The 2015 AT THE CROSSROADS season at Times
Square Arts saw artists collaborating with Times Square’s identity, as defined
through users, physical environment and cognitive association. Both "T.SQ Newstand" and "FAILE: Wishing on You" employed visual language that evoked nostalgic “authenticity” and added contemporary references to create a shared, new
“authentic.” "Times Square#SetintheStreet" and "HeartBeat" cued audience to be their own performers.
Visual artist Robin Rhode staged Arnold Schönberg’s "Erwartung" with Times Square as the contemporary expressionistic
stage. And Rashaad Newsome brought marginalized hip-hop artists to perform on
the most expensive real estate, with the billboards as their projection screen.
From the subtle to the loud and current events to universal themes, artists
broke past the symbolic representation of this iconic place to explore
methodologies of how we create shared definitions of place.
Yawn-in was an experimental performance for COIL15 festival, in collaboration with our Midnight Moment program - viewers became the participants alongside the subject of the film.
HeartBeat (2015-02-09/2015-03-02) by StereotankTimes Square Arts
Made from affordable material, the installation HeartBeat – an industrial water tank – first invited audience to play the work as a serious instrument accompanying the cacophony of Times Square...
HeartSeat (2015-03-03/2015-03-08) by StereotankTimes Square Arts
…and later turned itself inside out to create daring street furniture.
Times Square #SetintheStreet (2015-04-15/2015-04-19) by Justin BettmanTimes Square Arts
To mark the opening of the NYC TriBeCa Film Festival, Justin Bettman sourced furniture from across the five boroughs of NYC and created a set that engaged anyone to create their own ‘film still’ of an imagined movie.
Jane's Walk (2015-05-02) by Municipal Art SocietyTimes Square Arts
Times Square Alliance President Tim Tompkins toured urban-curious New Yorkers around the Broadway pedestrian plazas discussing transformation that retains historic identity.
FAILE: Wishing on You (2015-08-17/2015-09-14) by FAILETimes Square Arts
As an extension of their Brooklyn Museum exhibition, FAILE created their largest prayer wheel to date, which combined the historic graphics of the area and fantastical graphics with a more contemporary spin.
The Conductor (Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi) (2015-09-22/2015-09-28) by Rashaad Newsome, Crystal Caines, Cakes Da KillaTimes Square Arts
Rashaad Newsome curated two future voices of hip-hop, artists Cakes Da Killa and Crystal Caines, to perform pop-up concerts before his Midnight Moment.
Met Opera Opening Night: Verdi's "Otello" (2015-09-21) by UnknownTimes Square Arts
The 10th anniversary of the Metropolitan Opera’s opening night simulcast on the electronic billboards of Times Square, complete with red carpet, intermission snacks and ushered seating.
T.SQ Newsstand (2015-10-09/2015-10-18) by Juxtapoz, Victory Journal and GroteskTimes Square Arts
At a time of public yearning for an authentic NYC, Grotesk partnered with Victory Journal and Juxtapoz Magazine to bring an old-style newsstand to life, clerked by contemporary guest artists signing and selling affordable souvenirs.
Improvisation and Statements of Freedom in Jazz and Movement (2015-10-11) by Kyle Abraham, Otis Brown IIITimes Square Arts
Non-professional and professional performers gathered together for a workshop exploring themes of freedom through jazz and movement in front of the Armed Forces Recruiting Center.
Arnold Schönberg's Erwartung - A Performance by Robin Rhode (2015-11-07/2015-11-08) by Robin RhodeTimes Square Arts
The first staging of an opera in Times Square was created by Robin Rhode for Performa 15. The billboards became the moonlight, and the urban plazas the forest.
Residency at the Crossroads (2015-06-01/2016-08-31) by Luke DuBois, Okwui Okpokwasili, Peter BornTimes Square Arts
The Residency at the Crossroads program gives artists opportunity to research the intersection of public space, audience, behavior and artistic intervention. R. Luke DuBois probes self-portraiture and Okwui Okpokwasili (seen here) investigates the possibility of creating a universal song.
Installations and performances in the Broadway plazas that expose Times Square’s diverse local, national, and international visitors to quality contemporary art.
Times Square Arts is generously supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
