On Stage
On Stage: Frictions
Apr 06, 2023 - Jun 18, 2023
About the Series
Each spring the MCA presents On Stage, a suite of performance works connected by a rigorous and relevant curatorial theme. In 2023, the series focuses on the frictions that exist in a society shaped by race—and the transformative power of productive resistance.
Frictions presents performances by three artists—Will Rawls, Shamel Pitts | TRIBE, and Barak adé Soleil—who explore blackness through bodily movement. Through in-person performances as well as performance-driven video installations, their works engage themes including queer intimacy, disabled bodies in motion and at rest, and the relationship between animation, race, and history. Defying conventional notions of blackness, queerness, movement, dance, and performance, Frictions invites both audiences and performers to engage with the productive tensions that emerge through each work.
Save 20% when you buy a package to all three On Stage: Frictions performances. Buy tickets now.
Performances
April
Shamel Pitts and Tushrick Fredericks, Touch of RED. Performed at MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA, October 22, 2022.Photos: The Adeboye Brothers
Shamel Pitts | TRIBE, Touch of RED
Apr 6–8, 2023
Edlis Neeson Theater
Set inside a contemporary boxing ring, this duet for two Black men explores Black multiplicity and human connection.
Photo by Will Rawls.
Will Rawls, [siccer]
Apr 27–30, 2023
Edlis Neeson Theater
Encompassing dance, photography and sound, [siccer] addresses the relationship between blackness and image-making.
May
Performance view, Barak adé Soleil, a series of movements, Claremont, California. Photo: Marcus Polk.
Barak adé Soleil, SHIFT
May 6, 2023
MCA Plaza
This newly commissioned work amplifies the presence of Black neurodiverse and disabled bodies by occupying the museum’s spaces both digitally and physically.
Funding
Lead support for the 2022–23 season of MCA Performance and Public Programs is provided by Elizabeth A. Liebman.
Major support is provided by the Alphawood Foundation and by Julie and Larry Bernstein.
Generous support is provided by Lois and Steve Eisen and The Eisen Family Foundation; Ginger Farley and Bob Shapiro, Martha Struthers Farley and Donald C. Farley, Jr. Family Foundation; N.A., Trustee; Susan Manning and Doug Doetsch; and Carol Prins and John Hart/The Jessica Fund.
The MCA is a proud member of the Museums in the Park and receives major support from the Chicago Park District.
Barak adé Soleil’s engagement at the MCA is supported by the Arts Midwest GIG Fund, a program of Arts Midwest that is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional contributions from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
