All events in the River To River Festival are free and all are welcome.
The Listeners
In culmination of Ernesto Pujol’s Listening School, artists trained in the art of listening will sit in a circle as public servants providing individualized silent listening to visitors all evening at the birthplace of Democracy, historic Federal Hall Memorial.
What to expect
Audiences will be invited to wait, enter one at a time, and be guided to select one listener, sit under the rotunda, and speak for as long as they wish. When done, the listener will thank you, rise, and guide you out.
A Message from the Artist
Speaking and listening require a set of conditions.
The public is invited to enter Federal Hall one at a time.
We apologize if you have to wait.
Once inside, you’ll be welcomed and guided into a circle of listeners sitting under the rotunda. You will select one listener, sit down, and speak for as long as you want.
The listener will listen to you in silence.
After you conclude speaking, your listener will thank you, rise and guide you out.
If you wish to speak to a second listener, please walk around back to the entrance
and follow this protocol again. We thank you for your patience.
In collaboration with artists Kimberlee Acquaro, Kate Harding, Sara Jimenez, Sto Len, Ernesto Pujol, Valarie Samulski, Jonathan David Smyth, Young Sun Han, Molly Teitelbaum, Benjamin Thorpe, Riva Weinstein, and Joy Whalen. Co-curated with Danielle ML King.
A Listening Journal will be an ongoing timeline for texts created during The Listening School process leading to The Listeners performance on June 27. The first entries were written by Ernesto Pujol, followed by the thoughts and experiences of performers Kate Harding, Sara Jimenez, Sto Len, Sara Overton, Jessica Posner, Jonathan David Smyth, Young Sun Han, Molly Teitelbaum, Riva Weinstein, Joy Whalen, Valarie Samulski, and Benjamin Thorpe.
About Ernesto Pujol
Ernesto Pujol is a site-specific performance artist and social choreographer. His interdisciplinary projects draw unapologetically from world religions as embodied cultural material containing the rich performativity of belief. A portraitist of place, Pujol strives to reclaim historic public space from distractions, revisiting emblematic architecture and mythical landscapes. He has an MFA from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago, and has been the recipient of numerous foundation fellowships. Pujol is the author of Sited Body, Public Visions, silence, stillness and walking as Performance Practice; and Walking Art Practice, Reflections on Socially Engaged Paths.
Pujol is the author of Sited Body, Public Visions, silence, stillness and walking as Performance Practice; and more recently, Walking Art Practice, Reflections on Socially Engaged Paths. His essays and interviews appear in publications such as Awake: Buddha Mind in Contemporary Art.
Ernesto Pujol is a participant in Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's Extended Life Dance Development program made possible in part by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
The Listeners is commissioned by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, developed as part of LMCC’s Extended Life Dance Development program made possible in part by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The Listeners is supported in part by Art Matters. Space generously provided by Anderson Contemporary, Fosun, National Parks Service, and Port Authority NY + NJ.