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Participatory Multi-Media Art Experience: “Economies of Effort” | SF

Created in a collaboration between veteran dance maker Cid Pearlman and visual artist Robbie Schoen, Economies of Effort: 3 presents an immersive, free-form experience inside a space ordered into multiple “micro-worlds.” The event is taking over the Joe Goode Annex on April 8-9, 2016 with shows nightly at 7:30 pm and 9 pm.

Free, but an RSVP is recommended.

Audience members are invited to move freely between simultaneous areas of activity – of dancing, building, printmaking, stacking firewood and more. Anchoring each performance area will be found art, design and installations by Schoen.

Like the first two events in this series, Economies of Effort: 3 is governed by “the idea that we derive power and agency from making things,” says Pearlman. “Some things we make are tangible, and some, like dances, are by definition ephemeral. Part of my interest in creating this series was to situate dance within the larger sphere of art-making, and in so doing, open the door to audiences that may not normally attend a dance concert.”

Economies of Effort: 1 premiered one year ago in San Francisco, and was followed by Economies of Effort: 2, commissioned by Soltumatu Tantsu Uhendus in Estonia. Culminating the series, Economies of Effort: 3 involves an enlarged ensemble of 15 performers representing three generations, including one of the Estonian artists who participated in the second installment.

Asked how and why tickets for Economies of Effort: 3 are free, Pearlman answers: “In the same way that we wanted to make the process of mounting a show less effortful for the artists, we now want to make it less effortful for the audience. To be plain, the cost of buying a ticket is for many people prohibitive, and so it’s a special pleasure to be able to remove that barrier. In fact, we’re calling 2016 the ‘Year of Free.’ Thanks to a combination of grants, generous donors, and good thrift, all of the presentations we make this year will be free of charge.”


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