"OUTSIDE ART FESTIVAL"

MONTH-LONG FESTIVAL OF FREE PERFORMANCES

JULY 9 – JULY 31

BAM CULTURAL DISTRICT / BAM PARK – FORT GREENE, BROOKLYN
(INTERSECTION OF LAFAYETTE AVENUE & FULTON STREET)

The BAM Local Development Corporation (BAM LDC) and chashama are pleased present the second annual Outside Art Festival, a festival of FREE summer performances in the BAM Cultural District during the month of July. The four-week festival of al fresco performances by emerging New York City-based artists will kick off Saturday, July 9 at 7:00 PM with Zeami's Noh classic Ha-Go-Ro-Mo, choreographed by Noriko Wako.

The Outside Art Festival will be held in the BAM Cultural District / BAM Park, located at the intersection of Lafayette Avenue and Fulton Street in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn. Audience members are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets for the one-hour performances.

"Activating public spaces in and around the Cultural District with performing arts programming such as the Outside Art Festival is fundamental to the BAM LDC’s overall mission," said Jeanne Lutfy, BAM LDC President. "It’s a great way to see new, interesting work from emerging artists in a relaxed, open air setting."

According to Rachel Fleit, a producer at chashama, "The Outside Art Festival provides the perfect setting for artists to experiment and cultivate their performances. Many of the artists featured this year live and work in Brooklyn."

THE OUTSIDE ART FESTIVAL WILL FEATURE FOUR DIFFERENT PERFORMANCE PROGRAMS FROM JULY 9 THROUGH JULY 31:

JULY 9 & 10 @ 7:00 PM (Saturday & Sunday)
Ha-Go-Ro-Mo, by Zeami, choreographed by Noriko Wako
7:00 PM (Installation begins at 1:00 PM)
A public art installation based on Zeami's Noh classic, Ha-Go-Ro-Mo combines oversized sheets of painted rice paper hanging from the trees of BAM Park with original live music and dance.

JULY 15, 16 & 17 @ 7:00 PM (Friday, Saturday & Sunday)
Women's Voices/Women's Visions
Featuring perspectives on women's experience – by men and women – from choreographers Cathy Richards, Abi Sebaly, Luis Gabriel Zaragoza and spoken-word artist Lenelle N. Moise.

JULY 21, 22 & 23 @ 8:00 PM (Thursday, Friday & Saturday)
Sleepless Solimnoquy from Sacred Circle Theater
SATURDAY, JULY 23 @ 5:00 PM - Trilok Fusion
Sleepless Solimnoquy is an emotional, ritualistic site-specific performance piece featuring shadow puppets, masks, and original music.
On Saturday, Trilok Fusion will present a special performance of classical Indian dance with children in traditional costumes.

JULY 29 @ 7:00 PM (Friday)
July 30 @ 3:00 PM and 7:00 PM (Saturday) &
July 31 @ 3:00 PM (Sunday)
Cirque Boom Circus Theater
Cirque Boom Circus Theater performs a new work entitled Madness & Joy!, celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass.

The BAM Local Development Corporation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to create a vibrant, mixed-use multicultural arts district in Downtown Brooklyn. The BAM Cultural District project will convert currently vacant parking lots and other underutilized properties into a mix of affordable space for visual, performing and media arts organizations, along with arts-related educational programs, a variety of housing, public open space and such amenities as restaurants, cafés, retail and parking. The BAM Cultural District will be distinguished by its diverse arts programming, its well-designed and accommodating public space and its innovative, world-class architecture. It will be a resource for the arts, the local community, the borough of Brooklyn and the City as a whole.

chashama is a New York City arts organization with a nine-year history of supporting art and artists of all genres and experience levels. chashama provides opportunities for artists to create, work and experiment. Founded in 1995, and incorporated in 1996, chashama has presented, produced or sponsored over 300 shows, 11 festivals and assisted almost 5,000 artists of all genres in New York City. In 2003 alone, chashama (1) donated over 2,000 hours of rehearsal space to its guest companies and artists, (2) provided free studio space to 25 artists, offered them free exhibitions and provided free gallery space to more than 100 other visual artists and (3) gave major space grants to several performing arts groups while presenting over 120 shows and events.

Outside Art will take place throughout the month of July (July 9 through July 31) in the BAM Cultural District / BAM Park located at the intersection of Lafayette Avenue and Fulton Street in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. All events are free and open to the public.