"In Via Publica: Performance and Public Assembly" Symposium

"In Via Publica: Performance and Public Assembly" Symposium

Wednesday, Sept 3rd / 9am - 5pm / Reception to follow

Featuring Free Public Performances by SenCirk (Senegal) at 3:00pm & 7:00pm

Presented by DOWN to EARTH International Festivalof Multidisciplinary Performance in Public Spaces. Hosted by LaGuardia Community College / LaGuardia Performing Arts Center. Developed in collaboration with Wikler Arts.

Inviting artists, scholars, city officials, and urban planners to explore how performance can activate civic space and community imagination.

9am-11:30am Plenary Presentations

12-2:30pm Small Group Discussions - LIMITED CAPACITY / ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED

3pm Outdoor Performance: Duo Sencirk - FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

4-5pm Conclusion

5pm CUNY Stages Reception

Stay at LGPAC for Down to Earth Festival featured performance, free and appropriate for all ages: "Ancrage" by Sencirk (Senegal) - North American premiere! 7pm LGPAC Mainstage

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ABOUT DOWN TO EARTH

DOWN TO EARTH Festival Director and Executive Producer: Elena Siyanko

DOWN TO EARTH Festival Director: Frank Hentschker

Producer and Associate Director of Programs, Segal Center: Meg Araneo

Producer: Natalie Rine

Artistic Advisor and Conference Co-Director: Ruth Wikler

DOWN TO EARTH, NYC’s First International Festival of Multidisciplinary Creation in Public Spaces, brings world-class international performance, theater, contemporary circus, opera installation, and participatory events—absolutely free—directly to New York City’s vibrant, diverse communities. An initiative that embraces global exchange and democratizes cultural expression, the inaugural festival runs from August 29–September 7, 2025. The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center at The Graduate Center CUNY serves as the festival's producer, organizational and curatorial home, and fiscal agent.

Here in NYC, partnering with parks in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens and collaborating with more than 10 dynamic cultural and community organizations, we’re staging performances and workshops across multiple urban spaces. Citizen expression beats at the heart of the festival’s artistic vision. DOWN TO EARTH affirms art’s critical role in the economic, social, and mental well-being of all New Yorkers. With a focus on how artistic presence transforms the experience of place, and the powerful role of outdoor creation in transforming communities and spaces, DOWN TO EARTH seeks to expand access to cultural expression, privilege public assembly, and combat the injustices inherent in socio-economic exclusion. Central to the festival's mission is our commitment to dismantling cultural barriers by offering free programs for students, youth, immigrant communities, and families. By attracting a diverse public to free outdoor arts and in-situ performances that are accessible and inviting, the festival will redress the shortcomings of an expensive system of cultural dissemination. Downtoearthfestival.org

Info: - Why center performing arts in public spaces? How are artists responding to the challenges and opportunities of performing in public space through new creations today?

- How do we center performing arts in public space? A look at exemplary programs and success stories, and the partnerships behind them.

Info: A special lunch hour devoted to exploring France’s decades-long investment in street arts, from creation centers to commissioning networks to festivals. Presented by Villa Albertine.

Info: Two rounds of meet-greet-brainstorm sessions bringing together artists, leaders from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, faculty, and students to explore the Symposium’s core questions from a multitude of perspectives.

Info: Walk together to LaGuardia Community College’s designated Open Streets area to see the featured outdoor performance Duo Sencirk by Cirque SenCirk (Senegal).

Info: Report-out from brainstorm sessions by small group facilitators; imagining next steps together.

Info: The City University of New York welcomes audiences and students alike to performing arts events in venues at their campuses in all five boroughs. Join us for an end-of-day reception toasting CUNY Stages, a consortium fostering collaboration between CUNY venues, which will offer expansive artist support and inclusive audience development.

Info: Sencirk, Senegal’s premier contemporary circus company, makes its US debut with the celebrated work Ancrage, a wordless acrobatic work about an unlikely friendship. Presented by the Down to Earth Festival in collaboration with LPAC, at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center’s Mainstage theatre.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

LaGuardia Performing Arts, 31-10 Thomson Avenue, Queens, United States