In the spring of 1976, I convinced 4 trucker friends
to park their flatbeds on the
grounds of the Philadelphia Art Museum. I convinced 12 friend bands to
set up and
play on the flatbeds. The Museum was into it because of the Bicentennial
raging at
the time and donated power and groundskeeping. Between us bands we cobbled
together 4 PA's and I called 4 friends at local radio stations and asked
them to
emcee. I asked the bands to play short sets and rotate. We spent $800
on posters and
mailings and called the whole thing "Sunday Sampler". It was
a beautiful day by the
river, the dogwoods were in bloom and everyone got what they wanted.
A few years later, Pamela Worden spearheaded a series
of annual River Festivals in
Cambridge Mass. and credited Sunday Sampler as inspiration.
Sunday Sampler was my first curation.
contact me: mail@kitbraz.com
My second curation was
the Real Music Series which I ran Sunday afternoons in 1993
at CB's 313 Gallery in Manhattan. Again I asked the players to keep their
sets brief so that
audiences could hear and compare many different juxtapositions. A lot
of people played
on the series. Many have since gone on to fame and fortune. The variety
and range of the music was powerful. I believe we definitely furthered
the cause of new music in America.
In 1997, I curated the prototype Women's Avant Fest in Chicago. Mark PoKempner took photographs.
Women's Avant Fest is an idea I want to pursue in the future. The core concept is a marathon concert where everyone plays 15 -20-minute sets and there is tremendous contrast from performer to performer in juxtapositions that enhance and expose perhaps more than would ordinarily get seen and heard. The marathons would be primarily for emerging artists but peppered with experienced troupers as well.
I want to set up these marathons all over the country using local artists and co-curating with someone local. There are lots of venues, grantors and personalities of all types interested in participating. So I know it will happen eventually. I just wanted to set it up right and not on a shoestring or out of my own pocket this time.
Please email with any ideas or suggestions: mail@kitbraz.com
(btw, women's avant fest already has a domain name---
womensavantfest.org---so be looking for that too!)