Yes, And
Burst!
Burst! is a five-hour durational performance experiment that sources the creative expertise of Black women as a transformational practice to mark the transition from 2020 into 2021. Burst! represents the culmination of Mason’s Texas Performing Arts/Fusebox Festival Residency and is a part of the Transmissions exhibition, curated by Terra Goolsby and Tammie Rubin.
For Burst! Mason utilizes processes developed during the residency to engage in a five-hour durational performance meditation in the ICOSA Gallery space in Austin, Texas from 10 PM CST December 31, 2020 to 3 AM CST January 1, 2021. Surrounded and inspired by the work of local Black women visual artists in the ICOSA space, Mason embodies performance states and characters as portals to other ways of being. In addition, Burst! features video portraits of Austin residents and contributions from the Yes, And Community. Burst! is a quest to create from a liberated space supported by the voices, experience, and expertise of Black women.
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Burst! is/Burst! is NOT...
Story Circle - Austin
The culmination of Gesel Mason’s Texas Performing Arts/Fusebox Festival Residency included a series of video portraits of Black, female identifying Austin residents. Directed by Gesel Mason at Bass Concert Hall, these videos were recorded and edited by Maggie Bailey They were included in the five-hour ICOSA Gallery Performance on December 31st, 2020.
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Yes, And Community Contributions
Burst! is inspired by the following contributions, submitted by the Yes, And Community. These contributions were included in the five-hour ICOSA Gallery Performance on December 31st, 2020.
"Back Language"
Roxanne Young
"Rant"
Love Muwwakkil
"Release"
Love Muwwakkil
"Watermelon"
Rita Burns
"Ancestral Meditation"
Kaitlyn B. Jones
The following videos were improvised text, created during the 2019 Yes, And Ragdale Residency in Lake Forest, Illinois. They were included in the five-hour ICOSA Gallery Performance in December 31st, 2020.
Filmed and edited by Jovan Landry.
Music/Poetry
The following music, mixed by DJ Rita Burns, was played live during the ICOSA Gallery performance experiment.
Just Breathe, a song written by Toni Blackman, inspired by the themes of Yes, And and Burst!.
Poetry by Toni Asante Lightfoot and her 12 year old daughter Leontyn, inspired by Mouth is Mirror improvisation at Ragdale Residency in Lake Forest, Illinois.
ICOSA Gallery Performance
Created and edited by Essentials Creative
View an abbreviated, five minute version of the ICOSA Gallery Performance here.
Featured Visual Artists
Gesel Mason invited six Austin-based artists to display their work in the ICOSA Gallery space during Burst!.
Click each name below to read more about the artists, their work, and their contributions to the performance experiment.
Behind the Scenes
