Category Arts

Yet, will the American public desire to watch this? When individuals involved in New York’s theater scene discuss Grenfell: In the words of survivors, a documentary play (initially presented at the National Theatre of London) that recounts the catastrophic blaze in a 24-story affordable housing block in West London, which claimed 72 lives and rendered many others without shelter in 2017, this question arises. Indeed, it’s an exceptionally busy season, both on Broadway and beyond, and witnessing every performance isn’t feasible. My advice? Place Grenfell high on your list. Performing until May 12 at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn, it offers a substantial theatrical encounter, an exploration of the human condition that goes beyond simple amusement. Tickets are reasonably priced, and there doesn’t appear to be a poor vantage point in the venue.

Why might Americans invest interest? Because it’s necessary. Undisputed is the brilliance of this heart-wrenching, astonishing, and infuriating drama. It is superbly directed and produced by Phyllida Lloyd and Anthony Simpson-Pike and excellently crafted by Gillian Slovo, who has compiled, word for word, the legal testimonies and conversations with the survivalists, in addition to local officials, fire service personnel, and business proprietors. During its London rendition, a counselor was available to support attendees who might be affected emotionally. In Brooklyn, audiences are welcome to momentarily exit, collect themselves, and return if they feel capable of managing the emotional intensity.

The initial occasion when the artist Eve Biddle showcased her creations alongside her mother’s, she felt somewhat anxious. It was the year 2018, two decades after her mother, Mary Ann Unger, succumbed to breast cancer. Unger crafted her monumental sculptures using substances such as bronze, marble, and steel. “Mom’s work possesses a strong presence,” remarks Biddle, whose own art traverses various fields and tends to be more modest in size. Yet Alexandra Schwartz, who curated the 2018 exhibition, anticipated a compelling combination despite the differing artistic approaches. “She assured me, ‘Both voices are discernible,’” Biddle remembers. Neither overshadowed the other—they complemented each other.

Since that time, sculptures by Biddle and Unger have frequently been featured together in art displays, most recently in “Craft Front & Center: Conversation Pieces,” which debuted in early June at the Museum of Arts and Design in Manhattan. Schwartz also curated this third version of “Craft Front & Center,” which will remain available for viewing until next April and presents over 60 pieces from MAD’s extensive collection in conversation with modern artists. The pieces represent more than eight decades and primarily consist of traditional craft materials like fiber, ceramic, and glass.

By this point, considerable excitement has built around Illinoise, the theatrical production/dance show inspired by Sufjan Stevens’s revered album Illinois. Receiving its initial performance at Bard College in New York last spring, feedback for the show has been universally enthusiastic. Following its time at Bard, Illinoise made stops at Chicago’s Shakespeare Theater, the Park Avenue Armory, and ultimately reached Broadway, where it debuts this evening at the St. James Theatre—just in time for it to be considered for the 2024 Tony Awards.

When Stevens’s 26-song concept album was released in 2005, it quickly made a lasting impression on the generation that eagerly consumed it. A tribute to the state of Illinois, Stevens incorporates historical personalities, misfortunes, and highly specific IYKYKs into an album that rises with rich marching-band melodies and then settles with simple banjo tunes. Despite its stories tied to a specific place, the album’s broader appeal was undeniable. It provided listeners with a feeling of losing oneself only to be found once more, a sensation that resonates with everyone.

Justin Peck—both the director and choreographer of the performance and coauthor of the script with Pulitzer Prize–winning dramatist Jackie Sibblies Drury—was roughly 17 when he first heard the album, and from then on, there was no turning back. (Inside the Illinoise program, there’s an article by Jessica Dessner, an artist, author, former dancer, and close collaborator of Stevens who recalls a message on Facebook she got from Peck over ten years ago showing his wish to connect with Stevens.) Peck’s deep admiration for Stevens has led to numerous direct partnerships at the New York City Ballet (where Peck serves as a resident choreographer), starting with a score for the ballet Year of the Rabbit in 2012.

