Blog – Art in Odd Places

AiOP 2014: FREE Sneak Peek! Nicky Enright “Globo Exchange”

September 4, 2014 – 12:00 pm

Name: Nicky Enright

Title: Globo Exchange

What does “FREE” mean to you?

My currency exchange is explicit: Buy one, get one FREE (that’s two Globos for one dollar). But my intervention into the economy is also related to labor, and all the “free” junk available in the U.S. (and stuff that’s so cheap it might as well be FREE). Because, economically speaking, Americans do not pay for it. So much of what we supposedly buy has actually already been paid for with the time and life energy of the people who manufactured it; workers paid so little that their labor was essentially DONATED to the corporations they work for – practically for FREE. This is the literal meaning of exploitation: you will work for me for free, or practically free, but your most basic needs will be met, just barely.

This is what minimum wage is all about – a challenge to exploitation. But significantly, there is no global minimum wage, and that’s where the Globo comes in. By exchanging Globos for dollars I will enter into dialogues about the nature of printed symbolic notes, and where they get their value from, especially in relation to other currencies.

Globo. Image courtesy of Nicky Enright.

Why is 14th Street a compelling site for creative response?

This busiest-of-busy streets is a bustling center of exchange, where goods are constantly swapped for American currency. With the sad exception of a penniless person, probably homeless, most passersby are either working around there (earning currency), eating, drinking, or shopping around there (spending currency), or wandering tourists (exchanging currency). This is a perfect spot to stop and wonder about money. How much is a person’s life energy worth, per hour? And how much of that depends on the basic reality of where they live and what currency they earn?

What reactions are you hoping to draw from the public?

The main reactions to the Globo are disbelief, skepticism, and inquiry – “Is it real?” There will be many discussions about what makes money real. Other expected questions include:

-How much is your time worth?

-What do the symbols on the symbolic notes we call money mean?

-Why are currencies so unequal on a global scale?

-Why is there no international minimum wage?

I also expect a lot of interaction with tourists from various wealthy nations who may exchange their native currency for Globos. We will note the absence of tourists from poor nations whose citizens not only cannot afford to be tourists in NYC, but who couldn’t get a visa even if they could. They may be toiling on this street, however, but probably not that interested in Globos, because as many will be undocumented, they will be working for less than “minimum” wage.

I hope people are interested in breaking the taboo against talking about money, which seems like a necessary step for much-needed change.

AiOP 2014: FREE Sneak Peek! Anabella Lenzu/DanceDrama “The Grass is Always Greener…”

September 4, 2014 – 9:00 am

Your name/collaborative or group name: Anabella Lenzu/DanceDrama

The title of your project: The Grass is Always Greener…

Anabella Lenzu. Photo courtesy of Todd Carroll.

What does “FREE” mean to you?

My show The Grass is Always Greener… is a gripping, polemical piece of dance theater that hashes the personal, practical, and political struggles of immigrants to the United States. The piece moves in between the turn of the twentieth century, during the great waves of immigration at Ellis Island, and modern day. In a non-linear approach, the work weaves in scenes from our current conflict on US immigration policy, bringing the contemporary debate into sharp relief against historical, forgotten experiences. Immigration. Roots. Discrimination. Memory.  Searching for the freedom, free from conventions.

Why is 14th Street a compelling site for creative response?

14 street/ Union Square is the location of my show on Thursday, Friday, Sat and Sunday from 12:30-1:30pm. Historically the square was been aplace for protest, making voices be heard in different times in history. As a choreographer, I celebrate, meditate, respond, protest, scream, cry and laugh about life through dance. I use dance to make the audience experience, feel, think and emote. Choreographing for outdoor public space allowed me to shatter preconceived ideas about life and momentarily transcend awareness of our present condition. When I choreograph, I am emotional and intuitive.

Anabella Lenzu. Photo courtesy of Todd Carroll

What reactions are you hoping to draw from the public?

From the chaos of daily life, my dance company Anabella Lenzu / DanceDrama distills the pure essence of real experience, real feelings and real people. DanceDrama is the magnifying glass that reveals and examines emotional histories. Anabella Lenzu/DanceDrama is thought provoking and historically conscious dance-theater company, breaking down the wall separating artist from audience.   My commitment is to stimulate and encourage audiences to identify with the characters performing and undergo a catharsis of their own impulses and desires, removing the 4th wall that separates artist from audience. The search for the essential drama is transparent, so that the audience is wholly involved in the transformative process. Both the dancers and the audience fuse in a psychological and emotional experience.