Starting March 24th, 2020 7:00pm - Ending March 25th, 2020 7:00pm  (Entry or re-entry is not allowed between 11pm and 8am, however you may stay as long as you want once you enter)

Shayna Dunkelman, percussionist in NYC brings Answer to (XX), a performance exploring relationships and power dynamics between “band leaders” (henceforth referred to as XXs) and herself. There will be 6 XXs, Ava Mendoza, Mindy Abovitz (Tom Tom Magazine), Sokio (New Latin Wave), William Parker, Du Yun, Emily Wells. Shayna will “answer to” them for 24 continuous hours as long as they follow the preset guidelines. The requests will be creative/performative or even a mundane task.

 RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/answer-to-xx-tickets-98920484833

“The work I do with bands is artistically intimate and personal, but is inevitably governed by the fundamentally asymmetrical power dynamic that arises from the accepted roles of "project-leader" or "bandleader," which finds its clearest expression in one person paying another. This is often at odds with the supposedly collaborative artistic environment.

This disconnect allows XXs to treat me like a co-equal collaborator when it is convenient with the option to assert absolute control at any time.

However, I'm inviting people who embody the opposite these power wielding bandleaders, who assert power whenever convenient, to join me in protest. 

This performance is part of a documentary film I’m creating with producer Irina Dvalidze (Bustle) to envision what a sustainable music industry might look like. 

I encourage people to join me and share your own experience by talking to a "confession cam" that will be set at the venue. “ - Shayna Dunkelman

This performance is supported by Franklin Furnace, an organization whose mission is to present, preserve, interpret, proselytize and advocate on behalf of avant-garde art, especially forms that may be vulnerable due to institutional neglect, cultural bias, their ephemeral nature, or politically unpopular content.