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Take a Breathtaking Journey Through Earth’s History at Redfern Arts Center

From Miwa Matreyek's "The World Made Itself"
From Miwa Matreyek's "The World Made Itself"

Multi-media artist Miwa Matreyek merges animation, music and shadow performance to create a spectacular journey through earth’s history in This World Made Itself on Wednesday, April 8, at 7:30 p.m. in the Alumni Recital Hall of the Redfern Arts Center at Keene State College. Matreyek’s performance also includes a presentation of her 2010 project Myth and Infrastructure, a beautifully scenic tale about the cycles of existence and regeneration at the very root of nature and society.

Tickets to the performance range from $20 to $15 and $5 for KSC students. For tickets, contact the Redfern Box Office, open Monday to Friday, noon to 6 p.m., call 603-358-2168 or order online at www.keene.edu/racbp. See a video clip and more information about Miwa Matreyek’s performance and the free activities surrounding this event at www.keene.edu/racbp.

Los Angeles performer and digital artist Matreyek combines stunning animation with the art of movement, cleverly using a projection of her silhouette to interact with her creations through a series of interactive motions. Matreyek brings her animations to life with charging vivacity with the use of emotive music from distinctive artists including Anna Oxygen, Flying Lotus, and some of her own compositions. According to the Los Angeles Times, “multi-media artist Miwa Matreyek is magical…The sheer breadth of imagery is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before.”

In an interview with the Redfern, Matreyek said that when creating This World Made Itself, she was inspired while flying during a performance tour and reading A Brief History of Everything by Bill Bryson. “Since I was flying so much, I became obsessed with observing and photographing the earth from above… seeing the patterns natural systems create on the earth’s surfaces, the ways that humans scratch and carve into the earth, and feeling like I wanted to create visceral ways that I can make connections to an audience through music, image and my body.”

Miwa Matreyek is an internationally recognized animator, designer, and multimedia artist based in Los Angeles. She creates animated short films as well as live works that integrate animation, performance, and video installation. In her projection based performances, animation takes on a more physical and present quality, while body and space take on a more fantastical quality, creating an experience that is both cinematic and theatrical. She is interested in the slippery meeting point of cinema and theater/performance, the moments of convergence where fantastical illusions are created, and the moments of divergence where the two struggle against each other.

There are several free activities surrounding This World Made Itself and Myth and Infrastructure at the Redfern Arts Center, all of which take place on the Keene State campus.

  • Artist Talk with Miwa Matreyek on her creative process, Wednesday, April 8, at 2 p.m. in the Media Arts Center, Room 169.
  • Post-show talkback with Miwa Matreyek moderated by Jo Dery, KSC Assistant Professor of Film Studies, in the Redfern’s Main Lobby.
  • Workshop: Shadow play with Projection with Miwa Matreyek on Thursday, April 9, at noon in the Redfern Arts Center, Room 232.

For questions or more details on these activities, please contact Redfern Assistant Director, Sharon Fantl.

This performance is funded in part by the Expeditions program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional support from the six New England state arts agencies.

About Redfern Arts Center at Keene State College

The Arts Center is named in honor of Dr. Leo F. Redfern, Keene State College President from 1969 to 1979 for his vision, commitment, and eloquence on behalf of the arts that made funding and construction of the facility a reality. In 1981, KSC inaugurated this new performing arts center, with the goal of providing unforgettable artistic encounters for the campus and community. Now in its 33rd year, the Redfern Arts Center presents and fosters dynamic, multifaceted arts experiences through performances, residencies, and related programs that deepen the connection between the arts and audiences, both from the campus and the greater Monadnock region.

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