Calling
October 21, 2023–March 17, 2024
Oudekerksplein 23
1012 GX Amsterdam
The Netherlands
The Oude Kerk Amsterdam and Hartwig Art Foundation proudly present the first European retrospective of Meredith Monk’s oeuvre Meredith Monk: Calling opening on October 21, 2023.
Meredith Monk: Calling celebrates the visionary work of artist Meredith Monk, inviting visitors to explore and discover the work of one of this era’s most original artists. The exhibition translates her live performances and concerts into encounters with immersive video- and sound installations in the alcoves and open public space of the 700-year old church.
The church as a singing body
Living legend Meredith Monk has dedicated her career to exploring the potential of the human voice. Her enigmatic, playful, and profound compositions and live works have pushed the boundaries of music, performance, and visual art. In this exhibition, she reflects on nearly six decades of work at the forefront of the arts. The sound of Monk’s singing is often described as ancient and contemporary, and thus fits seamlessly with the Oude Kerk as both Amsterdam’s oldest building and place for contemporary art. For this unique retrospective, she transforms the church into a singing body and immerses the audience in an audio-visual experience created especially for the Oude Kerk.
Amsterdam Archeology
Monk’s weaving together of different perceptual modes expands awareness and celebrates human possibility. Her history of creating visual art and performance work in galleries, churches, and unconventional spaces is harmoniously integrated into this exhibition through immersive video and sound installations, music and sound, scores, drawings and objects, with particular focus on Indra’s Net, her newest work that premiered in Amsterdam during the 2023 Holland Festival. Key works such as 2008’s Songs of Ascension, Quarry (1976) and ATLAS (1991/98) are updated as new installations. Especially for Amsterdam, the interactive installation American Archaeology (1998) is transformed as a local version: Amsterdam Archeology (2023). Visitors and community members of the Oude Kerk are invited to bring meaningful objects to be dipped in liquidfied beeswax, incorporating them into the artwork as a monument of collective memories.
Live concerts parallel to the comprehensive retrospective
As an integral part of the show, a series of live concerts will be organised. The concerts, set in the centuries-old architecture of Amsterdam’s oldest building, will connect Monk’s profound legacy to the Oude Kerk while also passing it on to a new generation of musicians.
Saturday, October 21, 2023, 8–9:30pm
Meredith Monk with Katie Geissinger and Allison Sniffin in Concert
During this evening-length performance, Meredith Monk offers one of her rare, more intimate concerts in Amsterdam’s oldest building with renowned members of her Vocal Ensemble, Katie Geissinger, and Allison Sniffin. The concert reflects Monk’s six decades of innovation and awe-inspiring vocal mastery, mining the depths of the myriad possibilities of the human voice. Repertoire includes: Selections from ATLAS: an opera in three parts (1991), Cellular Songs (2018), The Games (1984), impermanence (2004–06), Light Songs (1988), The Politics of Quiet (1996), and Volcano Songs: Duets (1993).
Friday, December 1, 2023 and Friday, February 16, 2024
Piano Songs
March 15, 16 and 17, 2024
A Celebration Service
Tickets for every concert will be released two weeks ahead via the website of the Oude Kerk.
Meredith Monk: Calling is a co-presentation of Oude Kerk Amsterdam and Hartwig Art Foundation. Curated by Beatrix Ruf, director Hartwig Art Foundation, the exhibition is developed in close collaboration with Meredith Monk and The House Foundation for the Arts. This first survey of Meredith Monk’s oeuvre is a collaboration in two acts: at the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam, together with Hartwig Art Foundation (October 21, 2023–March 17, 2024), and the Haus der Kunst in Munich (November 10, 2023–March 3, 2024).
