Discotropic
niv Acosta (USA)
DISCOTROPIC situates itself between the pragmatic and the fantastical while exploring the relationship between science fiction, disco, astrophysics and the black American experience.
Reflecting on the role of black presence in sci-fi history, inspiration was drawn from 70’s actor Diahann Carroll known for her part in the TV movie Star Wars Holiday Special. Cast by NBC at the behest of donors and audience members, who insisted that a black person appear on the show, Carroll appears only as a holographic fantasy—an illusion that distills the ways in which the black female body has been consumed in mass media: as alien, bodacious, and marginalized. Dominant science fiction narratives are rewritten through engagement with queer politics and Afrofuturism, claiming new imaginary territory rich in possibility.
Director & Choreographer: niv Acosta
Set Designer: Jennifer Sims
Costume Consultant: Charlotte Sims
Performers: Monstah Black, Justin Allen, Ashley Brockington, Dion TygaPaw
Videography: Mehmet Salih Yildirim, Gina Chang.
“queering ‘brown involvement in performance’ in a way that speaks honestly and articulately from the here and now” – Culturebot
90 minutes running time
Commissioned by PS122
Presented by PS122 in partnership with Westbeth Artists Community
Jan 6 – 8pm
Jan 8 – 5pm
Jan 9 – 3pm & 8pm
Jan 10 – 4pm
Westbeth Artists Community
Boxoffice at 155 Bank Street, NY, NY
niv Acosta is an award-winning and nationally-acclaimed multi-medium artist based in Brooklyn. His intersectional identities are transgender, queer, and black-Dominican have continuously inspired his community-based work. niv’s work and thought leadership has been featured in many publications including Performance Journal, VICE, Brooklyn Magazine, Apogee Journal and more. His performance work has been shown at various spaces including The Kimmel Center (Philadelphia), Human Resources (Los Angeles), MoMA PS1, Studio Museum, New York Live Arts, New Museum, Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Danspace Project among others. niv has collaborated with artists such as Deborah Hay, André Singleton, Monstah Black, A.K. Burns, Andrea Geyer, Ralph Lemon, Ishmael Houston-Jones and Larissa Velez Jackson.
Featured image by Justin Fulton
DISCOTROPIC was commissioned by Performance Space 122 with the support of the Jerome Foundation. Development support provided by The MAP Fund, a program of Creative Capital supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.