Point of Contact will celebrate the opening of its new location at the Warehouse Building (350 W. Fayette St.) with a tango-themed event, “Tango-Opera,” on Nov. 15. The event will feature “Tango,” a signature piece in the Point of Contact Art Collection, and a live performance by soprano Catalina Cuervo, the protagonist of Syracuse Opera’s upcoming production, “María de Buenos Aires.”
Soprano Catalina Cuervo in Syracuse
Opera’s “María de Buenos Aires”
This inaugural exhibition will showcase the 20-piece grand folio art book “Tango” (Iris Editions 1991), a collaborative work by Argentine writer Pedro Cuperman and New York artist Nancy Graves. A significant work in Point of Contact’s collection, “Tango” includes eight intaglio prints by Graves and 13 pages of text by Cuperman. A Syracuse University professor of Latin American literature, Cuperman is also the founder and artistic director of Point of Contact. The legendary “Tango” piece will remain on view until Dec. 19.
For this special event Point of Contact will team up with Syracuse Opera to present a live performance by Cuervo in the protagonist role of María. Composed by the legendary Astor Piazzolla, this work has been described by Richard Reich of the Chicago Tribune as “a heady, surreal piece … Piazzolla at his most artistically ambitious, transcending tango conventions even as he celebrates them, pushing past the idiom’s harmonic and rhythmic boundaries.”
Cuervo will offer two performances during the evening, at 6:30 p.m. for the private preview, and at 7:30 p.m. for the public event.
Beginning at 6 p.m., for $25, guests will have the opportunity to be part of the preview reception, receiving a first look at Point of Contact’s new gallery, champagne and a special performance Cuervo. Point of Contact will also be offering a special gift commemorating the occasion for longime as well as new supporters who make a tax-deductible donation at the $50 and $100 levels. Reservations are recommended; call 315-443-2169 or email pointofcontactgallery@gmail.com. Donations will also be accepted at the door that evening.
“With this move to the Syracuse downtown area, Point of Contact expands not only its gallery space but also its visibility and connection with the greater Syracuse community,” says Miranda Traudt, managing director of Point of Contact. “We are very proud of what Point of Contact has accomplished for Syracuse University and for our region, and deeply thankful for the continued support of our artists, our patrons and our audiences, who have made this possible. This is an exciting moment, a new beginning.”
“Tango is a theme so deeply rooted at the heart of Punto de Contacto,” says Tere Paniagua, executive director of cultural engagement for the Hispanic community at The College of Arts and Sciences. “Having this as the theme for Point of Contact’s inaugural show in its beautiful new space essentially brands this downtown location with the unique character and history of Point of Contact.”
