A talk show that takes place in a spaceship is exactly what we all need.
Arts Commons’ TD Incubator program is back, and this time it’s led by 2022-23 fellows Yolanda Sargeant and Evgeniy "Comrade" Bykovets, aka Sargeant x Comrade. While just like last season, this season promises varying modes of artistic expression from emerging artists, this year’s theme brings something completely new to the program and the city as a whole.
The theme lo-fi futures explores the future from the perspective of the past and does so through a variety of methods including four retro-futuristic talk shows that take place…get this…in a spaceship.
“The set is designed as a spaceship and the audience is flying through space with us,” says Comrade.
The theme lo-fi futures explores space and time in a 50s-style, late night, Johnny Carson talk show kind of way.
“We’re looking into the future in a retro way,” says Comrade. “If you were to look at how people used to think about the future in the 50s or 60s and what they imagined, and you know how it's kind of funny to us, or in some cases some of the stuff came into existence.”
By exploring innovation in the past, present and future, Sargeant x Comrade are embarking on a project that they refer to as “experimental.” Throughout this experiment, not only do they hope to foster honest connections between emerging artists and their communities, but they also hope to inspire the next generation of artists.
“Everything is full circle,” says Sargeant. “So a lot of things are just kind of put out there, and you don’t realize the actual effect that it has on the person who’s taking in all the information. It’s a beautiful thing.”
Mars: Second Home is the first of four talk shows that will take place over the 2022-23 season. During the show, the audience will experience art and conversation from last season’s Fellows, Jae Sterling and Contra; interdisciplinary artist, muralist, and creator Mackenzie Bedford; cellist and experimental musician Jenny Crane; and Kue Varo, the solo project of musician and multi-instrumentalist Kat Dodge.
Following Mars: Second Home (which you can catch on November 18th & 19th) is Venus: Future Love (Feb. 10 & 11, 2023), Earth: Mothership (Apr. 21 & 22, 2023) and Moon: Indigo Child (June 2 & 3, 2023). Each show will maintain the talk show format with Sargeant x Comrade as the evening’s hosts.
In addition to the four talk shows, this year’s Incubator program will feature a +15 Soundscape, which is a way for audio artists to display their work.
“It’s 12 speakers in the +15 space within the Arts Commons building,” says Comrade. “So they have 12 different components to play around with and they can do whatever they like within that space.”
This year’s Incubator artists will also showcase their work in the Broadcast Lab which will feature various short films that reimagine the future. The video artists, audio artists, and artists of other disciplines will all come together during the talk shows for an evening of performance and conversation.
Mars: Second Home can be experienced on November 18th and 19th at the Engineered Air Theatre at Arts Commons. To purchase tickets to Mars: Second Home, click here
“We’re not completely alone in this,” says Sargeant. Sargeant x Comrade are quick to praise Josh Dalledonne and Sanja Lukač for their support and guidance along with the larger Arts Commons team working behind the scenes to make projects like this a reality.