(NEW ORLEANS, LA - October 25, 2019): The National Performance Network (NPN) recently announced the Fall 2019 Development Fund Awards. Six NPN Creation Fund projects received a total of $45,000, leveraging an additional $177,000, to support the next steps in developing their work. These projects represent a cross section of disciplines, geographies, cultures and practices that reflect NPN’s commitment to advancing racial justice and cultural equity through the arts. The CAC is proud to announce that composer Leyla McCalla’s project, being developed in collaboration with director Kiyoko McCrae, with commissioning support from the CAC, is among the award recipients.
"Breaking the Thermometer to Hide the Fever" is a multidisciplinary performance set to new music exploring the legacy of Radio Haiti-Inter, Haiti’s first privately owned Kreyol-speaking radio station, and the assassination of its owner, Jean Dominique. The work explores themes of exile and return and the complexities of what it means to be Haitian. The finished work will premiere at Duke Performances in March 2020 and be presented at the CAC in the fall of 2020.
Support from the award will aid in the development of many aspects of the work such as the integration of movement, staging, and implementation of the lighting, sound, projection, costume and set design.
"Breaking the Thermometer to Hide the Fever" is supported by New Music USA and The MAP Fund, supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Breaking the Thermometer to Hide the Fever is a National Performance Network/Visual Artist Network (NPN/VAN) Creation & Development Fund Project co-commissioned by Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans, MDC Live Arts, Duke Performances and NPN/VAN. For more information: www.npnweb.org.
About National Performance Network (NPN):
National Performance Network (NPN) is a national arts service organization that believes artists and arts organizations are essential for creating a just and sustainable world. Our programs are built upon the belief that communities deserve broad access to art and culture that reflects their own experiences and informs about the experiences of others. NPN invests in artists and their careers, collaborates and fosters engagement among our 100+ organizations, offers leadership development and capacity building and works toward more just cultural policies and practices across the arts sector.