Governors Island Arts to Present The New York City Premiere Of Touki Delphine's FIREBIRD

​Governors Island Arts will present the New York City premiere of FIREBIRD, the hypnotic, genre-defying visual arts performance from Amsterdam-based artist collective Touki Delphine. Featuring an orchestra of light made from more than 500 recycled car taillights, FIREBIRD will be performed on October 3-4, 2025, at the Island's Parade Ground. The performance, which originated in The Netherlands in 2019, has been touring throughout Europe since and has been previously presented in the United States at MASS MoCA, Utah's Center for the Arts at Kayenta, and at the W.O.W. festival in San Diego.

“We're thrilled to bring Touki Delphine's FIREBIRD to New York City during this milestone moment for Governors Island,” said Juan Pablo Siles, Associate Curator and Producer at the Trust for Governors Island and curator of the INTERVENTIONS performance series. “This work is a luminous ode to reinvention and rebirth that will dazzle the senses and provide an unforgettable experience, as well as a fitting celebration of transformation as we mark the Island's 20th year open to the public.” 

Inspired by composer Igor Stravinsky's 1919 Firebird Suite, FIREBIRD pays homage to his musical creations with a performance centered around a massive wall of light designed to illuminate the dance of the firebird. The unique sensory journey allows visitors to revel in the glowing celebration and hypnotic display that will transform the Parade Ground.

The audience experience begins upon arrival, where all ticketholders will receive shimmering metallic capes to don once they disembark, kickstarting the spectacle en route to the show. Guided by the artists themselves, this glittering collective will make its way to the Parade Ground—set against the dramatic Lower Manhattan skyline—where FIREBIRD bursts to life in a hypnotic dance of synchronized light, courtesy of 500 recycled car taillights that have been salvaged from scrapyards in the Northeastern United States, all set to Touki Delphine's contemporary composition. Visitors will also be able to enjoy food and drinks available from Island vendors and a post-show gathering with the artists after each performance. 

Touki Delphine is an Amsterdam-based artist collective featuring artists Bo Koek, Rik Elstgeest, Chris Doyle, and John van Oostrum. The collective is a boundary-pushing group of musicians, performers, and visual artists making waves nationally and internationally with monumental light and sound installations, all created from recycled materials. Touki Delphine's work creates poetic encounters between humans and machines and is inspired by natural phenomena, the climate crisis and the idea of nature as a living whole.

The concept, music and visuals for FIREBIRD are by Bo Koek, Rik Elstgeest, Chris Doyle and John van Oostrum. The installation concept is by John van Oostrum and it is designed by Touki Delphine with assistance from Theun Mosk. 

The performance was originally created in The Netherlands in 2019 and has been touring throughout Europe since. In 2024, in collaboration with MASS MoCA, Touki Delphine built this American version of FIREBIRD using locally salvaged parts, and following its premier at MASS MoCA, it has been shown at Center for the Arts at Kayenta in Utah and at the W.O.W. Festival in San Diego. Prior to the group's NYC debut on Governors Island, the piece will be shown at Dartmouth College, and afterwards it will head to the Momentary Contemporary Art Museum in Arkansas. FIREBIRD was created in collaboration with MASS MoCA and supported by the Performing Arts Fund NL. Additional support by Dutch Culture USA at the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.