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State of the Arts Night x Sound Scene
June 22, 2024 | 5:00 pm–11:00 pm
FREE
Registration recommended.
In this one-night-only evening of cross-cultural inspiration, artists from across the European Union will come together with Sound Scene Audio Arts Festival artists to explore the connective power of sound and the cosmic influence of the summer solstice.
Presented by the European Union and DC Listening Lounge in collaboration with the Hirshhorn, State of the Arts Night x Sound Scene will feature an evening of performance, conversation, and interactive projects inspired by sound and the solstice. The event will highlight our unity in diversity along with our collective concern for the future of our planet. Attendees will reflect on the passage of time, celebrate the joy of human interaction, explore the allure of the cosmos, and much more.
Visitors can also explore exhibitions on view throughout the Museum until 10 pm.
Cash bars will be available throughout the evening.
This event is presented in cooperation with the Washington, DC, embassies of Denmark, Germany, Spain, Cyprus, Lithuania, Austria, Poland, and Portugal, and the Lithuanian Culture Institute.
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SCHEDULE
Live Stage | Plaza
5 PM
Welcome
5:05 PM
Performance: Percussion
Christian Benning (Germany)
5:30 PM
Performance: Piano
Nikolaj Hess (Denmark)
6 PM
Performance: Synergy
Jose L. López “Marqués and Marina Alba (Spain)
6:30 PM
Live Painting: Freedom and Visual Installation: Seascape
Inês Tique – Visual Artist (Portugal)
Evgenia Vasiloude – Printmaker (Cyprus)
7 PM
Performance: radiance & resonance
Claire Alrich, Andrew Toy – with Vivian Chen, MissJessica Denson,
Emi Kawashima, Patricia Mullaney-Loss, Thomas Northrup
7:30 PM
Performance: Hacked Theremins
Jakub Ciupiński (Poland)
8 PM
Performance: The Yin & Yang of the Sun
The Pseudoscientists with Wu Shen Tao Martial Arts; Sam Miller, Julian Weaver, Kenny Chrzanowski, Alex Zitto
8:30 PM
Performance: (Re)Evolutions/Solstice Cycles
Stephanie Vasko
9 PM
Performance: Hacked Theremins
Jakub Ciupiński (Poland)
9:30 PM
Performance: Luminous Being
Geoff Robertson and Audrey Wright
10 PM
Performance: Clear Channel
Awad Bilal, Don Godwin, Mary Jane Regalado
10:30 PM
Performance: Percussion
Christian Benning (Germany)
Live Stage | Ring Auditorium
5 PM
Performance: Twenty Fingers Duo & Lauryna Narkevičiūtė
Lora Kmieliauskaitė and Arnas Kmieliauskas (Lithuania)
5:30 PM
Talk: Composing for Climate
Climate change and environmental degradation are an existential threat to the European Union and the world, and the European Green Deal aims at making the EU the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. This panel explores how artists are being inspired by the planet to create new and original compositions – sometimes with innovative instruments — that connects with audiences about the natural world without the need for words.
Panelists
Jakub Ciupiński, Composer (Poland)
Kristine Diekman, Media Artist
Liz Waugh McManus, Multimedia Artist
Dr. Stephanie Vasko, Researcher & Designer
Moderator: Lyndsey Gore, Capital City Symphony
6:15 PM
Talk: Rewiring the Brain through Sound
Mental health is an important priority for the EU, across the US, and around the world. Our citizens have worries, anxieties and feelings of depression caused by the devastating effects of the pandemic, a rise in global conflict, climate change and loss of biodiversity, unemployment and rising living costs, the pressures of the digital sphere and social media. This panel will explore how artists are using sound to improve mental calm, clarity, and efficiency.
