Home Stretch

×

Expand

courtesy Spatula&Barcode

Jen Plants hosts Front Porch Bingo as part of the "distributed festival" Home Stretch.

Home Stretch is called a “distributed festival,” which means it’s not all in one place at one time. It’s a series of intimate art events that people can sign up for in advance, and usually participate in with the artist. Home Stretch is the brainchild of Spatula&Barcode, or UW art profs Laurie Beth Clark and Michael Peterson. Upcoming events include “Floodplain,” an “experimental movement encounter” at the location of your choice, led by Bethany Alwa and Marina Kelly. Sign up required at homestretch.art. All events are free, though some performers may pass a hat or request donations to specific causes.

media release: The arts group Spatula&Barcode has announced five additional participatory artworks in the Home Stretch festival starting in August, bringing the total number of projects to 17. Home Stretch, a “distributed festival” of small artistic acts taking place in Madison, WI this summer,  will continue until the autumn equinox on 22 September. Participating artists offer intimate performances and other arts experiences by appointment. All bookings are handled through the event website: /www.homestretch.art/. 

The new works premiering in August include “Let’s Take a Walk”, an audio work by playwright Amber Palmer which can be listened to anywhere out-of-doors, “Chai Stories”, sharing tea and narrative with Praveen Maripelly, a series of “Rapt Gifts” events by Derick Wycherly, and the participatory movement exploration “Morning Practice” with Cyra K. Polizzi. (Also premiering in August is “Flood Plain”, a site-specific dance project by Bethany Alwa and Marina Kelly, that is already sold out).

Each participating artist has devised an event or experience for individuals or small groups. Offerings range from walking tours to site-specific dances, from a poignant musical canoe ride to an outdoor magic act. 

Artists participating at this time include Amber Palmer, Angela Johnson & Justin Bitner, Bird Ross, Cyra Polizzi, Derick Wycherly, James    Ember, Jen Plants,  Laurie Beth Clark & Maya Barsacq & Meg Mitchell, Marina Kelly & Bethany Alwa, Michael Peterson, Nicole Gruter, Praveen Maripelly, Quanda Johnson, Solarpunk Surf Club, Teresa Audet, and Zoe Cohen.

Participating artists have committed to meet or exceed city, county, state and CDC COVID-19 guidelines. While there are no public health orders currently in place, each work is clearly described so that the public can sign up for experiences based on their interests and their comfort level. Most works happen outside and don’t require masks, while at least one performance will be open only to vaccinated spectators.

Home Stretch aims to help participants re-orient themselves to the outside world. A listener at Bird Ross’s “storytime” event wrote that “I’m really glad that I came...and I got to see friends that I’ve missed during the pandemic, part of the intent of these events,” while artists Angela Johnson and Justin Bitner report that their cyanotype workshop has “felt very personal and creative,” with participants bringing objects that were significant to them during the pandemic, ranging from dog biscuits to phone chargers to pieces of jigsaw puzzles. While some of the works are theatrical and visually impactful, most are interactive or conversational in some way.

“We felt that this summer would be a time of transition between COVID lockdowns and eventual reopening,” says Laurie Beth Clark, co-founder, with Michael Peterson, of Spatula&Barcode. “We want to explore how forms of performance and other kinds of aesthetic sociality can help us re-learn how to be together.” The festival title refers less to the idea of the final part of a race, Peterson says: “It’s more about that artists are stretching their homes, and the public is stretching out of lockdown bit by bit. These art experiences are a chance to stretch our social and artistic muscles.”

Home Stretch is partially supported by grants from the Madison Arts Commission and the University of Wisconsin Division of the Arts, with additional support from the Wisconsin Arts Board. All events are free to attend, though some performers may pass a hat or request donations to specific causes. Information and registration is at https://www.homestretch.art/

Home Stretch is a project of Spatula&Barcode, a Madison-based arts collaborative devoted to conviviality, criticality and commensality. More information about Spatula&Barcode can be found at https://spatulaandbarcode.net/.