Ground Level Overlay is collaborative work by artist Leonardo Drew and choreographer Merce Cunningham with sound by Stuart Dempster. The footage was recorded live in New York in 1995 and has never been screened.

The film will be followed by a discussion with Ned McConnell and Malik Nashad Sharpe, moderated by Lauren A Wright, from Metal & Water. Artist Leonardo Drew will join the discussion online from his studio in New York. They will discuss the nature of collaboration between visual artists, choreographers and composers.

ABOUT GROUND LEVEL OVERLAY

Ground Level Overlay (1995) is a seminal dance piece by choreographer Merce Cunningham, made in collaboration with artist Leonardo Drew and musician Stuart Dempster, among others. Created in 1995, the work exemplifies Cunningham’s pioneering approach to interdisciplinary performance. He often worked with fashion designers, artists, and composers as equal creative partners. Each contributor worked on the piece independently, allowing their creations to coexist as distinct voices within the performance.

The choreography unfolds in front of Leonardo Drew’s monumental installation No. 47, now housed in the Walker Art Center’s collection. Made from hanging ropes, the work includes throwaway objects, shoelaces, feathers, and a baseball glove. This piece is typical of Drew’s practice in the early ’90s, when he used found objects for large-scale monochromatic installations.

ABOUT THE PANELLISTS

Ned McConnell is a curator at the Roberts Institute of Art and a writer specialising in performance, multidisciplinary practices, exhibitions and curatorial collaborations in contemporary art. He has been curator at Pump House Gallery and Whitechapel Gallery, shaping exhibitions and performance programmes that explore the dynamic intersections of live art and visual culture. McConnell’s work consistently foregrounds performance as a critical and experimental force within contemporary art, fostering collaborations that push the boundaries of curatorial practice.

Malik Nashad Sharpe is a choreographer and movement director working with dance, dark fantasy, and horror. Creating primarily underneath the alias Marikiscrycrycry, he creates provocative performances that are formally engaged with construction of affect, atmosphere, and dramaturgy from marginal perspectives. He graduated with a BA in Experimental Dance with highest honours from Williams College, and holds a certificate in Contemporary Dance from Trinity Laban Conservatoire for Music and Dance, where he won the Simone Michele Prize for Outstanding Choreography.

Lauren A. Wright is a producer and curator working at the intersection of dance and visual arts. After a decade working in visual arts organisations, as Curator at Turner Contemporary and Artistic Director of the Biennial of the Americas, Lauren moved to work in dance, initially as Programme Director at Siobhan Davies Studios, where they initiated the CONTINUOUS programme for dance in visual art spaces. Lauren is now Director of Strategy and Artist Development with Metal & Water, a London-based production company working where dance and choreography meet fashion, film, live music, nightlife and visual art.

GROUND LEVEL OVERLAY CREDITS

Choreographer: Merce CunninghamComposer: Stuart DempsterSet designer: Leonardo DrewCostume designer: Suzanne GalloLighting designer: Aaron CoppWorld premiere: 8 Mar 1995, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, City Center Theater, New York, New York, USADuration: 30 minutesNumber of dancers: 15 dancersMusic title: Underground Overlays (1995)Music details: Recorded music overlaid with live musicians playing hosepipe and conch shells

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