Panelists
Heike Kaltenbrunner, Artist (Austria)
Christian Benning, Percussionist (Germany)
Mary Regalado, Clear Channel
Moderator: Diane Rhyu Taylor, National Building Museum
7 PM
Workshop: close| distant
Heike Kaltenbrunner, Mathias Lenz (Austria)
7:30 PM
Performance: Twenty Fingers Duo & Lauryna Narkevičiūtė
Lora Kmieliauskaitė and Arnas Kmieliauskas (Lithuania)
8 PM
Talk: Seeing Sound
Music is used on stage across the performing arts, creating a universal language that builds bridges and connects us across borders. Hear from a variety of artists who are creating a visual experience of sound for theatre, dance, and cultural heritage.
Panelists
Lora Kmieliauskaitė, TwentyFingers Duo (Lithuania)
Audrey Wright, Violinist
Geoff Robertson, Artist
Jose L. López “Marqués”, Cellist (Spain)
Moderator: Michael Orlove, National Endowment for the Arts
8:45 PM
Talk: Where Do We Belong?
Shifting borders, national identity, and feelings of belonging and displacement and isolation are all themes that resonate with contemporary audiences all over the world. Explore how artists translating these feelings from visuals into sound, and vice versa, helping us to make sense of these feelings and find comfort.
Panelists
Ines Tique, Artist (Portugal)
Nikolaj Hess, Pianist (Denmark)
Alec Galambos, KHORIKOS
Moderator: Alicia Adams, John F. Kennedy Center
9:30 PM
Performance: Piano
Nikolaj Hess (Denmark)
10 PM Performance: Synergy
Jose L. López Marqués and Marina Alba (Spain)
Other Programming
6 PM
Level 2 | Four Talks Gallery
Performance: Across the Open Spaces
KHORIKOS
6 – 9 PM
Lobby
Art Cart Pop Up: Light Up Your Life!
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EXHIBITIONS ON VIEW (Until 10 pm)
Lower Level
Level 2
- Revolutions: Art from the Hirshhorn Collection, 1860–1960
- Jessica Diamond: Wheel Of Life
- Laurie Anderson: Four Talks
Level 3
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COUNTRIES REPRESENTED
AUSTRIA
Heike Kaltenbrunner is a media, photography, sound artist – but above all, the question of the human being’s ability to sense has characterized Kaltenbrunner’s work for many years. Parallel to her artistic work, she works as a craniosacral therapist. The connecting element of all her work(s), both in the artistic and therapeutic fields, is the sensual experience. In concrete terms, her exploration of these supposed border areas and the finding of intersections usually consists of object-like space/sound installations that are fed by a fascination for the small and large phenomena of the cosmos.
http://kaltenbrunner.klingt.org
Born 1980 in Linz, Mathias Lenz studied acting and had an apprenticeship contract at the Vienna Burgtheater. Then he decided to become a performance artist. Since then he has been working in changing constellations and contexts on the supposed borders between object theater, performance art and mechanical engineering, sometimes also in spoken theater or as a stage designer. What interests him more than the end product is the way to get there, the tinkering and the constant discarding. Especially and above all in the theater. Intensive and long-standing collaboration with the Berlin artist group Club Real, the Viennese theater collective God’s Entertainment, the director Astrid Griesbach, Annie Sprinkle & Beth Stephens, the choreographer Oleg Soulimenko and the composer Peter Kutin.
[Not present]
Supported by the Austrian Cultural Forum.
CYPRUS
A video installation by Evgenia Vasiloude will be on display — a versatile artist and printmaker for over 20 years in the Republic of Cyprus. Vasiloude’s early work prominently features the female form, which she utilizes as a vehicle to investigate themes of nature, femininity, environmental concerns, ecology, and the delicacy of life. Vasiloude has showcased her art in nine solo exhibitions across Cyprus, alongside participation in biennales and printmaking exhibitions both locally and internationally. Her artwork titled “Hymn to Demeter” was awarded at the 9th Cairo International Biennale. Evgenia’s more recent artistic practice has focused on experimental printmaking techniques, specifically nontoxic methods of impression. Vasiloude’s creations are housed in prominent public and private collections such as the State Collection of Contemporary Cypriot Art.
