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TRACES (after Sophie Calle) (2021-2024)

 

 

DESCRIPTION



Throughout her storied career, Sophie Calle made a name for herself through daring, controversial, “famously first-person” feats of obsessively documenting her own intimately personal travails, impersonating fictional characters in real-life situations, and even spying on strangers. In recent years, much of her work has reckoned with mortality and death; for example, she filmed her mother’s last moments of life and has held dress rehearsals for her own funeral. We are curious about the resonance of Calle’s work in this unprecedented time of pandemic and polarized politics, as so many people are processing loss and contemplating their own mortality in new light, while simultaneously navigating rampant political misinformation and distrust--all realities complicated further by the necessity of social distancing.
 
Spy thriller meets participatory performance art in this immersive, site-specific work. TRACES unfolds in real time across downtown Minneapolis. This roving performance experience follows a fictional character through a series of public locations. In intimate, one-on-one encounters, lone audience members trace her journey, documenting their experiences via audio, photo, and video—ultimately leading to a reflection on the nature of mortality and human connection.

Read about TRACES in this recently published interview with the piece's co-creators, Ivan and Rachel, in BOMB magazine.

 

 


 

CREDITS

 

conceived and directed by | Ivan Talijancic

in collaboration with | Rachel Jendrzejewski 

 


 

PERFORMANCES

 

WORLD PREMIERE:
_Walker Art Center (Minneapolis, Minnesota) - October 28 - November 11, 2024

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS.

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CREATIVE RESIDENCIES:
_TRACES (pilot) was created in Venice, Italy in March 2021

_TRACES (Part One) was presented in Brooklyn, NY in October 2021

_TRACES (Part Two) was presented online in March 2022
https://pwcenter.org/event/traces 

_TRACES (Part Three) was presented in Brooklyn, NY in October 2022

 

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Development of TRACES has been made possible, in part, through support from:

_Brooklyn Arts Council / Community Arts Grant

_City Artist Corps grants program, presented by The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA), with support from the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) as well as Queens Theatre

_RESTART NY program administered by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature

_Ensemble/Playwright Collaboration Grant administered by the NET/Network of Ensemble Theaters in collaboration with The Playwrights Center (Minneapolis, MN)

_Foundation for the Contemporary Arts (New York, USA)

_Emily Harvey Foundation (Venice, Italy)  

_Università Ca’ Foscari (Venice, Italy)

_Villa Albertine and Albertine Foundation (France)

_National Endowment for the Arts (USA)

_Carnegie Mellon University Frank-Ratchye Further Fund (USA)

_University of Minnesota