Live Performance by Ekmeles
Friday, May 10, 11:30pm – 12am | Broadway between 45th & 46th Sts

Enjoy a special presentation of A Chorus with a live musical performance by award-winning avant-garde vocal ensemble Ekmeles beginning at 11:30pm, culminating in Gabriel Barcia-Colombo's A Chorus as it appears on 95+ surrounding billboards in Times Square from 11:57pm to 12am.

Brooklyn-based media artist Gabe Barcia-Colombo flips the script this May on the millions of visitors strolling through Times Square with A Chorus, a Renaissance style silent composition of a very Times Square scene: a crowd of New Yorkers pausing to witness something captivating yet unnamed. Featuring over 100 individuals, many of whom either work in or frequent Times Square, the artwork draws a frame around the notion of community and the shared experiences that make up daily life in a post-pandemic New York City.

“How does a city heal from being separated for so long, when so much of its interactions are in person, face to face? I created this idea after waiting for my first train ride post-pandemic. It was beautiful to see faces again, to see people smile and scream and cry on the subway. I wanted to capture this feeling of beauty and anxiety.” — Gabriel Barcia-Colombo

Within the artwork, some observers stand in contemplative thought while others snap photos of the awe-inspiring subject, intentionally omitted from the screen. Are these individuals merely observing the plaza below, or are they participating in something sublime, confounding, or even disturbing? Evocative of a Greek chorus, which comments on collective hopes, fears and joys, A Chorus turns the tables on the dynamic between spectacle and audience. Moreover, it serves as a reflection on the barometers of social connection, often overshadowed by our mobile devices and technological distractions.