Supported by the Washington D.C. Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus.
DENMARK
Nikolaj Hess is well established as a highly estimated international jazz pianist and composer. His piano playing is characterised by a personal delicate golden touch and mix of superb sense of groove and melodic and creative imagination. His inspirations include a deep insight into the American and Nordic jazz tradition, but also reflect his musical open-mindedness, where his influences span from electronica and krautrock over classical and folk to world music and roots. Nikolaj Hess has written music for films such as Melancholia by Lars Von Trier and several cross-genre projects. He has composed and arranged for various projects and settings, and tours extensively in Europe, Africa, the U.S., and East Asia.
Supported by the Washington D.C. Embassy of Denmark.
GERMANY
Christian Benning is one of the most influential personalities on the international percussion scene. Concerts have recently taken the multiple award-winning soloist around the world, from Hambourg, Milan, Verona, Paris, Barcelona, all the way to Jerusalem, Osaka, Baltimore and San Diego. Soon he will make his debut at the United Nations in New York City and Westminster Church in London. In addition to concert tours through Asia, Africa, Europe and North America with his percussion group and further renowned orchestras, he gives masterclasses at academies and conservatories in Italy, Spain, Romania, Israel and Mauritius. Since 2022, he is pursuing an interdisciplinary PhD at London’s Brunel University, designing rhythm-based training methods for professional team sports to increase training efficiency.
https://www.christianbenning.de/
Supported by the Washington D.C. Embassy of Germany.
LITHUANIA
Twenty Fingers Duo is a contemporary music ensemble founded in Vilnius in 2016 by sister and brother violinist Lora Kmieliauskaitė and cellist Arnas Kmieliauskas. Twenty Fingers Duo actively participate in and initiate contemporary art projects, with a strong focus on collaboration with artists from other fields. The main task of the ensemble’s musical activity is to foster and promote Lithuanian music, while the gamut of their activities ranges from standard concert appearances and interdisciplinary performances to collaborations in contemporary opera, theatre, dance, and film productions.
https://www.twentyfingersduo.com
Lauryna Narkevičiūtė is a distinctive Lithuanian visual artist whose work navigates the intersection of the physical and digital realms. Her diverse projects include CGI art, 3D motion graphics, audiovisual installations, and art prints. Lauryna explores the complex interactions between technology and human experience through her digitally handcrafted narratives. In addition to her personal projects, Lauryna embraces interdisciplinary collaborations with professionals from various fields. Her work has been consistently showcased internationally, enhancing contemporary digital art discourse.
Supported by the Washington D.C. Embassy of Lithuania and the Lithuanian Culture Institute.
POLAND
Jakub Ciupiński, a Polish-born, New York City-based artist, is distinguished by his innovative fusion of classical and electronic music. A Juilliard-trained composer, Ciupiński has collaborated with a wide range of performers, from acclaimed soloists such as Anne Akiko-Meyers to major ensembles and institutions including the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Birmingham Royal Ballet. His compositions, often featuring his own invention of gesture-controlled instruments, invite audiences into a world where music visually and sonically interacts with the environment, showcasing his commitment to pushing the boundaries of musical expression.
Supported by the Washington D.C. Embassy of Poland.
PORTUGAL
Inês Tique is a Portuguese American artist, born in Lisbon in 1971 who works and lives in New York City.
She is provocative in the way she explores all levels of human nature, constantly seeking to establish a more organic relation between nature and humans. Inclusive and eclectic, she believes we all connect, coexist and create different cultures not only though language and symbols but also through objects and pictorial images.
Since 2000, Tique has exhibited work in Portugal and in the United States. She was selected for several art awards and is represented in public and private collections around the world. She is known for her large-size abstract expressionistic paintings. https://www.inestique.com/
Supported by the Washington D.C. Embassy of Portugal.
