NEW YORK.-The New Museum announced that celebrated choreographer and activist Bill T. Jones will give the inaugural Visionaries Series lecture on April 24, at 7:30 p.m. The Visionaries Series at the New Museum spotlights leading international thinkers in the fields of art, architecture, design, and related disciplines of contemporary culture, whose innovations are shaping intellectual life and shining light on the future. The series is made possible by The Stuart Regen Visionaries Fund, established by a major gift from Barbara Gladstone in honor of her late son (Stuart Regen).
A reception in the seventh-floor Sky Room will follow the talk. Advance tickets are strongly recommended. 12 USD Members, 15 USD General Public. To purchase tickets visit http://www.newmuseum.org
Bill T. Jones has received numerous awards for his groundbreaking work including: a 2007 Tony Award, 2007 Obie Award, and 2006 Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation CALLAWAY Award for his choreography for Spring Awakening; the 2007 USA Eileen Harris Norton Fellowship; the 2006 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Choreography for The Seven; the 2005 Wexner Prize; the 2005 Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement; the Harlem Renaissance Award; the 2003 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize; and the 1994 MacArthur "Genius" Award. In 2000, the Dance Heritage Coalition named Jones "An Irreplaceable Dance Treasure." Jones began his dance training at the State University of New York at Binghamton (SUNY), studying classical ballet and modern dance. He choreographed and performed worldwide as a soloist and duet company with his late partner, Arnie Zane, before forming the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company in 1982.
In 2008 he co-conceived, directed, and choreographed the much acclaimed Fela!, a musical with a book by Jim Lewis, which explores Fela Kuti's controversial life as artist, political activist, and revolutionary musician. In June 2006, Jones choreographed Spring Awakening, A New Musical with music by Grammy nominated singer/songwriter Duncan Sheik, directed by Michael Mayer. Jones's Free to Dance was a 2001 Emmy-winning documentary that chronicled modern dance's African-American roots.
Jones's interest in new media and digital technology has resulted in two collaborations with the team of Paul Kaiser, Shelley Eshkar, and Mark Downey. The first, Ghostcatching—A Virtual Dance Installation (1999), was produced by and premiered at the Cooper Union in New York. The second, 22 (2004), was the result of a three-year development under the auspices of Arizona State University's Institute for Studies In The Arts and Technology in Tempe, Arizona, where it premiered.
The Stuart Regen Visionaries Fund has been made possible by a major gift form Barbara Gladstone, in honor of her late son (Stuart Regen). Regen was founder of the leading Los Angeles gallery Regen Projects, and among the first to champion and exhibit work by such "next generation" artists as Charles Ray, Raymond Pettibon, Matthew Barney, and Catherine Opie.
Additional support for the Visionary Series is provided by the Charlotte and Bill Ford Artist Talks Fund.
