A multilingual ensemble drawn from the University of Chicago community performs River, Tributary, _______, created by Udita Upadhyaya working with composer Molly Jones. 

In this second iteration of River, Tributary, _____, Upadhyaya hones in on our languages of longing and asks us to consider the soundscapes of our mouths, bodies, and ancestries. Together, the performers uncover their meandering relationships to homebuilding, the search for safety, and grief and grieving, using an amalgamation of storytelling, music, and composition. 

The first iteration of River, Tributary, _____ was devised by Upadhyaya with composer Ethan T Parcell and performed at Weinberg/Newton Gallery in spring 2018. 

FREE, open to all. Doors open at 2:30 pm. A discussion and reception will follow the performance.

This performance is presented by the Smart Museum’s Student Advisory Committee.

About the Composers

Udita Upadhyaya is an interdisciplinary artist who uses the details of her medical, cultural, and social biography as her primary art material. Her work spans live art, devised theatre, performative photographs, sculpture, installation, video, writing, text, and fiber arts. Upadhyaya delves into the privilege of being able to lose a language, to have a language to spare. She wonders which bodies have access to literacy? Which to expression? When? And Where? Upadhyaya writes in English, reconciling and reclaiming that her language of intellectual expression and subsequently of power is inherited from the colonizers of her ancestors. Simultaneously she works hard at re-teaching herself Hindi, text and script, slowly like a child she places a finger under ever form, mouthing each syllable. Most recently, Upadhyaya has performed and exhibited work at the, Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago, Villa Teresa Decorative Arts Museum, Links Hall, Weinberg/Newton Gallery, and a solo show, nevernotmusic, at Roman Susan Gallery, Chicago. Her artist book ,nevernotmusic, has been acquired by Joan Flasch Artist's Book Collection, at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, University of Chicago's Rare Book Collection, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago's Artist's Books Collection. Upadhyaya was born in New Delhi in 1986, and currently lives and works between Mumbai, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

Molly Jones’ compositions range from through-composed chamber works to graphic scores to electroacoustic environments for improvisation, incorporating video, movement, and words. She has performed with musicians including Saul Williams, Nicole Mitchell, Tyshawn Sorey, Robert Ashley, Jaribu Shahid, Ed Sarath, Kei Akagi, Alex Harding, Paul de Jong, Wadada Leo Smith, Andrew Bishop, Douglas Ewart, Joo Won Park, Elliott Sharp, Cheick Hamala Diabate, Marion Hayden, Matt Kiroff, and many friends in the US and Canada. She has been commissioned by Verdant Vibes Ensemble, the Detroit Composers’ Project, and Detroit Fringe theater festival; her video installations have been presented at Rooms To Let, FireFish, and Detroit Contemporary; and her poetry can be found in Saul Williams’ Chorus: A Literary Mixtape, Matchbox Magazine, and her zine Moon Jar. She is working on an opera-ballet to be premiered in fall 2019, a solo performance piece (July 2019), and an orchestral work (December 2019).

Performers

• Anna B. Gatdula
• Jon Bullock
• Dalia Ismail
• Yiting Li
• Ahit Kaan Tarhan
• Hannah Judd
• Emily Edwards

Photo of Udita Upadhyaya and performers by Erik L. Peterson.