Past Events

  • Interrogations of Form

    Looking Back | Looking Forward

    February 17, 2018

    Artists, thinkers, activists, academics, and community leaders gather for a symposium of conversations, performances, and open studios exploring artistic, social, and political perspectives on the extraordinary world-changing events of 1968, the fifty years that followed, and the promise of the next fifty years. Artistic interventions and multi-disciplinary conversations across visual and performing arts, activism, literature, film, and poetry will take place in the historic period rooms—including the Board of Officers Room, Veterans Room, and second-floor Company Rooms.

    Presented in Collaboration with The Aspen Institute Arts Program & ArtChangeUS

  • Interrogations of Form

    Sunday Salon: Film

    April 15, 2018

    Acclaimed Australian immersive artist and film director Lynette Wallworth hosts an afternoon salon exploring the power of emerging interactive technologies and gestural interfaces, including virtual reality, to reveal fragile human states of grace and connect people with the natural world. View Wallworth’s Emmy-winning VR film Collisions (Commission & World Premiere, World Economic Forum, 2016) and the multi-channel HD video Still Walking Country, as well as a presentation and Q&A with the artist in the historic Veterans Room.

  • Interrogations of Form

    Confrontational Comedy

    May 11, 2018

    Aparna Nancherla (Late Night with Seth Meyers, Master of None) headlines an evening of comedy sets and a conversation highlighting the power of humor to confront stereotypes and engage audiences around uncomfortable topics. Joining her are comedians Jordan Carlos (Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, Broad City, The Colbert Report), Jena Friedman (former field producer, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and writer for Late Show with David Letterman) and Jes Tom (who regularly shares stages with artists of myriad styles, mediums, and points of view). The evening is hosted by Warrington Hudlin (Founding President, Black Filmmaker Foundation, producer of House Party and Boomerang).

  • Interrogations of Form

    Sunday Salon: Literature

    September 23, 2018

    Armory Artist-in-Residence and playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins hosts fellow playwrights and collaborators in an intimate afternoon of conversation, readings and performances featuring both rising talents and luminaries, all of whom are actively exploring and testing the boundaries of the literary art form.

  • Wade Thompson Drill Hall

    The First United Lenape Nations Pow Wow & Standing Ground Symposium

    November 18, 2018

    Join us for the first large-scale Lenape Pow Wow on Manhattan Island, transpiring on land that once belonged to the Lenape and marking the first congregation of dispersed Lenape elders in the area since their forced migrations in the early 1700s. The Pow Wow has been a traditional gathering by Native Americans for centuries as a way to congregate, celebrate, and share cultural traditions and heritage. Presented in partnership with members of the Lenape community, this event provides an opportunity for members of the Lenape to gather, while also inviting the New York City community to learn about the Lenape’s historical and cultural ties to New York in a fun and interactive day of presentations.

    The Pow Wow features a dance competition for hundreds of dancers of all ages, competing in traditional Native American dress and regalia, with musical accompaniment by drumming and singing groups Red Blanket, Young Blood, and Silver Cloud. In addition, there will be featured performances by Kalpulli Huehuetlahtolli Aztec/Mexica Dance, Inuit Throat Singer Tanya Tagaq, and Taino Dancers from the Kasibahagua Taino Cultural Society showcasing the varied traditions of their respective cultures, as well as opportunities to purchase authentic Native jewelry, crafts, clothing, and food from numerous vendors and artisans.

    The Standing Ground Symposium will provide an opportunity to meet Lenape elders as well as hear the perspectives of academics and community leaders regarding key issues facing the Native American community, including internationally renowned activists for indigenous people Winona LaDuke and Roberto Mukaro Borrero, and author Steve Newcomb. The Symposium also includes performances and activities for the whole family including Native flute players and theater groups exploring mythic traditions and stories that the community has passed down through generations, screenings of films that explore the complexities of Native life and made by Native filmmakers, and a display of bespoke creations by Native fashion designers.