River To River 2020: Four Voices

Beginning July 9 and running through August 30, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) presents River To River 2020: Four Voices, featuring the work of artists Mona Chalabi, Muna Malik, Jean Shin and Asiya Wadud.

Responding to the present moment, LMCC and the founding partners of the annual River To River Festival have come together and reimagined it this year as River To River 2020: Four Voices, inviting four singular artists to create new works to offer New Yorkers during these unprecedented times. All projects have been configured with an eye toward meaningful connection with wide-ranging audiences through public artworks that can be witnessed safely and appropriately in open spaces over time, as well as projects that start with virtual connection and lead to moments of physical presence: 

Begins July 9: Asiya Wadud’s ECHO EXHIBIT invites participants to create a collection of poems reflecting on current times. A collection of the poems will be gradually revealed in public spaces throughout Lower Manhattan’s Seaport District in the form of vinyl window posters designed by New York-based visual artist and accessibility activist Shannon Finnegan. These poems offer a beautiful acknowledgement of current individual experiences, including both difficulties and levities, as well as comfort in our collective resilience.

Begins July 13: Jean Shin’s Floating MAiZE and The Last Straw ask viewers to consider our collective use of plastic and its catastrophic effects on our world. Floating MAiZE and The Last Straw are curated by Kendal Henry for Arts Brookfield.

Muna Malik welcomes us to imagine what new societies we want to build and what actions can help us make this reality. Starting July 9, Blessing of The Boats: River To River asks participants online to imagine what societies they want to build and articulate what actions can help make their visions a reality. Participants are instructed to fold and write messages on origami boats. From August 15-18, members of the public are invited to meet Malik at the shore of the Hudson River in Battery Park City’s Belvedere Plaza and see Malik’s 20-foot long sculptural boat filled with messages, in addition to add them to the artist’s collaborative installation. The river’s edge installation site was offered by Battery Park City Authority in view of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, global symbols of hope and new beginnings.

Begins August 20: Mona Chalabi creates an ode to NYC that visualizes the diversity of people that form the heart and soul of the city we know and love. 100 New Yorkers visualizes what the city’s population would look like if it were distilled from its ungraspable millions to a more relatable 100 individuals. Using census data, Chalabi has created 100 characters that, as accurately as possible, visualize the racial, economic and social realities of the city’s population. By framing these characters through various statistical lenses, Chalabi relays a multitude of nonfiction narratives that tell the story of the New York public, and how environment, health, wealth, physical ability and education affect how the diverse population lives, dies and exists in between. For this iteration of 100 New Yorkers, presented in and around the Oculus on screens and vinyl in the lead-up to the U.S. 2020 presidential election, Chalabi will activate her characters through representation and voter participation statistics.

This year’s program is co-curated by Lili Chopra, LMCC’s Executive Director of Artistic Programs, and Nanette Nelms, a NYC-based filmmaker with roots in performance from her previous training and career as a contemporary dancer.

To learn more about the projects, visit LMCC.net/R2R. River To River 2020: Four Voices is free and open to all, and available to view in Lower Manhattan.

About LMCC
Founded as Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC), LMCC serves, connects and makes space for artists and community. Since 1973, LMCC has been the champion of independent artists in New York City and the cultural life force of Lower Manhattan.

River to River Founding Partners
River To River was founded in 2002 by American Express, The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, the Alliance for Downtown New York, Brookfield Place, Battery Park City Authority, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and South Street Seaport.