The University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of the Arts (presenter) welcomes Carrie Hanson as the Fall 2019 Interdisciplinary Artist-in-Residence. Carrie Hanson is a choreographer, director, performer and dance educator. She is the artistic director of The Seldoms, and uses dance and performance to reference social, political and environmental issues (longer biography below).
During her residency at UW–Madison, Hanson will teach “From Topic to Topography: The Body, the Environment, and Social Action.” Hanson will use her interdisciplinary movement-based practice to support students in the creation of original performance works, installations and activations. Hanson will partner with students in the exploration of how movement and the body can be used to explore the world in imaginative ways. To supplement the residency, Hanson will present at various community events and bring in guest artists Faheem Majeed, Alex Rose and The Seldoms (biographies below).
Hanson’s residency is hosted by the Dance Department, with professor Kate Corby as lead faculty, and the Art Department. Co-sponsors include the Chazen Museum of Art, the Wisconsin Union Theater and the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. Many of her residency events are also part of the Nelson Institute’s Earth Day@50 – Arts Initiative. Hanson and guest artist, Alex Rose, will also participate in the Wisconsin Science Festival.
The UW–Madison Division of the Arts’ Interdisciplinary Arts Residency Program brings innovative artists to campus to teach semester-long, interdepartmental courses and to publicly present their work for campus and community audiences and is funded through the university’s Office of the Provost.
Public Events
All the events are free and take place in Madison, Wisconsin unless noted otherwise. Events are subject to change. Visit website for more details.
Thursday, Sept. 26 | 5-7 p.m.
“Quilting Memory: A Live Action in Charcoal & Muslin”
Agriculture Hall (Meet on the steps facing Linden Dr.), 1450 Linden Dr.
A rain date is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 28 from 10 a.m.-noon
Join a roaming action-event to create charcoal rubbings of multiple campus sites led by fall 2019 Interdisciplinary Artist-in-Residence Carrie Hanson and artist Faheem Majeed. This event is designed to bring awareness to the history of the Teejop (Four Lakes, pronounce day-JOPE) lands, including the erasure and presence of significant spaces, usually in plain sight and often unnoticed. Inside this two-hour physical event, participants will be on the ground rubbing, marking and mapping, using the exertion of our labor as a meditation on these lands. Wear comfortable walking shoes and weather-appropriate clothing.
RSVP’s are strongly encouraged: facebook.com/events/514197899397754/.
Friday, Oct. 4 | 3:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.
“Dance Department Friday Forum with Carrie Hanson”
Margaret H’Doubler Performance Space, Lathrop Hall, 1050 University Ave.
Join Carrie Hanson for a talk about her work as choreographer, director, performer and educator. As the artistic director of the Chicago-based dance company The Seldoms, Hanson engages in a truly interdisciplinary practice that values the creation of intelligent, visually rich dance theater works that are driven by inquiry.
Thursday, Oct. 17 | 7-9 p.m.
“Big Ideas for Busy People: Water, Water Everywhere”
H. F. DeLuca Forum, Discovery Building, 330 N. Orchard St.
“Big Ideas for Busy People” is a highlight of the annual Wisconsin Science Festival. More than a half dozen top thinkers from UW–Madison and collaborators take turns sharing the focus of their work in just 5 minutes with another 5 minutes for audience Q&A. The theme of this year’s session is water. Residency guest artist Alex Rose will be part of this event.
More details on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/370634503862238/
Friday, Oct. 18 | 2-3:30 p.m.
“Science in Entertainment and the Arts: The Most Powerful Way to Communicate Science?”
H. F. DeLuca Forum, Discovery Building, 330 N. Orchard St.
Science, the arts, popular culture and entertainment need each other in some obvious and not-so-obvious ways. Leaders and artists from theater, film, the visual arts and dance join Wisconsin Institute for Discovery director Jo Handelsman to explore this interface. Carrie Hanson will present on this panel as part of the Wisconsin Science Festival.
More details on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/375946053083658/
Saturday, Oct. 19 | 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
“Powering Up Bodies/Powering Down Emissions: A Movement Workshop to Inspire a Climate Movement with Carrie Hanson & Alex Rose”
Festival Room, Memorial Union, 800 Langdon St.
