The People's United Nations (pUN) is an event and exhibition by Mexican artist Pedro Reyes. The event takes place November 23-24, 2013, and the exhibition runs from November 9, 2013-March 30, 2014. Pedro Reyes: The People's United Nations (pUN) is a playful homage to the United Nations, inspired by the fact that the global body’s General Assembly met from 1946-1950 in the building that later became the Queens Museum. This experimental gathering will test Reyes’ hypothesis that, since diplomacy has not yet solved the world’s problems, conflict-resolution techniques proven in other fields should be tried instead. Over the course of two days, this singular group will use theater games, group therapy, and techniques from social science to grapple with a set of surprising and provocative proposals as well as the problems the delegates themselves bring to the table. It is precisely the lighthearted spirit of play that allows the participants to engage in subjects whose magnitude would otherwise overwhelm us.

Welcome to the People's United Nations (pUN), an exhibition and performance by Pedro Reyes!

pUN is made up of over 150 citizen-delegates from the 195 member and observer states of the (real) United Nations. They're with us today to use popular theater and other techniques to grapple with real-world problems from a personal, playful perspective. On Nov 23 and 24, they will be working in full view of our museum visitors. There will be two camera crews and a photographer actively documenting the sessions as well. It promises to be quite a spectacle, and we want to make sure you enjoy it while delegates focus on their work.

TOURS EVERY 30 minutes from 12:30-4:30pm FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE. SIGN UP & MEET AT THE pUN REGISTRATION DESK UNDER THE STAIRCASE.

Modeled directly on tours of the UN itself, our tours include: up-close views of sessions themselves; insight into Reyes' exhibition of sculpture and painting inspired by pUN's underlying themes of dialogue and peace; and the history of the UN at the New York City Building. Tours are guided by staff in the Queens Museum Education, Public Programs, and Curatorial departments; and two young curator friends of the Queens Museum.

DELEGATE SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES:

SATURDAY NOV 23
9:30am-6pm Free shuttle service from the 7 train Mets Willets Point stop to the Queens Museum. The trolly will leave from Roosevelt Avenue and drop off at the Grand Central Parkway side Museum entrance.

12:00 "€“ 1:00 pm Session 1: Group Therapy / pUN Times. Turning a problem into an opportunity, and then into a headline. MAIN ATRIUM
1:00 "€“ 2:15 pm Delegate lunch(Private). SECOND FLOOR GALLERIES
2:30 "€“ 4:00 pm Session 2: Legislative Theater/ Pharmasphere. Augusto Boal's participatory theater techniques address the global drug trade. MAIN ATRIUM
4:00 "€“ 5:00 pm Wrap-up MAIN ATRIUM

SUNDAY NOV 24
10am-6pm Free shuttle service from the 7 train Mets Willets Point stop to the Queens Museum. The trolly will leave from Roosevelt Avenue and drop off at the Grand Central Parkway side Museum entrance.

12:00 "€“ 1:00 pm Session 3: Force Field Analysis/Global Proposals. Helping and hindering forces face off. MAIN ATRIUM
1:00 "€“ 2:15 pm 1:00 "€“ 2:15 pm Delegate lunch. Private. SECOND FLOOR GALLERIES
2:15 "€“ 2:45 Group Photo OUTSIDE IN FRONT OF UNISPHERE
2:45 "€“ 3:45 Lecture/ Introduction to Climate Engineering SECOND FLOOR THEATER. **Streaming available.
4:15 "€“ 5:00 pm Thank you and UN at pUN: Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal, UN Undersecretary General for Communication and Public Information followed by Body Synthesis by Urban Bush Women MAIN ATRIUM
5:00 "€“ 6:00 Meet the delegates at Cocktail Hour!

BOTH DAYS Please note: Between 12:20 "€“ 2:30 access to the 2nd floor via the central stairway is blocked. Please access the second floor by walking through the wonderful Panorama of the City of New York.

Pedro Reyes (b. 1972, Mexico City) lives and works in Mexico. Reyes rose to international attention with projects such as Capulas (2002-10), Baby Marx (2009-present) and Palas por Pistolas (2008). Previous solo exhibitions include Labor, Mexico City (2012, 2010); Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2011); Guggenheim Museum, New York (2011); CCA Kitakyushu, Kitakyushu (2009); Bass Museum, Miami (2008); and San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco (2008). Group exhibitions include the Liverpool Biennial, Liverpool (2012); Gwangju Biennial, Gwangju (2012); dOCUMENTA(13), Kassel (2013); Istanbul Design Biennial, Istanbul (2012), CCA Wattis Museum, San Francisco (2012); STUK, Leuven (2012); Creative Time, New York (2011); Serpentine Gallery, London (2010); Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City (2010); Lyon Biennale, Lyon (2009); Museo Nacional de Arte, Mexico City (2009); Yokohama Triennale, Yokohama (2008); Reykjiavik Art Museum, Reykjiavik (2008); Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (2007); Seattle Art Museum, Seattle (2007); and the 50th Venice Biennale, Venice (2003). Other exhibitions in 2013 include the Sharjah Biennial 11, Sharjah (March 13-May 13 ); In the Spirit of Utopia, Whitechapel Gallery, London (July 4-September 12); and the Carnegie International, Pittsburgh (October 5-March 16, 2014).

The People’s United Nations (pUN) is funded by Mexico's National Council for Culture and Arts (CONACULTA), Jacques and Natasha Gelman Trust, BBVA Bancomer, Consulate of Mexico, New York and The Mexican Cultural Institute of New York. Major production support provided by Lisson Gallery. Additional funding provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Special thanks to LABOR Gallery, Mexico City and Antojeria Popular, New York. Additional thanks to Galeria Luisa Strina, São Paulo; SOMA Summer, Mexico City, and Casa Vecina, Mexico City.

The People's United Nations (pUN) is part of the Performa Consortium.