Brave New Works Lab
FEATURING
Sangeetha Ekambaram + Joi WareEboné Amos Clay Steakley + Becca Hoback Gabrielle Saliba
May 18-20 at 8PM
Now in its second year, Brave New Works invites daring Nashville artists to transform OZ Arts into a laboratory for the creation and premiere of new works and works-in-progress. Encouraging multimedia experimentation and collaboration across disciplines, the lab creates a safe space for high-risk artistic adventures. Celebrate local innovation and creativity with a bold evening of short-form performances featuring dance, theater, music, and multimedia.
2023 ARTIST LINE-UP
Sangeetha Ekambaram and Joi Ware
Peripheral Convergence
The soaring voice of soprano Sangeetha Ekambaram gives life to an eclectic menagerie of art songs, while Joi Ware’s riveting choreography explores themes of transformation and rebirth in this alluring performance. Staged against evocative projected imagery by digital artist Juniper McGerald, the collaboration also features pianist and conductor Jennifer Quammen McGuire, vocalist Bakara Nkenge-Hinds, and dancer Emma Morrison.
Eboné Amos
Girl, Gurrl, Gworl — iterations of freedom
Surrounded by ghostly images that evoke controversial tropes that have haunted generations of Black women, incisive writer and choreographer Eboné Amos conjures a wry and immersive theatrical experience that confronts (mis)representations of Black womanhood and the power of self-definition as resistance. An improvised jazz piano score by gifted keyboardist Alex Dolezal and production design by Barry Jones set the tone for Amos’ theatrical journey.
Clay Steakley and Becca Hoback
The Fire Cycle: Stone Sutra
Virtuosic dancer and choreographer Becca Hoback joins forces with expressive poet and musician Clay Steakley to create a theatrical performance celebrating the body, community, and compassion. Their inviting and sublime blend of movement, music, and spoken word is both a resplendent ritual and a winsome reflection on timely anxieties. Hoback is joined on stage by celebrated local dancer Lenin Fernandez.
Gabrielle Saliba
Ride
Compelling choreographer Gabrielle Saliba harnesses the collaborative energy and insights of her A-team performers, including Shabaz Ujima and Thea Jones, to explore the poetic intersection between turbulent movement and poetic stillness. Saliba is a Nashville native who has coached and collaborated with some of the region’s most innovative and admired performing artists, serving as a self-described “movement midwife.”
Artist applications for the next edition of Brave New Works Lab will open in the fall of 2023. Sign up for our email list to receive announcements and updates.
Through the Brave New Works Lab and other local programs, OZ Arts strives to create meaningful opportunities for artists from Middle Tennessee to imagine, develop, and premiere new performance works. We hope artists can focus on the creative process and collaboration, without being overly burdened by the normal trappings of self-production, such as marketing, administration, detailed technical matters and venue management.
Questions about the Brave New Works Lab? Contact OZ’s Manager of Artistic Programming Daniel Jones at daniel@ozartsnashville.org
To learn more about OZ Arts Nashville, please visit our Mission & History page and review our Past Presentations
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