SPAIN
Jose L. López “Marqués” is a renowned Spanish cellist, improviser and composer with an extensive career in the international music scene. Creator of his own language and a pioneer in the inclusion of the cello in Flamenco, he gives it a voice of its own and a personal style in its various fields. He has performed side by side with great artists such as Carmen Linares, Rafael Riqueni, and Juan Manuel Cañizares. His compositions transcend the usual boundaries between genres, and are surprising both for the torrent of resources he employs and for their fascinating vitality and originality. Marqués won the composition award for best original music for dance in the International Contest of Spanish Dance and Flamenco Choreography. He was nominated several times for the MAX awards and was a finalist in the 2023 TALÍA awards.
https://www.joseluislopez.info
Born in Madrid to a family of musicians, Marina Alba will be starting her masters degree this fall at the Manhattan School of Music with a full scholarship as part of the selective Pinchas Zukerman Program. Alba graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music with a BM in Violin Performance and a minor in Jazz Studies. She is the winner of several awards including Presser Foundation Undergraduate Scholar Award 2024. Alba has performed in masterclasses with world-renowned artists such as Vadim Gluzman and Sarah Chang as well as in international festivals. She was part of the Heifetz on Tour ensemble in May 2024, performing in several venues around Rhode Island, Maine, Washington DC and Staunton. Marina loves jazz and how it intersects with her Spanish heritage and classical violin playing. She is also a distinguished jazz vocalist, and sings Swing, Bebop, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian Jazz, and cross-genre fusions.
Supported by the Washington D.C. Embassy of Spain.
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SOUND SCENE PARTICIPANTS
Across the Open Spaces (Performance), KHORIKOS
KHORIKOS’ forthcoming album, “Across the Open Spaces”, is a collection of unaccompanied vocal music that explores distance and darkness and confronts loneliness. Conceptualized as an immersive experience, the ensemble recorded their album by standing in a circle around a 360° ambisonic microphone. KHORIKOS will perform selections from the album in different spatial arrangements, inviting the audience to change their own listening positions in between pieces and move around freely encouraging hearing from different perspectives.
Alternative Energy Powered Electronic Instruments with Vaux Flores (Workshop), Travis Johns
Over this 1-hour workshop, participants will build a small, stand-alone electronic musical instrument powered by alternative sources of energy. Ever thought about holding your own backyard solar rave? Now’s your chance.
Clear Channel (Performance), Awad Bilal, Don Godwin, Mary Regalado
Clear Channel, a Washington, DC-based trio featuring Awad Bilal (Too Free), Mary Regalado (Downtown Boys, Gauche) and Don Godwin (Too Free, Tonal Park) emerge as a force of joy. They are an eclectic mix of artists and activists fusing funky post-punk with humor, bouncy bass lines, and celebratory rhythms. Described as “making party music on the brink of psychic annihilation” by the Washington Post, Clear Channel is distinctly DC and glowing.
close| distant (Workshop), Heike Kaltenbrunner, Mathias Lenz
Join artist Heike Kaltenbrunner to explore the sonic possibilities of sound and space through the unique pipes of close| distant. During this 20 minute workshop and performance participants (no musical experience required) are invited to transform into instrumentalists. With guidance from Kaltenbrunner, activate soft tones and sculpt fffrrrrs, hums, and hisses to orchestrate an original and collaborative soundscape. Kaltenbrunner will offer tips to participants to help them hone in on steady hand movements and more playful gestures to bring forward unique drones and timbres.
Dance of the Planets, Alex Wand
Dance of the Planets is solar system sonification by Alex Wand and Desert Magic. It began as a live performance piece that maps orbital speed to tempo and planetary position to stereo image. In collaboration with coder Luke Williams and designer Stephanie Layton, we then developed the piece into an interactive application with options to activate, deactivate, and randomize planet rotation to create soundscapes that unfold differently every time. We have a tradition of performing this piece on the solstices, inviting listeners to attune to the interweaving rhythms of celestial motions and earthly seasons that are orchestrated by the sun.
