HORT/CULTURE: Olivia Shao + Sun Ra Arkestra

Join curator Olivia Shao and the legendary Sun Ra Arkestra for the first of a series of programs with Hot Cactus at Nine Orchard.

Extraterrestrial life has been a human concern since the beginning of recorded history: from pre-modern shamanic visions, to the primitive lenses of early telescopes, to the current interstellar transmissions from our Pale Blue Dot. What are we hoping to find out there in the vacuumed vastness of space? And what can that teach us about life on Earth? Join the conversation as we explore the cosmos from the comfort of Nine Orchard's rooftop performance space with curator Olivia Shao and the Sun Ra Arkestra.

Olivia Shao is a curator whose recent exhibition Voice of Space: UFOs and Paranormal Phenomena at New York's Drawing Center documented the presence of otherwordly beings throughout the history of human visual expression.

The Sun Ra Arkestra was founded in Chicago in the 1950s by pianist and composer Sun Ra, whose cosmic philosophy inspired a generation of Afrofuturists and outre jazz. Currently led by centenarian saxophonist Marshall Allen, the Arkestra has performed continuously for seven decades and remains one of the most distinctive voices of avant-garde music on Earth.