The New School Collaborates with Lincoln Center for Dream Machine Program
Nona Hendryx is a multi-faceted performer whose work has spanned music, film, television, and more. She has worked with leading artists since she began her career in the 1960’s, including Keith Richards, Patti LaBelle, and Dusty Springfield, among others, and continues to create and develop new work at the intersection of a variety of mediums.
Recently, Hendryx spearheaded a project in collaboration with Lincoln Center for their Summer-for-the-City series, which included a mix of programs, panels, workshops, performances, and immersive experiences based on her own work as well as the work of her collaborators’.
Following a meeting with Provost Renée White and Hendryx, The New School became a lead partner for the project and heavily involved in one of the immersive experiences, which was overseen by Gayle Fekete, the former Associate Dean of the School of Drama and current Professor of Practice, Maya Georgieva, Senior Director of The New School’s Innovation Center, as well as members of the Provost’s Office, including Provost White and Eren Hock, Director of Strategic University Initiatives.
Students from programs in Parsons, the College of Performing Arts, Eugene Lang, and the Schools of Public Engagement participated in the partnership, where they served as docents during the immersive experience, working with 40 guests at a time during each session.
“For over a month, we developed an interdisciplinary student cohort across the colleges,” says Fekete. “It was very important to address diversity and cross genre expertise across our university community. Students now have ongoing relationships and future projects, and many of them are returning in the Fall to study and/or intern with myself and Maya.”
“The selected students were trained at the Innovation Center XR Lab, where they were briefed on topics such as Afrofuturism, and the language of immersive storytelling and experiences and learned essential onboarding techniques for VR headsets,” explains Georgieva. “At the Center, students engaged in critical playtesting and contributed valuable feedback to the Dream Machine developers. Students continued to provide feedback to the Dream Machine team throughout the program.”
New School students were instrumental in instructing participants on how to navigate the immersive VR experiences, which was important for many of the attendees as it was their first encounter with virtual reality, making the guidance from the student docents even more critical.
“This hands-on role also allowed them to address questions about the Dream Machine’s themes, such as Afrofuturism and the contributions of renowned artists like Nona Hendryx, Laurie Anderson, George Clinton, and others,” shared Georgieva. “Students were fortunate to meet with Nona Hendryx several times throughout the program and some of the artists, which was an exciting experience for them.” Participating student Pau Zabaleta Llauger shared: “As an international and Drama student I really enjoyed having the opportunity to work at Lincoln Center with such a significant project that mixed technology, music legends I admire, and storytelling as a way to expand the limits of what performance means to me.”
Additionally, Fekete curated an event, “Dreaming Big,” for the Dream Machine programming series, hosted in the Atrium at Lincoln Center, which featured a panel of New School faculty members, including Fekete, Jeongki Lim, Pani Farvid, Georgieva, Julia Foulkes, and Katherine Swenson. Topics explored a range of ideas, including the engagement and reimaging of cross-disciplinary collaboration to the challenges and opportunities it presents, as well as how to maintain human connection amidst the rapidly evolving technological landscape, the role of AI, and how to diversify virtual environments. The event also included performances by the Illustrious Blacks and Ross Wightman’s Fiddle Henge.
In true New School fashion, the collaboration with Lincoln Center provided students with invaluable real-world experiences, where they were able to connect with leading artists, developers, and practitioners, and enhanced their understanding and skills in the realm of art, performance, immersive experiences, and more.
“Lincoln Center is a very important partner to The New School, and it’s thrilling for our community to be recognized and highlighted in this educational, creative and collaborative project,” notes Fekete.
“This was such a special opportunity to collaborate with the incomparable Nona Hendryx and bring together our students and faculty from a wide range of disciplines on a project that was visible and accessible to the entire city,” shares Provost White. “It was a chance for our students to advance their knowledge in the field, practice their communication and facilitation skills, and make significant contributions to both the delivery of the programs and the immersive experiences themselves. It is exactly the kind of partnership that The New School hopes to do more of.”