UNT hosts Brendan Fernandes, who uses the dancefloor as a site of resistance

Monday, March 19, 2018 - 16:19
The University of North Texas College of Visual Arts and Design Department of Studio Art, in collaboration with the Greater Denton Arts Council, will host contemporary artist, Brendan Fernandes, in Denton for an April 6 (Friday) lecture and presentation of his performance work.
The University of North Texas College of Visual Arts and Design Department of Studio Art, in collaboration with the Greater Denton Arts Council, will host contemporary artist, Brendan Fernandes, in Denton for an April 6 (Friday) lecture and presentation of his performance work.

What: Brendan Fernandes artist talk and performance of Free Fall 49, hosted by the University of North Texas College of Visual Arts and Design, in collaboration with the Greater Denton Arts Council.

When: April 6 (Friday); Performance at 6 p.m., with an artist talk at 5 p.m.

Where: Greater Denton Arts Council, 400 E. Hickory Street in Denton.

Cost: Free

DENTON (UNT), Texas - The University of North Texas College of Visual Arts and Design Department of Studio Art, in collaboration with the Greater Denton Arts Council, will host contemporary artist, Brendan Fernandes, in Denton for an April 6 (Friday) lecture and presentation of his performance work. The event will be held at the GDAC, located at 400 E. Hickory St., with a 5 p.m. artist talk and 6 p.m. performance of Free Fall 49. The event is free and open to the public.

Fernandes describes Free Fall 49 as a dance, sculptural and performance work reflecting on the mass shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. A collective body of 49 dancers, consisting of students from North Texas colleges and universities, will fall 49 times, once for every victim lost in the tragedy.

“This work engages the falling body as a metaphor for queer politics in an attempt to understand brutality and offer sanctuary,” said Liss LaFleur, assistant professor of new media art and event organizer. “It acts as a memorial to the men and women at Pulse, whose appearance and culture were at a charged intersection of race, gender and sexuality. Here the metaphor of falling includes the perseverance of getting back up and defiance in the face of perceived defeat.”

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