The Invisible City

The Invisible City

The Invisible City was a 5-week, site-specific, experimental arts lab exploring public space in Downtown Tucson. The project, co-directed by Kimi Eisele and Lisa Bowden, was collaboration between NEW ARTiculations Dance Theatre and Kore Press, the 15-year-old Tucson-based feminist press, The Invisible City brought together over 20 women artists to create texts, dances, sound pieces, film, photographs, and drawings within the Tucson’s urban core. The project was partly an experiment in how to merge the creative processes of artists working in distinct genres and partly a response to the city’s rather slow revitalization process, one that has historically valued highways and tract housing developments over central plazas, affordable live/workspaces, and desert landscape, public space becomes decentralized, dehumanized, and “invisible.” Through writing, dance, music, and visual art, we envisioned and utilized new workspaces out of vacant parking lots, city plazas, and sidewalks. Our “laboratory experiment” culminated with a performance incorporating video projection, spoken word, live music, and modern dance on the roof of the Pennington Street Parking Garage.

See videos, more images, writings, and lab results from The Invisible City at www.invisiblecityproject.wordpress.com.

PRAISE for The Invisible City:

“Best Dancing in the Streets” awarded to The Invisible City Project in the Tucson Weekly’s “Best of Tucson” (2009).

The Invisible City hit a home run. -Roberto Bedoya, director, Tucson-Pima Arts Council

It was simply beautiful—the garage and the falling night and the audience were as much active participants as all of you. I loved the movement, the interactions, the video, the poetry and the sound. Fabulous project, fabulous performance. -Sam Ace, audience member

Amazing project—really moving and I loved experiencing Pennington Street garage so differently. It also inspired [my 3-year-old son] to perform a re-enactment of the final piece at home later. I couldn’t ask for more than that! -Rachel Villarreal, audience member

Working in a public space made me question the validity of my art, my reasons, and my fears.  I enjoyed it.  I had a peculiar notion before the project that art belonged in a studio designated for art making.  Now I completely disagree. -Renee Blakeley, dancer & IC artist

I fell in love with asphalt. I felt incredibly dirty and alive! -Jennifer Hoefle, dancer & IC artist

Thank you for the opportunity that IC provided. I discovered in the process that I had retreated far into myself, a common journey for poets, and missed the chance to dance again and the freedom that that can offer. It was a vital lesson. -Ann Dernier, poet and IC artist