Event - Alternatives & Futures

Alternatives & Futures

05.19.19, 1:00 pm

Join us for the first in a series of dynamic public programs that delve deeper into the themes, contexts, and aesthetics that have informed Queens Museum’s Spring 2019 Exhibitions. As part of a knockout weekend of programming starting with the Science Fiction Festival at Queens Library, Corona and ¡CORÓNATE! at Corona Plaza on May 18, May 19 programs at the Queens Museum will feature a day of film screenings, readings, performances, talks, and discussions that engage “futurisms” from a wide range of perspectives.

Gallery hours will be extended until 7pm on the occasion of Alternatives & Futures Public Programs

Schedule of Events:

1-2pm: Film Screening
Coco Fusco, TED Ethology: Primate Visions of the Human Mind, 2015 (50 mins)
Fusco revives and embodies the chimpanzee animal psychologist Dr. Zira from the original Planet of the Apes films of the late 1960s and early 1970s. In her lecture, Dr. Zira draws from primatology, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology to address human aggression and predatory behavior for the accumulation of resources in post-industrial societies.
Artist bio can be found here.
(QM Theater, 2nd Floor)

2-3:30pm: Panel Discussion: Science Fiction as Method
A panel discussion focusing on central themes in the exhibition Mundos Alternos: Art and Science Fiction in the Americas. How might we reimagine histories of the past and speculate on the future through science fiction?
Panelists: Eva Díaz, Macarena Gómez-Barris, and Alexandro Segade
Moderator: Arlene Dávila
Speaker bios can be found here.
(Atrium, 1st Floor)

3:30-5:30pm: Film Screening & Q+A with filmmaker Alex Rivera
Preceded by short:
Jess X.
SnowMotherland, 2018 (4 mins)
In a post-apocalyptic future, a migrant Latinx man is on life support from the last plant on Earth. With only memories to guide him, he must a find a way to preserve life on Earth.
Alex Rivera, Sleep Dealer, 2008 (90 mins)
A foundational film for Latino/a science fiction, Alex Rivera’s Sleep Dealer tells the fictional story of Memo Cruz, a young Mexican who works in a factory in Tijuana where workers connect their bodies to robot proxies to perform physical labor in the U.S. remotely. The film comments on real-life political and economic circumstances impacting labor in the globalized and automated economy of Western capitalism.
Filmmaker bios can be found here.
(QM Theater, 2nd Floor)

4-4:45pm: Performance
Queens Museum Studio Program artist Jeannine Han and collaborator Dan Riley present Of Chroma, a site-specific performance for the Panorama of the City of New York. Featuring analog light projection synchronized with a dance performance by Shuntaro Yoshida, Of Chroma takes up the Panorama as a dystopian futuristic city, in various stages of progress and retrograde, and to be transformed by the healing forces of the performers.
Artist bios can be found here.
(Panorama of the City of New York)

5-6:30pm: Reading Series and Discussion
Join us for readings of new and recent science fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction with authors N.K. Jemisin, Eugene Lim, and Sabrina Vourvoulias, followed by a discussion moderated by scholar Joy Sanchez-Taylor.
Author and moderator bios can be found here.
(Atrium, 1st Floor)

5:30-6:30pm: Performance
Voyage: A Session to Remember… is a participatory performance by artist Nahum. Making use of hypnosis techniques, Nahum will guide participants on a journey into their minds and through their memories.
Artist bio can be found here.
(QM Theater, 2nd Floor)

RSVP required: https://qnsmuse.nyc/nahum

Notes for participants:
The goal of this performance is to achieve a state that is similar to daydreaming. All participants should be willing and able to participate voluntarily. Participants will always be aware of their surroundings and will not be unconscious at any point. Attendees may cease to participate at any time they wish. They will be informed about the technique being used prior to beginning the performance. Participants will be asked to sign a waiver upon arrival at the museum. The artist will be available 20 minutes prior to the performance to answer questions or concerns for participants. Should interested participants have any questions in advance please email Lindsey Berfond at lberfond@queensmuseum.org

 

Image: Alex Rivera. Still from Sleep Dealer, 2008. HD video. 90 mins. Courtesy of Alex Rivera & Futuro Films.

Public programs for Spring 2019 exhibitions at Queens Museum are made possible by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the National Endowment for the Arts.