A FESTIVAL OF PERFORMANCE, ART & ACTIVISM
Created by Baba Israel, Leo Kay & Yako 440
Festival: January 9-29, 2016; Performances: January 8-9 & 15-16, 2016
The Spinning Wheel was conceived by hip hop theater artist Baba Israel with UK based director Leo Kay and musician Yako 440, is a multimedia performance and interactive gallery exhibition that engages with the 50 year radical archive of Israel's late father and Living Theatre alum steve ben israel. Through spoken word, video, and live music, the show preserves and animates the collectivist impulses of New York counterculture while carrying on a family legacy of generosity via a son's loving tribute to his father. The Spinning Wheel combined storytelling, hip hop, live-looping, projection mapping, and a fusion of Hip Hop, jazz and spoken word, to reflect on themes such as intergenerational connections, family legacy, political action, and the roles we play in the everyday lives of others.
steve ben israel was a New York jazz musician, poet, stand-up comic, political activist and core member of the iconic ensemble The Living Theatre. He passed away in 2012, leaving behind a legacy of 1960s countercultural work and artifacts, an enormous archive, and a son - New York Hip Hop Theatre Artist, Baba Israel.
The accompanying Spinning Wheel exhibition in the gallery was curated by Baba and Yako and featured original posters, poetry and photography by steve ben israel, prints by renowned political activist and artist Eric Drooker, original stencil work and collage by Yako 440, and original posters and photographic prints from steve ben israel’s time with the Living Theatre in the 60s and 70s. The exhibit also featured an interactive installation created by Richard Ramchurn the form of a recreation of steve ben israel’s denaudience which allows visitors to take a more intimate journey through the archive material used in the creation of The Spinning Wheel performance piece.
A variety of public programming accompanied the performances and exhibition, and were central to The Spinning Wheel Festival.
The Spinning Wheel was produced by Unfinished Business in association with Baba Israel.
This season of performing arts programs at BRIC House are supported through a generous grant from the Howard Gilman Foundation. The Spinning Wheel has been developed as part of BRIC's Fireworks Residency and commissioning program for collaborative teams of artists who are interested in developing new, large-scale multidisciplinary work that cross—or erase—artistic boundaries. It is supported in part by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation’s NYC Cultural Innovation Fund.
Venue Information:
BRIC House is Brooklyn’s cultural living room: a 40,000 square foot multi-disciplinary arts and media complex in the former Strand Theatre, where emerging and established artists can create work that deepens their practice and engages the diverse communities of the borough.
Beginning Nov. 1, 2022, attendees of any BRIC House programming will no longer have to show proof of vaccination or a negative test to enter the building. Masks are encouraged but not required in all BRIC operated spaces. If you have questions regarding this protocol, please email Safety@bricartsmedia.org
BRIC is committed to welcoming people of all abilities. BRIC's main entrance, located on Rockwell Street, is fully accessible. In addition the main floor of BRIC House has an accessible, all-gender bathroom. The BRIC Media Center, located on the 2nd floor, is accessible via elevator. The Gallery level is accessible via a wheelchair lift. Portable FM assistive listening devices are available for programs on the Stoop and in the Ballroom upon request. To make a specific access request, or to let us know other ways we can provide you with a welcoming experience, please contact Benno Orlinsky at borlinsky@bricartsmedia.org or (718) 683-5637.