Echoes of an Ancient Sun (Interactive installation), MJ Alexander, Edward Knight, Kiegan Ryan
1,200 years ago, 1,200 miles west of here, a powerful cultural center flourished amid ceremonial mounds built to align with the sunsets of solstice. Echoes of an Ancient Sun is an interactive GPS-powered experience featuring on-site field recordings and evocative soundscapes inspired by the history and mysteries of Oklahoma’s Spiro Mounds.
Epitaph of the Earth (Interactive installation), Shinnosuke Komiya
Epitaph of the Earth is an instrument that transforms rocks’ unique characteristics into enchanting melodies, offering a new perspective on geologic time. This creation changes how we interact with the earth’s ancient elements, turning the simple act of collecting rocks into an adventure through the deep, untold stories of our planet’s past.
Expanding Ground (Performance), Althea Rao, Layla Klinger
Expanding Ground is a durational performance in which participants take turns using their bodies to weave ground patterns to form a large-scale lace work over the course of one day. As thread-bearing human bodies interlace in acts of complex entwining, we reflect on singularity versus multiplicity, involved in the production of knowledge and dynamic social relations.
Infinity In Our Hands (Interactive installation), Kristine Diekman, Lisa Mansfield, Liz Waugh McManus
The Sun is a dynamic star, a constantly changing hearth of light and heat providing life on Earth. In 5 million years the Sun will start to die, expanding and losing energy. Working with scientific data gathered from the Chandra Observatory—NASA’s flagship mission for X-Ray astronomy—and other sources, the project explores the lifecycle of stars through sound, touch and light. It includes speculative fiction, star sonifications, field recordings and glass renditions of astral data, to provide an experience of the interconnectedness of stars with human life.
Voice performers: Finley Stapleton-Hamilton, Kristine Diekman, Sally Broatch, and Nick Rheinberger.
With thanks to project partners: Nicolas Bonne (Tactile Universe), James Trayford (STRAUSS), the Smithsonian Institution, and Craig James.
Karnatik Music’s Celestial Compositions (Installation), Balakrishnan Raghavan, Alex Wand
This work features a vocal recording of seven 18th-century songs from South India that describe the celestial planetary compositions of the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. With 3 different entry points, you can choose your preferred way to experience these aural worlds and be mindful of the planetary life world we inhabit.
Longest Day / Longest Night (Interactive installation), Peter Green, Carolyn Zaldivar Snow
Longest Day / Longest Night is a practice in collective memory and digital preservation recalling sounds from historical solstice dates unknowingly cataloged in smartphone videos and public archives. This interactive installation invites museum visitors to pick up a telephone and dial an extension from a geographic location labeled switchboard, and listen to sounds that may feel familiar or perplexing on the longest day and longest night on our planet.
Luminous Being (Performance), Audrey Wright, Geoff Robertson
Luminous Being is a multi-sensory sound and visual performance, featuring classical violinist Audrey Wright adorned in a garment displaying sound-responsive light patterns created by artist Geoff Robertson. Including music by Wright, Bach, Ysaÿe, and von Bingen, the program explores narratives of luminescence throughout nature and human experience.
Pulses (Workshop), Jason Snell
Pulses is a biofeedback music workshop where the rhythms of the heart and mind converge to create a collaborative symphony. During this 45 minute workshop, participants utilize biosensor headsets to trigger a unique octave of notes based on their brain activity. The group’s collective heart rate sets the tempo. Together they weave a dynamic composition as neural rhythms synchronize to create orchestral pulses. Following the session, participants have the opportunity to reflect on the interplay between their neural activity, heart rhythms, and the emerging music, fostering a deeper understanding of collective creativity.
radiance & resonance (Performance), Claire Alrich, Andrew Toy – with Vivian Chen, MissJessica Denson, Emi Kawashima, Patricia Mullaney-Loss, Thomas Northrup
radiance & resonance is a time-lapse of the summer solstice. Mirroring the movement of the sun, this performance uses sound, movement, and textiles to construct and then deconstruct a visual and sonic landscape. Using a devised score, Andrew and Claire build a collaborative audio-visual experience that equally utilizes movement and sound. Both the choreography and the music are inspired by natural unfoldings in nature, building from a calm and meditative state to excited celebration and then back to where it began.