It may be simple to overlook the fundamental purpose of the Met Gala as a tremendously successful charity event. Like similar occasions, it features a cocktail reception succeeded by a formal dinner and a musical act. Yet, considering the grandeur of the Met, this conclusive performance typically reaches monumental heights. Under the inventive direction of visionary Baz Luhrmann in the past, Met Gala acts have varied from the Billy Elliot ensemble executing ballet movements to Bruno Mars delivering flawless authenticity and Diana Ross gently singing in a feathered strapless garment. On the Met stage, musicians have united, released new records, and performed unique tracks never heard again. It’s reassuring that, given the venue, no one has physically brought the building down. (Not yet, anyway.) Presented here are some of the finest Met performances to date.

During her breathtaking medley at the 2024 Met Gala, Ariana Grande artfully merged “Once Upon a Dream,” from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, with a collection of her most captivating pop tunes—both contemporary and well-known. The finale? A heartrending version of “When You Believe” alongside her Wicked co-star Cynthia Erivo. Not to forget, the ensemble included 30 dancers, a choir of 40, and two distinct Maison Margiela Artisanal outfits.

“It started as an idea that spontaneously appeared in my mind: Why not create a group of 100 elephants and have them journey across America?” explains Ruth Ganesh, an animal welfare advocate, preservationist, and supporter of the arts originally from the UK. Since relocating to the United States, she found herself contemplating the Route 66 nationwide trip. However, she had an additional query: “Is it possible for these elephants to be constructed using only eco-friendly materials?”

Ganesh’s notion transformed into a joyful, mobile art display when she partnered with Tarsh Thekaekara—an animal expert and conservationist from India who has extensively examined elephant conduct. New York is the upcoming stage in its national exhibition. “The Great Elephant Migration” will be featured in the Meatpacking District until October 20.

The elephant artworks are full-scale, inspired by actual cows (female elephants), bulls (male elephants), tuskers (male elephants with tusks), and adorable young calves, all crafted from dried lantana plants—an invasive species that suppresses indigenous plant life, diminishes ecological diversity, and threatens wildlife habitats. (This was advised by Thekaekara as he collaborates with native communities in India for crafting furniture from the plant.)

Throughout much of her existence, Teresita Fernández had witnessed in person as many creations by Land Art pioneer Robert Smithson as most individuals had—which is to say, none.

“For the majority of us, the limited knowledge we possess of Robert Smithson revolves around that poor-quality image in art-history textbooks of Spiral Jetty, which is quite small and in fuzzy black and white,” remarks the Brooklyn-based creator regarding Smithson’s influential site-specific 1970 earthwork in Utah’s Great Salt Lake, which has come to symbolize Land Art. “We are unaware of how the piece was constructed. We do not see what it appears like from various perspectives. And that was my experience as well. It was not until much later in my life that I encountered one of his artworks.”

This is partly because Smithson’s most significant pieces are site-specific earthworks, made to be reclaimed by time and nature in regions far from major art-world centers, such as Kent, Ohio, and the northeastern Netherlands—and because his life was tragically shortened at age 35 by a light-plane accident while surveying a location for another artwork in 1973.

Presently, as co-organizer of a pioneering display that pairs his historical art with hers, Fernández has encountered more of his creations than ever before—and so can those visiting “Teresita Fernández/Robert Smithson,” showcased at Site Santa Fe until October 28.

Designed as an intergenerational dialogue between a duo of artists, the exhibition examines themes of location, site, and autonomy. Along with co-organizer Lisa Le Feuvre, executive director of the Holt/Smithson Foundation (committed to preserving the legacies of Smithson and fellow Land Art artist Nancy Holt, his spouse), Fernández not only highlights formal, material, and conceptual connections but occasionally challenges Smithson’s art and adds complexity to his legacy.

