Theater

Anything Goes at FIGMENT 2009

New York’s annual free participatory art and cultural festival is back

by Sarah Shanok   |   Jun 10, 2009

Anything Goes at FIGMENT 2009

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As soon as the weather warms, New Yorkers pledge to finally visit the outdoor venues that have been shuttered all winter, and ignored in years past. Inevitably, Governors Island makes the list. Yet few ever make it out to visit the 172-acre island, located just a half-mile from the tip of Manhattan! Open season began May 30th, and to help you cross it off your list the Governors Island Alliance is making sure you have plenty of reasons to take a trip to the elusive historic landmark. One of the best is the third annual installment of free participatory art and cultural festival, FIGMENT.

Devised as a festival for participatory art, FIGMENT attracts interactive exhibits designed to facilitate personal and social transformations—so pretty much anything goes. And while there is a schedule of events, all artists and the creatively minded are encouraged to bring simple projects or activities to the grounds. Audience participation makes each experience unique. First begun in 2007 as a one-day affair with only a few dozen projects on display, FIGMENT was initially geared towards an estimated 500 participants, but attracted over 2800 so the festival expanded to three-days, and it just continues to grow. This year, festival organizers received more than a hundred project submissions, and expect attendance to reach 10,000.

The loose parameters of FIGMENT allow ultimate creativity amongst submissions and chosen projects. There’s Artfully AWARE’s The Garden, based on the theater game Sculpture, where audiences can shape and pose actors; spontaneous, improvised belly dancing from Manhattan Tribal; and TIL DEATH DO YOU PART – Marry Yourself!, a one-on-one art performance piece where an Encouraging Priestess marries participants to themselves, in a quickie ceremony—“Just Married!” balloons included! However back this year, by popular demand, are the City of Dreams season-long interactive sculpture garden, and a free 18-hole mini-golf course featuring holes designed with the open-to-interpretation “City of Dreams” theme in mind. The course remains on the island until the park closes in October.

The island’s little chapel, Trinity Church is set to host Black Moon Theatre Company’s multimedia visual and aural adaptation of Dante’s Inferno, marking the descent into Hell with moving collage fragments from artist India Evans; Penny Jones & Co. Puppets’ musical pantomime Dream Medley, set to the music of Shostakovich and Gliere, but first creating star puppet Sebastian in front of audiences before beginning; and performance piece Remembering… from Creative Outlet Dance Theatre of Brooklyn, using spoken word, African drumming and dance to deliver a cultural history lesson.

The non-profit art expo is a welcome alternative to summer festivals overwhelmingly overrun by corporate sponsors, fixed on price gauging attendees—all participants are barred from selling merchandise, services or accepting donations. Even FIGMENT itself refrains from selling tickets or t-shirts, focusing its efforts on ensuring zero environmental impact to the grounds.

Let FIGMENT be the perfect excuse to voyage to Governors Island, but you’ve got just three days (June 12: 10am–5pm; June 13 and 14: 10am–7pm) to check it out before it’s gone, and aside from memories, leaves no traces behind. Quick, or you’ll think you imagined it!

Full schedule at www.figmentnyc.org.