Archive of Desire

2023

People / Culture

Interdisciplinary

An exhaltation of desire... Robin Coste Lewis, Julie Mehretu, Vijay Iyer, Jeffrey Zeigler, and Charlotte Brathwaite weave a collaborative meditation on the sensuality of Cavafy, diaspora, and the liminal spaces present everywhere in his work.

World-class artistic production bringing together a one-of-a-kind collaboration between music, poetry and visual art.An exaltation of desire, Robin Coste Lewis, Julie Mehretu, Vijay Iyer, Jeffrey Zeigler, and Charlotte Brathwaite meditate collaboratively on the sensuality of Cavafy, diaspora, and the liminal spaces present everywhere in his work. The evening draws inspiration from Cavafy’s archive, processing the sonic, visual, and cultural tones found in his poetry through recitation, live music, electronics, and new visual work.
The project premiered in New York at the Cavafy Festival commissioned by the Onassis Foundation and presented at National Sawdust, and has future plans of touring to the Venice Biennale, as well as performance halls and festivals in Athens, Alexandria, Cape Town and beyond.

Format

Interdisciplinary Live Performance

Collaborators

Robin Coste Lewis, Julie Mehretu, Vijay Iyer, Jeffrey Zeigler, and Charlotte Brathwaite

Funders and Partners

Commissioned by the Onassis Foundation

Press

"Individual sonic universes that matched Cavafy's sense of solitude"

The New York Times