In Someone Spectacular, a fresh drama by Domenica Feraud, an unsettling event occurs when a sextet gathers for their routine grief-counseling meeting: their counselor, Beth, simply fails to appear. As ten unproductive, anxious minutes stretch to twenty and then thirty, the ensemble—composed of Nelle (Alison Cimmet), who’s mourning a sister; Jude (Delia Cunningham), who’s grieving a child; Thom (Damian Young), who’s lamenting a spouse; Julian (Shakur Tolliver), who’s missing an aunt; Lily (Ana Cruz Kayne), who’s lost a beloved mother; and Evelyn, (Gamze Ceylan) who’s resentfully parted with a mother—begins to unravel. They become frantic, draw boundaries, critique each other, and critique themselves. Yet, as more moments pass by, a shift ensues. They start to express vulnerability and defend one another, to separate and realign into a configuration that feels more constant, nearly secure. What each individual is discovering, either quietly or vociferously, is the method by which they ought to proceed without their loved one.

Feraud has typically crafted fulfilling and insightful projects from personal encounters—her writings “The 26=Year-Old Virgin” (2020), “The Movie Star and Me” (2022), along with her 2019 drama Rinse, Repeat being, until now, prime examples. Though Rinse, Repeat focused on a topic, eating disorders, personally significant to Feraud, it was at its core fictional. Someone Spectacular, however, sits much nearer to her life story, surfacing from the overwhelming shock of losing her own mother in 2022.

With four weeks remaining in the play’s off-Broadway engagement, located at The Pershing Square Signature Center on 42nd Street, Feraud converses with Vogue about her intensely joyous first night, being part of the understudy group (She’s performing this weekend!), and how immersing herself in The Real Housewives influenced the production. The dialogue has been modified and shortened for clarity.

Vogue: I’m eager to know about your opening night. Someone Spectacular is an incredibly intimate play, moving yet quite humorous. How did you commemorate it?

Doménica Feraud: It was quite overwhelming, in the most wonderful sense. My brother traveled from Austin to attend, marking his first experience of the play, which made it immensely meaningful. Many of my relatives and those closest to my mom joined, and then friends were present to share the event. Additionally, celebrating with the cast and my director, Tatiana Pandiani, meeting her partner and friends…and having Paige [Evans], co-producer and dramaturg, who’s been a guide for me extensively and now stands as a colleague—even though we’ve shared a strong bond for seven years, we finally got a photo together. Moreover, each character draws inspiration from actual people, to some measure; they represent the Inside Out emotional renditions of acquaintances I have. Thus, we experienced a memorable moment capturing images of each performer alongside their muse.

“It’s as if one might plunge into them,” remarks Faye Wei Wei, the artist, discussing her artworks while on a call from London. “I have a fondness for swimming frequently in the lido, and often contemplate how the pool resembles a mirrored exterior as one swims. With each stroke of your fingers, a reflection of yourself appears, creating a sense of duplicity. It almost suggests the presence of an alternate realm that one could inhabit and just step into.”

This romantic interpretation of a simple act is a recurring theme across her creations. She once painted two interwoven flowers upon a literal portal—a lover’s door—to safeguard him and serve as a reminder of their love. “While it may seem a bit whimsical, there’s an impression of the traces, every mark, and an emotion that you are a part of the painting,” says Wei Wei about the expression of her inner self. “You can sense my existence there. I perceive the canvas and the painting’s surface as infinite.”

This concept is vividly shown in her first monograph Portals, now released by Éditions Lutanie, covering almost 14 years of the British artist’s creations. The volume starts with a straightforward dedication to Wei Wei’s mother, Autumn Cloud, in Chinese, alongside a figure sketch titled, I Tangled Your Legs in Mine. We Were a Knot in the Grain of the World. “This initial piece is one of my most cherished creations, yet it’s merely me and my former girlfriend entwined,” she elaborates. “It’s a profoundly tender sketch, crafted by using a pencil eraser to create a dreamlike quality and a cocooning of the two lovers.”

Hailing from South London, Wei Wei spent much of her youth either drawn to sketching at the table while her siblings engaged in video games or gathering blossoms—“many lovely weeds,” she notes—at the nearby park. She recalls collecting fallen leaves with her art class around age six, which sparked an early fascination with still life. “The crevices in leaves captivated me,” she comments. “It seemed instinctual. I can’t quite explain it, but it invigorates me—like an adrenaline surge in my right hand—and it deeply touches me.”