When Italian architect Renzo Piano’s three-building expansion for the High Museum of Art opened in 2005, the project came with a handsome outdoor plaza better connecting the museum with the rest of the Woodruff Arts Center.
Woodruff and High leaders have always seen great potential in Carroll Slater Sifly Piazza as a Midtown civic gathering space, performance place and a front door to the arts center’s varied offerings. The possibilities have been suggested in scattered performances by groups including gloATL and Sonic Generator. The piazza was even turned into a pseudo French park, complete with cafe tables and large planters, the better to appreciate outdoor sculpture from the Louvre.
This summer, the High takes the largest step yet to try to tap the piazza’s potential. In a public grand opening the evening of July 18, it unveils “Mi Casa, Your Casa,” an interactive installation that will serve as the setting for a profusion of free activities and performances this summer and fall.
Created by Mexican designers Hector Esrawe and Ignacio Cadena, “Mi Casa” will feature a grid of 36 mobile, three-dimensional, open, 8-foot-by-8-foot-by-10.5-foot steel frames in the shape of houses, with four additional ones scattered around the Woodruff campus.
“We want to create a space that makes visitors proud of who they are and where they live, that allows them to feel a sense of belonging,” Esrawe said. “We want people to say, ‘This is my city, my home.’”
Hammocks, swings, easels, bins of chalk and buckets of bubble water, among other items, will offer daytime leisure and recreation options throughout the summer. The High and other Woodruff denizens (Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Arts for Learning) also will utilize the installation for youth education, diversions during performance intermissions and more.
But the installation especially will be in the spotlight on Friday nights at 7 p.m. (and through events on Nov. 2) as part of the High’s new “Friday Night Lates” series. Then, the museum will present an array of performers and artists from Woodruff and Atlanta groups, including contemporary dance troupes CORE Performance Company and Wabi Sabi; French-language theater company Théâtre du Rêve; and WonderRoot, which will mount an art installation.
For a full schedule of the free events, see below.
Credit: hpousner
Credit: hpousner
The opening weekend should set the tone. Here’s the schedule:
July 18: 6 p.m., performances of traditional Mexican folk music and dancing orchestrated by the Instituto de México. From 8:30 to 10 p.m., gloATL will present the migrating performance piece "Choir B: A Physical Installation." Mexican food and drinks will be available for purchase throughout the evening.
July 19: 9 a.m., morning yoga for adults and children; 10 a.m.-4 p.m., family art-making activities, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Instrument Petting Zoo and performances by Havana Son; 4-8:30 p.m., various performances, with Mexican drinks and food for purchase; 8:30-10 p.m., gloATL's "Choir B."
July 20: noon-4 p.m., family art-making activities, ASO Instrument Petting Zoo and Havana Son performance.
The High will offer free admission for guests 17 and under on July 19 and 20 and parking discounts throughout the weekend. 1280 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. 404-733-4444, high.org
"MI CASA, YOUR CASA" SCHEDULE
July 18-20
See story above.
July 25 from 8 to 9 p.m.
Alliance Theatre’s musical theatre camp performs “Lord of the Flies” (inspired by William Golding’s classic novel and featuring the music of the Ramones)
Aug. 1 from 7 to 9 p.m.
Théâtre du Réve, Atlanta’s French-language theater company, presents “Pillow Talk sur l’oreiller”
Aug. 8 from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
“Home Bodies” by The Object Group, who expands and explores the vocabulary of puppetry and the language of theater
Aug. 15 from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
“Home Bodies” by The Object Group
Aug. 22 7 to 8 p.m.
Alliance Theatre Teen Night Performance Preview
8:15 p.m. Atlanta Ballet’s Wabi Sabi’s “En Route”
9 p.m. Atlanta Ballet’s Wabi Sabi’s “Yours is Mine”
Aug. 23
Alliance Theatre’s Teen Night performance
Aug. 29 from 8:15 to 9 p.m.
Atlanta Ballet’s Wabi Sabi with live music by Sonic Generator
Sept. 5
Programming TBD
Sept. 12 from 7 to 9 p.m.
Théâtre du Réve, Atlanta’s French-language theater company, presents “Pillow Talk sur l’oreiller”
Sept. 19 through Sept. 25
WonderRoot artist installation
Sept. 26 at 7 and 8 p.m.
CORE Performance Company presents the World Premiere of the site-specific dance/performance “a home is a home is a home”
Oct. 3
Programming TBD
Oct. 10
T. Lang Dance presents “Post Up: Alone in Your House,” a collaboration with composer John Osburn and video interactive engineer Deigratia Daniels
Oct. 18 from 2 to 3 p.m.
CORE Performance Company and Association Manifeste present the World Premiere of “Je Suis/I am,” a dance/performance piece for public spaces
Oct. 24
T. Lang Dance presents “Post Up: Alone in Your House,” a collaboration with composer John Osburn and video interactive engineer Deigratia Daniels
Oct. 31 through Nov. 2
Closing Weekend with Instituto de México celebrating Day of the Dead
