John Maria Gutierrez & James Clements Named CULTURELAB Emergence Resident Artists 2022

James Clements (he/him) and John Maria Gutierrez (he/they) have announced they have been curated as Artists-in-Residence with Culture Lab LIC through their Emergence Residency Program. They were selected to work further on their piece, "Brothers in Arms," during their residency, which will culminate in a live sharing later in 2022.

"Brothers in Arms" is a devised multi-disciplinary theatre piece exploring isolation, survival, connection and intimacy between male-identifying folks, co-created and performed by James Clements (he/him) and John Maria Gutierrez (he/they). Set in an undefined space during a moment of conflict and crisis, the piece, built from the wildly varied experiences of its Dominican-American and Scottish creators, unpacks shifting ideas about masculinity, memory, camaraderie and communication. The piece combines movement, dance, music, poetry, video, verbatim text and imagined language, and was originally developed at La Mama E.T.C. It was presented as a workshop production in the Downstairs theatre, and streamed through Culturehub along with a talkback moderated by José Rivera Jr.

Emergence is an artist residency program that offers artists & companies free rehearsal and performance space to develop and produce new work. This winter residency program will give 10 artists/companies across all disciplines space to develop new work between January and April. Artists will have an opportunity to connect with a mentor in their chosen medium, and a platform to showcase their work in progress on Culture Lab's website and social media. Work created at Culture Lab will be showcased at Culture Lab's outdoor stage, or indoor theatre in the spring.

Culture Lab LIC is a 501(c)(3) formed to bring accessible high quality art of all genres to our community, and to support local artists by providing rehearsal, performance, exhibition space, as well as a robust residency program. CL is dedicated to upholding, equity, diversity and inclusion across all our platforms.