FirstWorks recently announced Festival 2011, the event that will transform Providence into a multistage spectacle of performances designed to engage and connect artists and creators from the world’s stage with FirstWorks audiences. Tickets are now on sale at www.first-works.org.
“For 2011, the FirstWorks Festival has an unparalleled combination of exhilarating performances, workshops and open dialogue designed to encourage dynamic exchanges between audiences, performers and creators about the big ideas of creativity,” Kathleen Pletcher, executive artistic director of FirstWorks, said in a press release. “More than ever before, this year’s festival reaches far beyond the stage. We’ve reached new heights in engaging our community in the creative conversations taking place locally, nationally and across the globe about the vital role arts and culture play in our society today.”
Pioneering multimedia performance artist Laurie Anderson will bring her powerfully personal meditation on life, longing, identity and memory to Providence for the first time on Oct. 22. Commissioned by the Vancouver Olympics, Delusion offers even those who have seen Laurie Anderson in concert or on screen the chance to experience a full-scale production, which collages imagery, electronic soundscape and spoken vignette.
Balla Kouyaté and World Vision, featured on Yo-Yo Ma’s latest release and Angelique Kidjo’s “Oyo,” fuse the music of Mali with jazz, blues and Caribbean sounds and will be featured Oct. 28.
The shape shifting dancers of MOMIX celebrate Mother Nature with Botanica, an artful extravaganza of movement, circus, athleticism and magical effects, on Oct. 29.
On Nov. 5, Caravanserai – a place where cultures meet – offers audiences a chance to experience powerhouse drumming and voices of ancient Sufi music played by masters acclaimed in their own country but unfamiliar to most Americans.
From Nov. 10-13, LOSTWAX and Jamie Jewett, voted Rhode Island’s best dance company, will present Seven Veils, a multimedia dance based on Thalia Field's adaptation of "Salome." This re-imagined “Veils” of Salome features an often-humorous score for Jewett’s quirky contemporary dance.
FirstWorks was launched in 2004 as a vehicle to build community, reach underserved audiences, and present arts programs that elevate Providence’s national profile. In the seven years since, FirstWorks has produced 21 arts festivals, attracted more than 95,000 participants, presented over 300 international artists and innovators, engaged more than 100 nonprofit community organizations and schools, and grown into a multidimensional arts organization recognized with 11 National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grants.