What can an individual body, or a group of bodies, express on the subject of climate change? What sequence of gestures or entanglement of limbs can tell the story of a 500-year rain event or the melting of polar ice? In this open workshop, Carrie Hanson will share ideas and inspiration for “Floe,” her forthcoming dance theater piece about climate change that premieres at the Wisconsin Union Theater in January 2020. She is joined by underwater photographer, marine biologist and Ocean Geographic science editor, Alex Rose. No previous dance or theater experience is required. Participants will be asked to wear clothing they can easily move in.
Advance registration is required for the workshop, and is limited to 20 participants: uwmadison.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0e321d6pEFVkd1j
Participants will take part in an informal showing of material generated during the workshop from 1-2 p.m. to the public.
Thursday and Friday, Nov. 14 and 15 | 8-9:30 p.m. & Saturday, Nov. 16 | 2:30-4 p.m.
“Kate Corby & Dancers with The Seldoms”
Margaret H’Doubler Performance Space, Lathrop Hall, 1050 University Ave.
$22 for the general public | $16 for students and seniors
In a shared concert with Kate Corby & Dancers, Chicago-based dance company The Seldoms will perform an excerpt of “Exit Disclaimer: Science and Fiction Ahead” (2012). This work reviews the divisive national debate about climate change and divergent positions on denial, skepticism and indifference to urgency. The performance incorporates humor, physical action, spoken word and athletic dancing.
Please note that this is a ticketed partner event: artsticketing.wisc.edu – tickets will go on sale Oct. 14.
Thursday, Nov. 21 | 6-8 p.m.
“From Topic to Topography: Final Student Residency Event”
Lobby, Chazen Museum of Art, 750 University Ave.
This final residency event will feature a group performance from students in Carrie Hanson’s interdisciplinary arts course, as well as their independent projects. This culminating event will integrate the visual artworks created alongside residency guest artist Faheem Majeed during his September visit.
More details on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/505968950235657/
Biographies
Carrie Hanson
Carrie Hanson is a choreographer, educator and the artistic director of The Seldoms. She has designed projects with practitioners of visual arts, theater, music/sound design, fashion and architecture. In 2016, she was named Chicago Tribune’s “Chicagoan of the Year in Dance” and honored for her “brawny, brainy movement.” The Seldoms has toured nationally and to Russia, Taiwan and Scotland. They are known for performing in unique spaces including an outdoor pool and a truck depot.
Her 2015 work about the figure of Lyndon B. Johnson, “Power Goes,” received a National Dance Project Award and toured to ten U.S. venues, engaging a community cast in each city. She received commissions from the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Texas Performing Arts, the Morton Arboretum and the National Theater of Mannheim, Germany. Hanson was a 2015 resident artist at the National Center for Choreography at the University of Akron.
Faheem Majeed
Faheem Majeed is a builder, literally and metaphorically. A resident of the South Shore neighborhood in Chicago, Majeed often looks to the material makeup of his neighborhood and surrounding areas as an entry point into larger questions around civic-mindedness, community activism and institutional critique. Majeed transforms materials such as scrap metal and wood, particle board and discarded signs and billboard remnants, breathing new life into these often overlooked and devalued materials.
Alex Rose
Alex Rose is a biologist, diver, musician and underwater photographer. She is the project manager for Elysium Artists for the Arctic, science editor of Ocean Geographic Magazine, managing editor of Ocean Geographic Explorers and founder of ocean conservation company Blue Ring. Her goal is to find ways to protect our world’s precious marine habitats through diving, writing, photography, education and research.
The Seldoms
The Seldoms is comprised of artists and educators who introduce the work and dance/performance in inventive, focused ways to connect with audiences, students and communities. Full-length works have addressed pressing issues such as the 2008 recession, climate change and most recently a trilogy about power in America.
Residency guest artists include Solomon Bowser, Philip Elson, Sarah Gonsiorowski, Damon D. Green and Maggie Vannucci – all part of The Seldoms.