Saturday, May 1, 4 PM
In-person and live streamed on Instagram
There is a limited capacity for in-person visitors seeing the performance at Smack Mellon. Please check back soon for further updates and instructions.
Katya Grokhovsky will perform a live iteration of her ongoing work Becoming American, in collaboration with dancer Lilach Orenstein, accompanied by a newly commissioned sound work by multidisciplinary artist Sarah Martin-Nuss. The 40-minute performance explores the sense of place, memory, alienation, and displacement of an immigrant protagonist. Grokhovsky incorporates an autobiographical narrative of double migration–from Ukraine to Australia to the United States–into an artistic investigation of identity through family histories and her indoctrination into a consumer-driven culture. Through sound, gesture, movement, and voice, Becoming American seeks to find hope, strength, and a sense of belonging in a new world.
Concept and Performance: Katya Grokhovsky
Sound: Sarah Martin-Nuss
Dancer: Lilach Orenstein
Born in Ukraine and raised in Australia, Katya Grokhovsky is a New York-based artist, curator, and Founding Director of The Immigrant Artist Biennial. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. Grokhovsky has received support through numerous residencies including The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts (EFA) Studio Program, School of Visual Arts MFA Art Practice Artist in Residence, Kickstarter Creator in Residence, Pratt Fine Arts Department Artist in Residence, Art and Law Fellowship, The Museum of Arts and Design Studio Program, BRICworkspace Residency, Ox-BOW School of Art Residency, Wassaic Artist Residency, Atlantic Center for the Arts, Studios at MASS MoCA, NARS Residency, Santa Fe Art Institute Residency, Watermill Center, and more. She has been awarded the Brooklyn Arts Council Grant, NYFA Fiscal Sponsorship, ArtSlant 2017 Prize, Asylum Arts Grant, Australian Council for the Arts Grant, and Freedman Traveling Scholarship for Emerging Artists, among others. Grokhovsky earned an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a BFA from Victorian College of the Arts, and a BA in Fashion from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.
Sarah Martin-Nuss is an American visual artist with an interdisciplinary practice that spans from oil painting to sound composition to performance. Her work explores interconnected narratives containing peak experiences that exist in non-linear timespace. Martin-Nuss synthesizes visuals with musical experimentations in the Spiritualist synth-pop band Dancing in Tongues in which she is the vocalist, co-songwriter and co-producer. A native to Corpus Christi, Texas, Martin-Nuss received her BA in Fine Art and English Literature from Austin College in Sherman, Texas. As part of her undergraduate degree she furthered her studies in visual art at the College International De Cannes in Cannes, France. Sarah Martin-Nuss is currently an MFA candidate at the School of Visual Arts NYC. Sarah Martin-Nuss’ work has been included in solo and group exhibitions throughout the United States, including The Art Museum of South Texas. Her work has been collected internationally by both private and public collectors.
Lilach Orenstein is a Choreographer, Performer and Producer best known for combining diverse types of arts from multiple disciplines into poetical synergies. She is an Israeli immigrant with Yemeni-Polish-Romanian roots based in New York City. Lilach earned her B.Dance from The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, majoring in choreography, in 2017 and her M.F.A in Dance from The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, in 2019. Among her awards are The Presidential Scholarship (U.Arts), Outstanding Dancer from the Israeli Ministry of Culture, and Excellence Award by The Jerusalem Foundation. Lilach’s creations mUs, Dancing from Others, Reject – Receive > React!, Territorium, White on White, and Cēnsēre were premiered in Israel’s main stages and abroad. Recently, she assisted in choreographing The Mother of Us All opera which presented at the Metropolitan Museum featuring vocal artists from The Julliard School and the NY Philarmonic marking 200 years for women’s suffrage. She is professionally trained from Aharon Katzir, Kolben dance, Matte Asher, Vertigo, and Batsheva’s programs for outstanding students and interned at the Kamea dance company. She was recently invited to residencies in L1dancefest2019 – Budapest, The Center at West Park – NYC, EMERGENYC 2020 – NYC, IMPULSTANZ’s ATLAS program – Vienna, Derida Dance Center – Sofia and Machol Shalem Dance House – Jerusalem.
Image: Katya Grokhovsky, Becoming American, 2020, video still. Courtesy of the artist.
FANTASYLAND is sponsored, in part, by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, administered by Brooklyn Arts Council.