Two weeks of free art and music kick off in Hudson Yards, giving a first taste of The Shed

Starting Tuesday, there will be two free weeks of art and music, as a teaser for the much-anticipated cultural center coming next year to Hudson Yards, The Shed. The festival, “A Prelude to The Shed,” will take place on a lot at 10th Avenue and 30th Street, one block from the arts center’s future home. Performed on a pavilion outside, the events will feature dancers, musicians and a variety of visual art. Measuring 200,000 square feet, the Shed will open to the public next spring and contain two floors of column-free galleries and an intimate theater.

Rendering of the “McCourt” courtesy of Diller Scofidio + Renfro/ Rockwell Group

The free event runs from May 1 to May 13 in a temporary structure on an undeveloped lot. Designed by Architect Kunlé Adeyemi and artist Tino Sehgal, the structure allows dancers to move and reconfigure it as they see fit. Every afternoon, catch a continuous dance/sound piece by Sehgal, with work by William Forsythe interweaved into the experimental piece, This variation. 

As 6qft previously reported, there will also be solo concerts from R&B singer ABRA, Venezuelan electronic music producer DJ Arca, and New York-based rapper, Azealia Banks. Guests will be able to enjoy dance battle performances and an experimental school every morning led by artist Asad Raza. While admission to Prelude is free, advanced reservations can be made here, or day-of at the event site.

The Shed sliding along the High Line last year; courtesy of Diller Scofidio +Renfro

Set to open in spring of 2019, the Shed is a six-level flexible structure which will be able to adapt to a variety of art forms and technologies. Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, in collaboration with Rockwell Group, the Shed boasts a movable shell on rails that sits over the fixed base of the building. This configuration allows it to expand and contract depending on the type of event.

Rendering of the Gallery on Level 4; courtesy of Diller Scofidio + Renfro

Rendering of the McCourt, with standing room; courtesy of Diller Scofidio + Renfro

In March, the Shed unveiled its first seven commissions for its inaugural season, as well as a host of new interior renderings.

The 2019 season will include programs such as:

• A live production celebrating the impact of African American music on art and popular culture in the past century conceived by Steve McQueen, which will be developed and produced with music legend Quincy Jones, NYU academic Maureen Mahon, and hip-hop producer Dion ‘No I.D.’ Wilson
• “Reich Richter Pärt,” a live performance that pairs work by master painter Gerhard Richter with a new composition by Steve Reich and an extant composition by Arvo Pärt
• “Norma Jeane Baker of Troy,” a reinvention of Euripides’ “Helen” by poet Anne Carson, starring Ben Whishaw and Renée Fleming
• An original live production co-conceived by Chen Shi-Zheng and Kung Fu Panda screenwriters Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, with songs by Sia and choreography by Akram Khan
• Expansive exhibitions devoted to newly commissioned work by artists Trisha Donnelly and Agnes Denes

Notably, early-career artists will be offered a chance to develop and showcase their work throughout The Shed due to its Open Call commissioning program. The program, which started March 7, invites local artists to submit project proposals online, which will be reviewed by a panel. Those selected receive a commissioning fee and “full support” of the Shed.

RELATED:

• West Side art center The Shed plans a pre-opening exhibit this spring
• Watch The Shed, an 8-million-pound structure, glide effortlessly alongside the High Line
• Hudson Yards’ art center The Shed wraps up steel construction on its movable shell

Images via Diller Scofido + Renfro