What a year! / by Nathan Webster

Dear friends of NOW-ID, Happy Holidays!

Thank you for all you've given in the past year. Your support has built a container for us to create some amazing work that we feel very proud of. Thank you for your financial support, your attention, attendance, and your appreciation of what we make. We wish you the coziest of holiday seasons filled with beauty, great food, and wonderful people.

As we approach the new year we're looking both forward to what's coming up, as well as back to all the great work we got out in the world.

IN 2015, WE:

  • Curated and hosted the Feb. 2015 Pecha Kucha in Salt Lake City - showcased the work of 13 different local and national artists/designers/event planners and had 380 attendees.
  • Created two interdisciplinary contemporary dance productions in July titled NOW HERE at the Kimball Art Center in Park City followed by NOWHERE at Libby Gardner Concert Hall. For the latter we gathered 21 local, national and international artists for two nights in July. We had 420 audience members and got amazing reviews and a local Arty in Salt Lake City for best Choreography for this piece that investigated the idea of place. We are now working on touring the show next year.
  • Launched our first Summer Workshop in August directed towards designers, dancers and choreographers. In five days we managed to produce 11 pieces by 24 artists and had three showings for the public. Participants came from Portland, Chicago, Allentown, Wichita, NYC, San Diego, Vancouver and of course Salt Lake City, Ogden, Cedar City and Orem. Amazing creativity emerged and our intention is to build on this in 2016.
  • Had our first fundraiser, House of Apocalypse, at Addictive Behavior Motor Works. Selected performances by Bad Kids Collective, Cornered by Zombies and the Litas. 210 attendees.
  • Worked with more than 236 students at residencies in Miami, Singapore, Mexico, Richmond (Virginia), Ephraim and at Tanner Dance in SLC.
  • Collaborated with local arts organizations: Kimball Art Center in Park City, Tanner Dance, SLAC, The Multi-disciplinary Design Program at the Department of Architecture at the University of Utah, Adam Bateman from CUAC and UMOCA in SLC.
  • We started a monthly artist/designer profile on our blog. Upcoming interviews will feature local Designer Andrea Beecher, NYC-based Actor Ethan Phillips and British Choreographer Wayne Mcgregor.
  • We welcomed Elpitha Tsoutsounakis onto the Board. She is an assistant professor and founding faculty member of the Multi-disciplinary design program at the University of Utah.

IN 2016, Here are just a couple of things that we are doing:

  • Performance/workshop at the Summit Artist in Residency series in January/Feb on Powder Mountain Eden Utah.
  • Space as Collaborator 2016 in May - we will again give out four scholarships to dance students at Universities in Utah.
  • A collaboration with Copenhagen-based arts organization Figura Ensemble on a contemporary Dance/Opera production titled EXODUS to be premiered in SLC and will then tour to the Copenhagen Opera Festival in August 2016. We will be featuring the work of 24 different local, National and International artists. 
  • A small preview of this production out at the Spiral Jetty, Utah.
  • House of Apocalypse in September.
  • Continue our  residencies Nationally and Internationally - so far in Missouri, Georgia, South Korea, Finland and more.
  • Collaborations with local organizations: CUAC, SLAC and more.

A gentle but urgent nudge – please give today!

NOW-ID explores and engages unexpected venues and creates powerful, ambitious mixed media works and gatherings. We build creative space for artists, for audience and community, and ultimately for ideas and evolution. And we're having an amazing time. We're finding out what it feels like to play with and alter the cultural landscape — and we want you to be a part of this creation. Please plan on joining us at our performances and events in 2016, and please click the link below to make a year-end donation to NOW-ID. Together we'll make something extraordinary.