Einat Amir, Our Best Intentions, 2013, still from 4-channel video installation. Courtesy of the artist, Scaramouche (New York) and Aspect Ratio (Chicago).

Einat Amir Our Best Intentions

Presented by Artis at Affirmation Arts, 523 W 37th MAP
Free with RSVP

Our Best Intentions invites audience members to take part in an intimate participatory performance combining elements from psychotherapy, theater and art. As individuals walk into a space divided into four domestic areas — a family lounge, a bedroom, a study, and a dining room – each participant selects a vest featuring an array of labels, such as "mother," "doubt," "addiction," "lover," and so forth. Under the direction of four moderators, the performance becomes a collaborative session wherein participants are encouraged to use personal stories and memories to confront unresolved issues, form momentary and intimate connections with strangers, and reveal themselves in unexpected ways. Our Best Intentions is an unpredictable series of interactions between moderators and audience members that seeks to contrast the individual/internal experience of therapy with the more dramatic devices of performance. As the action moves through the demarcated space, the audience is both active and passive, taking turns to watch other groups and participate within their own area, adding to the climatic, often emotional rollercoaster ride of different scenes that unfold in the space. Each interactive, closed session performance is 1 hour. It is essential to reserve free tickets. 

A four-channel video installation is open to the public from November 12-23, Tuesday through Saturday, 11am - 6pm.

Our Best Intentions is a Performa Premiere. Presented by Artis.

Artist

Funding

Our Best Intentions is presented by Artis with support from Affirmation Arts, the Ostrovsky Family Fund, Outset Contemporary Art Fund, Franklin Furnace Fund supported by the Lambent Foundation and NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, Artport, the Petach Tikva Museum of Art and the Consulate General of Israel in New York. 

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