with art and culture at its core. Livestreaming and media partnerships with Radio Al Cabira and The Mantle.

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