The Vision Festival is the world's premier festival of experimental music (typically free jazz/ avant-garde jazz), art, film and dance, held annually in May/June on the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

of New York City from 1996 to 2011, in Brooklyn from 2012-2014, and returning to Manhattan in 2015.Chinen, Nate. (2006).
"The Vision Festival: On the Fringe and Reveling in Rhythm"
''The New York Times''. Retrieved June 22, 2007.
/ref> It usually consists of between thirty and sixty performances, spread out over a number of days.Chinen, Nate. (2004).

''The Village Voice''. Retrieved June 22, 2007. Inspired by the 1984 and 1988

Sound Unity Festival In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by ...

s, it was a direct outgrowth of the seminal but short-lived Improvisors Collective (1994–95). In 1996, the collective's founder, dancer-choreographer

Patricia Nicholson Parker Patricia is a female given name of Latin origin. Derived from the Latin word ''patrician'', meaning "noble"; it is the feminine form of the masculine given name Patrick. The name Patricia was the second most common female name in the United State ...

, staged the first Vision Festival at the Learning Alliance on Lafayette Street, and subsequently founded the not-for-profit

Arts for Art The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both h ...

, Inc to organize the festival on an annual basis, along with other events and concert series throughout the year. In addition to Nicholson Parker, other members of Arts for Art's Board of Directors include: Hal Connolly, Patricia Ali, Jo Wood Brown, Whit Dickey, Judy Gage, Patricia Nicholson Parker, William Parker, Todd Nicholson and Patricia Wilkins. Over the years, the festival has taken place in numerous venues, including the Angel Orensanz Center for the Arts, the

St. Nicholas of Myra Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-day Demre ...

church basement, the New Age Cabaret (formerly known as the Electric Circus), the Knitting Factory, St. Patrick's youth center, CBGB, Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural Center, the Abrons Arts Center, Roulette Intermedium and Judson Memorial Church.Gross, Jason. (2002).
"20/20 Visionaries"
''The Village Voice''. Retrieved June 22, 2007.

Music performers

The list of artists who have performed at the Vision Festival is long and varied, including David S. Ware, Cooper-Moore, Sam Rivers, Frank Lowe,

Abbey Rader Abbey Rader (October 14, 1943) is an American avant-garde jazz drummer. Throughout his childhood and early career, he worked in New York City where loft jazz, bebop, and free jazz influenced him. He played and taught across Europe in the 1970s ...

, Daniel Carter, William Parker,

Roy Campbell, Jr. Roy Sinclair Campbell Jr. (September 29, 1952 – January 9, 2014) was an American trumpeter frequently linked to free jazz, although he also performed rhythm and blues and funk during his career. Biography Born in Los Angeles, California, in 19 ...

Hamid Drake Hamid Drake (born August 3, 1955) is an American jazz drummer and percussionist. By the close of the 1990s, Hamid Drake was widely regarded as one of the best percussionists in jazz and improvised music. Incorporating Afro-Cuban, Indian, and Afr ...

, Nicole Mitchell, Rob Brown, Kidd Jordan, Henry Grimes, Marc Ribot, Chad Taylor, Rashied Ali,

Joe McPhee Joe McPhee (born November 3, 1939) is an American jazz multi-instrumentalist born in Miami, Florida, a player of tenor, alto, and soprano saxophone, the trumpet, flugelhorn and valve trombone. McPhee grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York, and is m ...

, Jason Kao Hwang, Jayne Cortez, Fred Anderson, Matthew Shipp,

Billy Bang Billy Bang (September 20, 1947 – April 11, 2011), born William Vincent Walker, was an American free jazz violinist and composer. Biography Bang's family moved to New York City's Bronx neighborhood while he was still an infant, and as a ...

, Eddie Gale, Whit Dickey,

Amiri Baraka Amiri Baraka (born Everett Leroy Jones; October 7, 1934 – January 9, 2014), previously known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka, was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays and music criticism. He was the author of numerous bo ...

Roscoe Mitchell Roscoe Mitchell (born August 3, 1940) is an American composer, jazz instrumentalist, and educator, known for being "a technically superb – if idiosyncratic – saxophonist". ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' described him as "one of the key figures ...

Steve Lacy Steve Lacy may refer to: Music * Steve Lacy (saxophonist) (1934–2004), American jazz saxophonist and composer * Steve Lacy (singer) (born 1998), American musician Other occupations *Steve Lacy (coach) (1908–2000), American college sports coach ...

, DJ Spooky, Yo La Tengo, Peter Kowald, Peter Brötzmann,

Cat Power Charlyn Marie "Chan" Marshall ( ; born January 21, 1972), better known by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and model. Cat Power was originally the name of her first band, but has become her stage name as a ...

and Louis Moholo, among others. The festival also often features special "event" performances, such as the 2004 reunion of the

Revolutionary Ensemble The Revolutionary Ensemble was a free jazz trio consisting of violinist Leroy Jenkins (1932–2007), bassist Sirone (Norris Jones, 1940–2009) and percussionist/pianist Jerome Cooper (1946–2015). The group was active from 1970–1977, and reuni ...

, who hadn't performed publicly together in almost thirty years.

About Arts for Art, Inc.

Arts for Art Mission Statement

''Arts For Art supports diversity in music, dance, art and ideas that embrace improvisation as a means to transform both artist and audience.''

References

{{reflist

External links

Official Vision Festival website
Experimental music festivals Festivals in New York City Music of New York City 01 Jazz festivals in New York City