Blind Visionaries

2021 -22

Performing Arts Center university at albany

State University of New York

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Cover photo: Ashwini Ramaswamy by Ed Bock Photo this page: UAlbany Performing Arts Center by Patrick Ferlo

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Photo: Ashwini Ramaswamy’s Let the Crows Come by Jake Armour

for a full listing of this season’s events.

Welcome to Blind Visionaries Blind Visionaries is a collaboration between composer/ pianist Daniel Kelly and The Seeing with Photography Collective.

This multi-media performance features video projections of stunning photos created by the blind and visually impaired members of The Seeing with Photography Collective (SWPC) with audio interviews of the photographers speaking about their experiences of living with blindness. All set to original music composed by Daniel Kelly & performed by the Daniel Kelly Trio.

Daniel Kelly – composer, pianist, performance creator Adam Coté – bass Bram Kincheloe – drums Mark Andres – photographer & director of SWPC Mike Logue – photographer & member of SWPC Donald Martinez – photographer & member of SWPC Daniel Kelly created Blind Visionaries because of his passion for the stunning images made by the blind and visually impaired photographers of SWPC. Kelly first encountered their work more than 15 years ago in New York City and made several visits to the Collective’s weekly photography-making sessions the Center for the Blind in Manhattan led by their director, Mark Andres.

During a gallery exhibition at the Soho Gallery, Kelly and his band performed in the dark as people attending the opening created photos with members of the Collective who use a unique process to create their photos called “light painting.”

Images created by the Collective are also on the front cover and booklet of Kelly’s CD Duets with Ghosts.

Kelly wanted to take their collaboration to a new level and used his talents as conceptualist and organizer, and his depth and fluency in collaborating with multiple art forms to create Blind Visionaries.

He searched through the entire body of work created by the Collective over four decades (thousands of photos) to choose the over the 200 photos featured in Blind Visionaries. He then meticulously curated and ordered the photos using visual themes and different photographic techniques his guides. With the photos now selected and ordered, he created the films that are projected onto the video screen during the performance of Blind Visionaries. Viewers are immersed into the stunning visual world of SWPC as the films delves into the photos, weaving and zooming in and out, across different parts of each image to reveal the rich visual language and surreal world created by these extraordinary photographers.

Kelly also felt audiences would want to know more about these visually impaired photographers and how they could create such stunning photos with their limited ability (or complete inability) to see. So, he interviewed several of the members and wove the recorded audio interviews throughout the performance. Audience members hear the photographers speaking about their personal experience of losing their sight and how they draw meaning from the process of creating photos which have been exhibited in galleries throughout the world.

After Kelly had selected the photos, created the films and recorded the interviews, he then used his talents as a composer, pianist and bandleader to compose music that captured and amplified the emotional quality of the photos, immersing the audience into a musical dialogue between the imagery in the photos and compositions performed by his trio.

All photography © The Seeing With Photography Collective 2022 All music © Daniel Kelly 2022 https://www.flickr.com/photos/seeingwithphotography/ https://www.seeingwithphotography.com/ https://www.danielkellymusic.com/ https://www.facebook.com/DanielKellyMusic/ https://www.instagram.com/danielkellypiano/

About the Collaborators The Seeing with Photography Collective – Photography Exhibited in galleries around the world, the haunting and poetic images of SWPC are created by a group of visually impaired, sighted and totally blind photographers. They use a dynamic process called “light painting” which transports the viewer into their unique dream world of surreal portraits. The visually impaired or blind photographers work with a sighted assistant to create an image based on a vision in their mind’s eye. The results are riveting, dramatic images that have helped these artists to heal through their work. Coming from diverse backgrounds and life experiences, they share an awareness of sight loss, along with the determination to dialogue and integrate their images into a more universal context.

Their work has been exhibited in Kristianstad, Sweden; Milan, Rome and Perugia, Italy; Rotterdam and Eindhoven, the Netherlands; Santiago, Chile; Moscow, Russia; Mexico City, Mexico; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Winnipeg, Canada; and many locations throughout the United States. Their photos can be seen in a new book, Blind Visionaries, that accompanies this performance and will be published in April 2022. https://www.flickr.com/people/seeingwithphotography Mark Andres – Photographer and Director of SWPC Mark Andres studied photography at Brown University and at the New York University/International Center of Photography graduate program. He began working with the legally blind in 1985 and teaches at the Visions Services for the Blind. He has been director of the Collective for over 30 years.

Daniel Kelly – Composer, Pianist, Performance Creator Daniel Kelly’s music has been declared “powerfully moving”

by TIME OUT NEW YORK. He has brought his unique talent to performances with Grammy award-winning jazz legends Michael Brecker and Joe Lovano, hip-hop star Lauryn Hill, and modern classical giants the Bang on a Can All-Stars, to name a few. Kelly has released five CDs of original compositions.

Tonight’s Sponsors Tonight’s performance is presented by the UAlbany Performing Arts Center in partnership with the University Art Museum UALBANY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER PAC 266 518-442-3995 www.albany.edu/pac UNIVERSITY ART MUSEUM Fine Arts Building 518-442-4035 www.albany.edu/museum

Major funding support provided by the Alumni Association through the Grandma Moses Fund.

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION Alumni House 518-442-3080 www.albany.edu/alumni

Additional support is provided by the University at Albany Foundation, University Auxiliary Services and UAlbany's StAR Program.

UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY FOUNDATION University Administration Building, 226 518-437-5090 www.albany.edu/uafoundation

UNIVERSITY AUXILIARY SERVICES University Administration Building, 232 518-442-5950 www.albany.edu/uas

PERFORMING ARTS CENTER HOUSE POLICIES Latecomers will be seated at the discretion of the management and its staff. .

The use of photographic or recording devices of any kind during this performance is strictly prohibited. .

There is no food or drink allowed in the theatres, nor is smoking allowed in UAlbany buildings. .

To avoid disrupting the performance, kindly disable any noise making electronic devices you may have with you. .

Please take time to note the location of the fire exits nearest to you. In the event of an emergency, please proceed to the nearest exit in an orderly fashion and follow the directions of our staff.

Created and produced by the University Art Museum, NYS Writers Institute and UAlbany Performing Arts Center in collaboration with WAMC Public Radio, this popular series features leading figures from a variety of artistic disciplines in conversation about their creative inspirations, their craft and their careers.

“Roundtable” host Joe Donahue conducts live on-stage interviews followed by a Q&A with the audience.

Dance in

2021-22

Albany

Coming up next:

Mark Morris Dance Group Photo by Erin Baiano

March 11, 8pm at The Egg

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