PULLMAN, Wash. – The Washington State University Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is proud to present the event “Borders and Boundaries: An Art‑Fueled Screening + Conversation with On the Boards.tv and the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art WSU.” This screening will be held at the CUB Auditorium from 1:00–2:30 p.m. on Nov. 21. As always, all exhibitions at the museum are free and open to the public.
Join On the Boards Executive Director Betsey Brock and Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art Executive Director Robin Held for a screening of Teatro Línea de Sombra’s performance “Amarillo,” with an introduction by Brock about the innovative platform OtB.tv, which brings the world’s best contemporary performance films by provocative artists to anyone with a device and an internet connection.
How can art get us closer to what really matters? To our families, our heritage, our communities? In our current era, where identities and origins are under great scrutiny, a work like Amarillo tells a story that can make a difference. Brock and Held will conduct a post‑screening conversation about the film, about art as a launch pad for civic discourse, about trends in performance and streaming technology, and about other opportunities to engage with contemporary performance art.
A man departs for the U.S.‑Mexican border and vanishes before reaching his destination: Amarillo, Texas. Through stunning projected images, bilingual monologues and a sea of displaced objects and natural elements, this renowned company reconstructs his journey in a multimedia performance that travels imagined landscapes of both geography and cultural identity. The absent man takes on multiple faces and names as he comes to symbolize the thousands of disillusioned travelers who have suffered a similar fate. Amarillo touches on the complex nature of individual and national identity in a time of exodus—both for those who leave and those who are left behind.
Amarillo, 2012
60 minutes
Director: Jorge Vargas and Teatro Línea de Sombra
On The Boards
On the Boards was founded in Seattle 1978 by artists, Since its inception, OtB has featured important performances by artists including Laurie Anderson, Bill T. Jones, The Wooster Group, Spalding Gray, Dumb Type, Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker, Sankai Juku, Gisèle Vienne, Bruno Beltrão, chelfitsch, Romeo Castellucci, John Jasperse, Jan Fabre, Back to Back Theatre, Faustin Linyekula, Mark Morris, Pat Graney, Dayna Hanson, Amy O’Neal, Reggie Watts, Zoe Scofield & Juniper Shuey, and Crystal Pite.
On the Boards presents an annual performance season, featuring new projects by the most innovative performing artists from the Northwest and from around the world; an Artists-in-Residence program, providing select artists with technical residencies, free rehearsal space, development support, project management, dramaturgical feedback, and advocacy; Northwest Artist Programs, currently including the NW New Works Festival of performance works-in-progress and Performance Lab, a showcase of local short and in‑progress works; and OntheBoards.tv, a first-of-its-kind online platform that features HD contemporary performance films available to global audiences and universities.
Common Reading Program
This presentation is co‑sponsored by the Common Reading Program, which explores topics arising from a common book used by first‑year and other students in classes and beyond. The program’s goal is to highlight how various disciplinary perspectives illuminate complex topics. This year’s book, “Refuge: Rethinking Refugee Policy in a Changing World,” focuses on issues of immigration, forced migration, and asylum.
Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art WSU
The museum was established in 1973 and reopened in 2018 as the new Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at Washington State University. Uniquely positioned to transform arts access across the entire Pacific Northwest and beyond, the museum harnesses the combined power and commitment of the WSU multi‑campus system and the Schnitzer Constellation of university art museums and collection centers to fulfill the educational mission of WSU in teaching, research, and service.
A beacon for the arts, the museum brings preeminent national and international artists to the WSU community. Our audiences are connected intimately to the best in life-enriching, forward-thinking art. Since 2018, exhibited artists have included Jeffry Mitchell, Marie Watt, Kate Gilmore, Mark Bradford, Wangechi Mutu, Louise Bourgeois, Kyle Abraham, Chiho Aoshima, and Polly Apfelbaum. In tandem to the museum’s exhibition program is the Collection Study Center. The CSC is a repository of carefully selected artworks and documents, preserved and made accessible; a historical record of visual culture; but most importantly, a tool toward learning and deepened experience.
Funding has been provided by the Samuel H. & Patricia W. Smith Arts Endowment Fund, and the Members of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art WSU.
Media contact:
- Debby Stinson, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art WSU, 509‑335‑6282, debby_stinson@wsu.edu
- Robin Held, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art WSU, 509‑335‑6150, robin.held@wsu.edu
