Zvi Dance Receives NEA Art Works Grant

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Acting Chairman Joan Shigekawa announced today that ZviDance is one of 886 nonprofit organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Art Works grant. ZviDance is recommended for a $10,000 grant to support Artistic Director, Zvi Gotheiner's newest work: Surveillance - a contemporary dance and multimedia piece which explores the realities behind the surveillance camera.

Recognized by the New York Times as creating one of the "TOP TEN BEST DANCE PIECES OF 2013," ZviDance will present its newest work, Surveillance for five performances only at New York Live Arts from June 11-14, 2014. Experience the groundbreaking collaboration of contemporary dance, video technology and animation as the lines between performer and spectator blur when each take turns using cams to create video streams that will be recorded, projected, and resampled on screens set up throughout the building. From the moment the audience enters the venue, they will feel the presence of these devices and inevitably participate in the evening's narrative. Scott Killian's provocative sound design will use real-time recordings of audiences footsteps, conversations between audience members, and the sound of performers breath to add an aural architecture of inhabitance and domination. Surveillance is an immersive-intrusive-inescapable-environmental dance piece that will leave you wondering how and why as a society we consent to this invasion into our private lives?

NEA Acting Chairman Shigekawa said, "The NEA is pleased to announce that ZviDance is recommended for an NEA Art Works grant. These NEA-supported projects will not only have a positive impact on local economies, but will also provide opportunities for people of all ages to participate in the arts, help our communities to become more vibrant, and support our nation's artists as they contribute to our cultural landscape."

"Surveillance is a continual exploration in my reflection on the way technologies are shaping our realities. The work integrates video cameras, projectors and dancers. I thank the NEA for the support of this ambitious work." -Zvi Gotheiner, Artistic Director

Art Works grants support the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and enhancement of the livability of communities through the arts. The NEA received 1,515 eligible applications under the Art Workscategory, requesting more than $76 million in funding. Of those applications, 886 are recommended for grants for a total of $25.8 million.

For a complete listing of projects recommended for Art Works grant support, please visit the NEA website at arts.gov.