By FRANCK MERCURIO

What happens when one of the country’s most renowned artists collaborates with one of the nation’s preeminent architects? The result is Here Hear, a series of performances combining the unique talents of artist Nick Cave and MacArthur Fellow Jeanne Gang, debuting this September at EXPO Chicago and during the Chicago Architecture Biennial.

The joining of forces during such a key time in the city’s cultural calendar was the brainchild of Michelle T. Boone, the current Chief Program and Civic Engagement Officer for Navy Pier, home of EXPO, and former Commissioner of the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE).

“Michelle felt this was a good way to partner two artists and also tie together the Biennial and the fair,” says Cave.

According to Gang, the opportunity to team up with Cave was destined to be, “We have these parallel worlds, and every once in awhile they intersect.” She adds, “We knew each other before, but we’ve never done a project together. Michelle made it happen.”

Over the past couple of years, EXPO and the Biennial have brought renewed international attention to Chicago’s vibrant art and design scenes, and Here Hear will help celebrate the opening of both exhibitions this fall in a fantastic way.

EXPO CHICAGO, now in its sixth year, and building on a steady rise in prominence on the international art fair circuit, will see 135 exhibitors representing galleries from 25 countries. The Chicago Architecture Biennial, in its second edition, features 141 participants from 20 countries. Architects’ work will be displayed at the Chicago Cultural Center through the end of the year, as well as in several satellite venues around the city.

Here Hear, premiering the evening of September 13, during Vernissage, EXPO’s kick-off party on the Pier, will be performed at the start of the Biennial on September 16 and promises to be a showstopper.

“The introduction to the festivities will be led by the South Shore Drill Team, with a group of 30 performers in Soundsuits,” said Cave. “This is really the piece that will be engaged with Jeanne’s work.”

Cave is best known for his performance pieces featuring dancers dressed in his signature Soundsuits – wearable works of art that are colorful, textured, and sometimes unsettling in their forms. The pieces are often exhibited in static museum displays, yet they come to life in exciting and unexpected ways when presented in motion to an audience, while inhabited by performers.

Complementing Cave’s works will be “dynamic custom-fabricated objects” designed by Gang and her team of architects that will define the spaces where Cave’s performances take place.

“These sculptural/architectural forms can be moved around the pier, creating various spaces to perform in,” said Cave. “The idea is organic enough that you can create this sort of environment to play within. The dancers will have the ability to dictate whether it’s a square box, or a long rectangular space, or a line with performances happening on both sides of the objects.”

The space-defining objects themselves will be kinetic, and Gang’s inspiration for their design centers on the wave action of Lake Michigan, which of course surrounds the Pier on three sides.

“The performance site is on Navy Pier, so there’s this idea of water and the movement of water and how things bob up and down in the water. This inspired how the objects move and their balancing properties,” said Gang. “Dance is so much about balance, and human movement is so much about that as well. The objects should have a nice relation with the performance.”

Gang is known for some very high-profile buildings, including Chicago’s Aqua Tower (completed in 2009), Vista Tower (currently under construction), and the Gilder Center at the American Museum of Natural History in New York (scheduled for completion in 2020). But she is also known for her socially conscious and environmentally friendly projects, such as the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership (2014), the Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo (2010), and perhaps most notably, proposals for the sustainable redevelopment and resilient design of riverfronts in Memphis, Milwaukee, and Chicago (the latter published in Reverse Effect: Renewing Chicago’s Waterways).

“More and more, people are focused on their virtual world and not as aware of the space they’re in or the people around them,” explained Gang. “I feel that in architecture and public space we have to work to get people to engage each other. It’s the biggest challenge and the most important thing we can do right now for our environment, for our politics—for everything. We need to get people to talk to each other and have empathy and have a conversation.”

This goal, to help generate greater social awareness, is something that Gang shares with Cave. In previous interviews, Cave has said that his intention as an artist is to make an imprint on his audience, rather than just an impression. In many of his works, the audience participates, rather than just observes. Cave’s HEARD, to be performed at both EXPO and the Chicago Architecture Biennial, explores the collective power of people working together. Up Right, also slated for multiple performances, focuses on the challenges of being young and black in America.

To perform these larger than life pieces, Cave needs to recruit dozens of people from across the city. His troupe of participants will be made up of creative professionals, but also everyday people—perhaps as many as 150 in total—including adults who work in public service and kids from the Chicago Children’s Choir, reflecting the variety of experiences from so many citizens in our city.

“I’ve been performing all over the world, but this is really my first performance piece in the city,” said Cave. “We’re very excited about working with young people and as well as professionals, creating opportunities for individuals interested in performance, dance, the arts. It’s nice to be able to create a platform of possibility, and so Here Hear is really all about that.”

“I’m thrilled to be working with Nick and to see a glimpse of what inspires him and what he’s thinking,” added Gang. “It’s been really great so far. I’m looking forward to everything coming together.”

September Performance Schedule:

Wed, Sep 13, 9-10pm – Aon Ballroom, Navy Pier

Nick Cave’s Up Right Chicago, 8pm. The performance will start with a procession from EXPO CHICAGO, beginning at 8:30. Free; limited, ticketed seating avail. to the public.

Sat, Sep 16, 1pm and 3pm – Navy Pier, Polk Bros Park

HEARD, Includes live music by Kahil Elzabar and Chicago Children’s Choir. Soundsuits activation at Navy Pier Wave Wall at 2pm. Here Hear Film Festival at Polk Bros Park Performance Lawn, Lake Stage, 5pm (runs approx. 2 hours).

Note: The Sep 16 performances are free and open to the public. No tickets necessary.