(Re)Evolutions / Solstice Cycles (Performance), Stephanie E. Vasko
(Re)Evolutions / Solstice Cycles is a live, twenty-minute audiovisual performance which will take the audience on a journey through time, space, and the cycles of nature, focusing from the darkness of Winter Solstice 2023 to the luminosity of Summer Solstice 2024. This piece will start in darkness, silence, and sparsity before evolving through time, temperature, and luminosity into sounds (recorded, embodied, sampled), objects, and movements from and inspired by the Winter and Summer solstices. (Re)Evolutions / Solstice Cycles will end with opportunities for collaborative/community sound and scene making.
Sonic Altar (Interactive installation), Claire Alrich, Michelle Harvey, Emi Kawashima, Maya Renfro, Gia Serano, Dag Yeshiwas
Sonic Altar is an interactive installation where audience choices shape a dynamic soundscape and visual display. This immersive experience explores the solstice theme by emphasizing the cumulative impact of individual choices on the natural world.
Study #4: Light, Affect, Sound (Installation), Bureau of Sensory Affairs; Alma Laprida and Nate Scheible, co-chairs
On May 18, 2024, The BSA conducted Study #4, examining the relationship between light and sound. Nine artists were situated in a dark space, exposed to different intensities of light, and asked to “translate” their sensations into sound. The study was guided by questions including: How do we perceive light? How is that perception reflected consciously or unconsciously through emotions and memory? And is that reflection concrete or abstract?
The study is presented as an installation, including a short video documentary of the process, audio pieces based on the recordings, and a presentation of the data within the BSA’s workspace, including notes, graphs, objects, and photographs.
时 (Time) (Interactive installation), cash, Susan Zhong
时 (Time) is a unique experience that involves a special cultural perspective. Through sonic and visual elements, audiences will sense the change in time from one solstice to another within an immersive environment.
Trying It (Installation), VeJai Alston, Danyela J. Brown, and Tony Bush (DMV Kiki Nights)
Trying It is a land art collaboration with DMV Kiki Nights that troubles the notion of an underground Ballroom Scene. DMV Kiki Nights documents and promotes the Kiki Ballroom Scene in the region, despite a scarcity of accessible, stable spaces in Chocolate City. The month of pride inundates the community with daylight, yet four June balls have been canceled this year due to venue shade. Trying It consists of a hillock covering a speaker looping recorded audio of a kiki ball: Rocheny Pricien’s (@godiva_sterling) The Pride Kickoff Ball 6/1/24 at The Pocket, DJ: VeJai Alston (@pumpdabeat), MC: Tony Bush (@dmvkikinights), Judge: Danyela June Brown (@se3ingth1ngs). The bodiless footprint of the work reflects the fungibility of time-based queer genres.
What Goes Around, Comes Around (Interactive installation), David Greenfieldboyce
Every year has the same days and many of the same events, and they are similar in some ways year-to-year, but always different. The memories of these repeated events echo and stack up, and together they make the substance of our lives. Audiences are invited to step into the center of a ring of speakers addressing a microphone. The words, songs, or sounds that they make will travel around them in circles and layer into a revolving, live soundscape.
The Yin & Yang of the Sun (Interactive performance), The Pseudoscientists with Wu Shen Tao Martial Arts; Sam Miller, Julian Weaver, Kenny Chrzanowski, Alex Zitto
A visual and auditory celebration of the Solstice combining modular synths with movements of Tai-Chi.
Learn more about the Sound Scene 2024: Solstice audio arts festival.
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Thank you to our partners!
