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The Writing Workshop in New York City

April 3, 2010 — April 10, 2010

at UnionDocs Thu April 8 - Sat April 10, 6-10pm daily (see details below)
at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center Sat April 3 & Sat April 10, 2-4pm

Based in Dublin, Ireland since 2007 and supported by Thisisnotashop Gallery, The Writing Workshop has become an open hub for people to explore & develop writing. The Workshop is catalysed by a shared desire to explore the expansive & pervasive possibilities of text & words, particularly when extended through transdisciplinary arts practices.

Core member artists of The Writing Workshop (Jessica Foley, Susan Thomson, Áine Ivers and Jessamyn Fiore) are journeying from Ireland to present their work and host a series of writing workshops at UnionDocs in Williamsberg, Brooklyn and P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center in Long Island City, Queens. This series will include sculptural/film installation, screenings, live readings and participatory workshops that will explore the work and also launch a New York branch of The Writing Workshop.

All Workshops are open to the public- please come along if you are at all interested in text (open to artists, writers, filmmakers… anyone who wishes to explore and play with words & ideas)

UnionDocs Thu Apr 8 – Sat Apr 10
322 Union Ave, Williamsberg, Brooklyn 11211 www.uniondocs.org

Daily 6pm-8pm: Installation
- Jessica Foley’s film/audio installation entiled for one, for all.
Artist Statement: This work has developed in my head mostly, and only of late has become ‘visible’. In November 2008 I visited America for the first time with the resolve to film in Super 8 a personal experience of accompanying my friend to make her vote in what was predicted by many to be ‘an historic’ presidential election for America & the World. The films have only come to light (as in literally projected) in the past number of weeks, and during this time I have attempted to articulate for myself, & for whomever might come across this work, a kind of minor personal inquiry of Democracy, of Vision & of Unity. for one, for all is incomplete, though I hope that it will evolve through it’s exhibiting, through the eyes & voices & ears of those who encounter it…

- Áine Ivers sculptural installation entitled Pattern for moving through an element.
Artist Statement: Animals who roam our cities freely in the future… This installation is an attempt to manifest in New York a pack of wolves, based on a pattern I have been developing over the past few months. A pattern for a wolf that moves over ground, that I can bring anywhere, and build where desired.

Thu Apr 8 at 8pm: Workshop
Jessica Foley will lead a Writing Workshop based on ideas extended from her work for one, for all, exploring the realtionship between writing and democracy.

Fri Apr 9 at 8pm: Screening
Fire Practice Theatre by Susan Thomson. Residing somewhere between fiction and documentary, this two screen film shows firefighters practicing their skills on a tall purpose built house in a fire station. This is depicted as if it were a piece of theatre, a rehearsal or ritual in a theatre where only one play is performed. There are different levels of fiction. A script is performed by actors playing firefighters; lines are swapped, dramatically forgotten and a scene arrives early. The house is unlived-in, sinister, the piece reminiscent of a psyche where trauma and desire are endlessly replayed.
Fire Practice Theatre runs for approx 15 minutes and will be followed by audience discussion with the artist.

Sat Apr 10 at 8pm: Reading
Live readings of members work including a theatrical reading of A Play About Lee Lozano by Jessamyn Fiore followed by audience discussion. A Play About Lee Lozano uses found text (articles/interviews/statement) to explore the mystery of 1960’s New York painter/conceptual performance artist Lee Lozano whose work led her to boycott the art world and women in general. The extremity of her boycott created a void that others have attempted to fill in order to understand her life and work.

P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center Sat Apr 3 & Sat Apr 10 2-4pm
22-25 Jackson Ave at intersection of 46th Ave, Long Island City 11101 www.ps1.org

Writing Workshop members Jessica Foley, Susan Thomson, Áine Ivers, and Jessamyn Fiore will lead two workshops at P.S.1 on the first two Saturdays in April. Please join us for one or both workshops that are open to any and all who are interested in exploring text and ideas.

Workshop 1 on Sat Apr 3, 2-4pm:
Introduction to The Writing Workshop – in this workshop we will talk about what the Writing Workshop is and how we work. We will do some fun exercises that will get members thinking creatively and working together. We will also share and discuss work in process so if you have a piece or idea you would like to share please bring it along (nothing too long so everyone has time to present).

Workshop 2 on Sat Apr 10, 2-4pm:
Imaginative Tourism– this workshop will explore the idea of travel writing and trying to capture a place and experience- both for somewhere you have and have not been. Do you need to ‘experience’ in order to write comprehensively about something? We will tease out ideas of Truth & Fiction - writing about an experience never experienced, and seeing if the reader can identify the limits of this, ie: can you tell whether this is true or not? Believe the text or not…

The Writing Workshop at P.S.1 is supported by ARTBOOK.

The Writing Workshop in New York City is generously supported by Culture Ireland.

If you have any specific questions about workshops or events please email (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)