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“It is necessary to leave room for utopia regardless of whether it ever arrives.”
—Paul B. Preciado, Artforum, “When Statues Fall.”

Dear PWNW friends and supporters,

What joy I felt performing a work-in-progress for you this fall—and in person! In this solo, called 3 miles of possible, I follow a series of paths through the space, some of them in the form of giant “sigils” created by writing the words LOST  POSSIBLE  UTOPIAN  TURNING in a single continuous line with letter orientation flexible on the page:

As I reflect on the past year, it occurs to me how these words/symbols have functioned as talismans for PWNW in 2021, not in a linear fashion—as in shedding one state while moving on to another—but all at once, or oscillating, or layered like overlapping feathers or scales. So the listing of divinations below are not chronological, sequential, or hierarchical.

LOST — getting lost as a way of opening the door, exploring, wandering and wondering, luxuriating in the moment of
not-knowing, losing self and loosening attachments
POSSIBLE — experiencing the possible as an open field, but with poised attention and intention, alert for the potentiality to manifest—
UTOPIAN — teasing out yearnings and hopes, the recognition of the utopian possibilities in the present moment, leaving space for our deferred utopias to unfold—
TURNING — scanning the horizon in all directions, finding a new vector, trying something different, re-assessing, welcoming dis-orientation and re-orientation—

2021

What emerged during the last year of living with this dynamic interplay of shifting states:
• More of the Zoom Happy Hours that we had begun in 2020, featuring artists Ayako Kataoka, Fern Wiley + Leah Wilmoth, Intisar Abioto, Maura Campbell-Balkits, Stephanie Lavon Trotter, Ixnay (Maxx Katz + John Niekrasz), Wendy Hambidge + Jorge Samuel Faria, and Matt Fielder + Rachel Kessler

• Studio research by our 2020/21 Alembic Resident Artist Cohort, culminating in a series of live summertime performances of their work over 4 weekends, one weekend per artist, with limited, masked audiences. A huge congrats to Maura Campbell-Balkits, Emily Jones & Hannah Krafcik, maximiliano, and Marissa Rae Niederhauser!

• A virtual spinoff last March of Allie Hankins’ and my collaboration /ə ˈsɪŋgəl pɪŋk klɑʊd/.

• 10 performances of my solo-in-progress 3 miles of possible (the first mile) in October and November.

• A slow but steady increase in the number of artists able to use our studio safely for rehearsal and small audience performances

HUGE THANKS to our supporters, artist friends, and colleagues—all of you, who, in these roller-coaster times, have supported PWNW with the power of your attention, presence, and financial support. A special shoutout to the poets organized by David Abel for a Zoom poetry reading last January to benefit PWNW: a welcome 20th anniversary gift.

2021 MAJOR SUPPORT
Colleen English, Linda Hutchins & John Montague, Jessica & Kirk Kelley, Autzen Foundation, Robert & Mercedes Eichholz Foundation, Foundation for Contemporary Arts

2022

Your help will make possible the following:

✴✴JANUARY: We welcome a new cohort of 4 artists for our Alembic Resident Artist Program.
Also performances by Fool House Collective and Spring 4th as part of PWNW Public Access.

✴ MARCH: claire barrera presents Grammar of the Imagination, an intergenerational dance project with youth Jordyn Kubernick, Nila Kwa and Paloma Barrera Rodriguez and adults Linda Austin, Allie Hankins, and Hannah Krafcik. You can support this project directly at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/grammar-of-the-imagination.
Alembic Co-Production

✴ MARCH: Linda Austin & Allie Hankins premier the live version of /ə ˈsɪŋgəl pɪŋk klɑʊd/. Set elements by Maggie Heath and sound by Juniana Lanning.
Linda Austin Dance

✴ APRIL: Kol b’Isha/Voice Within Woman by Jennifer Gwirtz
Alembic Co-Production

✴ JUNE: A special collaboration among PWNW, the Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble, and the Buckmxn Journal will bring 3 dancers, 3 musicians, and 3 poets together for 3 new works.
Alembic Co-Production

✴ JULY: A new initiative, the Alembic Parent Residency, will welcome our first artist.
Alembic Resident Artist Program

✴ AUGUST: We host By My Own Hand, Part 1: GHOSTING, by Allie Hankins, presented by Risk/Reward.
PWNW Public Access

✴ NOVEMBER: We present the 2022 Alembic Artists Performances.
Alembic Resident Artist Program

✴ ALL YEAR LONG: I will be working on the completion of 3 miles of possible, dates of performance TBD.
Linda Austin Dance