Inaugural H & M High Line Festival Ends Successful Ten Day Run Of Sold Out Shows, Once-in-a-Lifetime Events and Exhibits
? All Curated By David Bowie
Cultural Mash-Up Featured Events with Air, Laurie Anderson, Arcade Fire, Bang on a Can All Stars, The Bellmer Dolls, Claude Cahun, Deerhoof, Dirty Projectors, Dragons of Zynth, Mike Garson with Chris Howes, Lance Horne, Ricky Gervais, Michael Gira, Kate Havneik, Daniel Johnston, The Legendary Stardust Cowboy, Laurie McLeod, Meow Meow incited by John Cameron Mitchell, The National, Ken Nordine, The Polyphonic Spree, Robert Stillman?s Horses, School of Seven Bells, The Secret Machines, TV on the Radio, and a 100 Year Retrospective of Spanish Language Film
2008 H & M High Line Festival Set for May 7- 17th!
2008 Curator To Be Announced in Coming Months
New York, NY (May 23, 2007) ? The H & M High Line Festival ? a new festival of music, performance, film, comedy and visual art that will be curated by a different world-class artist each year ? drew to a close this past weekend, ending a ten day run of once-in-a-lifetime combinations of artists, experiences and events. Curated by the legendary David Bowie and produced by festival co-founders David Binder and Josh Wood, along with Live Nation, the H & M High Line Festival showcased an impressive array of artists including:
Air, Laurie Anderson, Arcade Fire, Bang on a Can All Stars, The Bellmer Dolls, Claude Cahun, Deerhoof, Dirty Projectors, Dragons of Zynth, Mike Garson with Chris Howes, Lance Horne, Ricky Gervais, Michael Gira, Kate Havneik, Daniel Johnston, The Legendary Stardust Cowboy, Laurie McLeod, Meow Meow incited by John Cameron Mitchell, The National, Ken Nordine, The Polyphonic Spree, Robert Stillman?s Horses, School of Seven Bells, The Secret Machines, TV on the Radio, and a 100 Year Retrospective of Spanish Language Film. Slated to return to New York in 2008, the H & M High Line Festival will take place next year from May 7th-17th with a new curator to be announced in the coming months.
What began with the May 9th, sold out, festival kick-off performance by Arcade Fire which the NY Times called an “indie-rock juggernaut” and “exhilarating,” and noted that “Arcade Fire used to seem too big for the little clubs it played. And for a few moments on Wednesday night, the band seemed too big even for this room,” officially concluded on May 19th, with the American stand up debut of Ricky Gervais. Gervais? sold out show at the Theater at Madison Square Garden which the NY Post called “totally hilarious” and commented on Gervais? “quietly brilliant nature of his observations” was made all the more memorable by the introduction of Gervais by Bowie who serenaded the comedian with “Chubby Little Loser,” a song he first performed on Gervais? hit HBO comedy “Extras.”
Other festival highlights included a prime triple bill performance of The Legendary Stardust Cowboy, Bang on a Can All Stars and Daniel Johnston, the latter who Jon Pareles of the NY Times called “a tenderhearted introvert, crooning in eclectic company,” as well as an appearance by Laurie Anderson at the newly opened Highline Ballroom. Anderson, who WWD called “one of those New Yorkers who assures other Manhattanites that their city is officially cool,” said of the H& M High Line Festival to Time Out New York: “I think festivals designed by artists are so much wackier and riskier than the ones designed by institutions.”
As the festival?s co-founder and curator, David Bowie programmed the diverse array of art and music, choosing some of the most interesting and provocative work he found personally inspiring.
“I am thrilled that so many came out to see the wonderful array of talent who took part in our first High Line Festival,” said festival curator David Bowie. “I am even more pleased that people had fun and were able to experience a great cross pollination of emerging and established talent in one cohesive festival.”
In addition, the H & M High Line Festival showcased the work of ground breaking, gender bending photographer Claude Cahun who the NY Daily News called the “perfect radical artists to be part of the first High Line Festival, curated by David Bowie.” Cahun?s work was on display in the garden of the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church, a venue that provided a unique backdrop for Cahun?s work which was projected in a multimedia display. This exhibit also marked the first time the Seminary was opened for a public arts project.
Taking place in venues near New York City?s High Line neighborhood ? the elevated rail structure soon to open as a public open space, running through the Meatpacking District, West Chelsea and Clinton/Hell?s Kitchen – the H & M High Line Festival was also a vehicle to raise funds and awareness for the revitalization of the High Line and surrounding neighborhoods. A portion of the proceeds was donated to Friends of the High Line, the 501(c)3 organization currently working with the City of New York to transform the 1930?s rail structure into a park, set to open in 2008.
“We are elated with the array of programming and attendance for our first H & M High Line Festival,” says the festival co-producer David Binder. “We set out to showcase all that?s culturally diverse and wonderful about New York as seen through the eyes of one curator, and we were delighted that our vision was embraced by the many who came to support the festival and the acts.”
Added co-producer Josh Wood “Moreover, we were really happy to partner with such great supporters such as H & M, Live Nation, Garnier, Grolsch, Jet Blue Airways, Time Out New York, and Time Inc. to make the festival affordable and accessible for all, and especially to Friends of the High Line whose work in the neighborhood inspired our efforts.”
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About Friends of the High Line
The High Line is a 1.45-mile-long elevated rail structure running through the West Side neighborhoods of the Meatpacking District, West Chelsea and Clinton/Hell?s Kitchen. It was built in the 1930s to remove dangerous trains from Manhattan’s streets. No trains have run on it since 1980. Friends of the High Line (FHL), a community-based 501(c)(3) non-profit group, formed in 1999 when the historic structure was under threat of demolition. FHL’s mission is to preserve the structure for reuse as an elevated public open space.
FHL gained the support of the City of New York in 2002. The High Line south of 30th Street was donated to the City by CSX Transportation Inc. in 2005. The team of Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro has designed the first section of the High Line’s public landscape. Construction began in spring 2006 and the first section, from Gansevoort Street to 20th Street, is projected to open in Summer 2008.
About H & M
H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) was established in Sweden in 1947. The company?s business concept is to offer fashion and quality at the best price. H & M is quoted on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Today there are more than 1,300 H & M stores in 27 countries. H & M has more than 60,000 employees and achieved sales including VAT in 2006 of SEK 80,081 million. H & M has a wide product range that is divided into a number of different concepts for women, men, teenagers, and children. The company?s clothing collections are created by its own designers, pattern makers and buyers. For further information visit www.hm.com.