Interviews with Two Strangers | June 16 – 28
Opening reception Tuesday June 16, from 6 to 8pm,
Free Admission
June 16-28, 2026
The Lobby at
74A East 4th Street
New York, NY 10003
by Carrie Sijia Wang
Gallery Hours
June 16
4pm – 8pm
June 17
5pm – 9pm
June 18
12pm – 5pm
June 20
2pm – 9pm
June 21
1pm – 5pm
June 25
6:30pm – 10pm
June 26
6:30pm – 10pm
June 27
5:30pm – 9pm
June 28
2pm – 6pm
ABOUT
A video installation about the ways we connect in a machine-coded world, this project is made in collaboration with nine theatre practitioners who have helped shape the history of NYC’s downtown experimental theatre scene. In a series of framed encounters, each participant engages in two conversations: one with a chatbot programmed to simulate the artist’s conversation style and acting as her proxy, followed by an in-person discussion with the artist herself. The chatbot interaction is saved in text; while the in-person dialogue is recorded as video.
The conversations move through questions about how our ways of relating are reshaped by the tools we use. While a chatbot can always provide smooth answers with almost no lag time, the human-to-human interactions remain nuanced, messy, and layered. By situating theatre practitioners within an encounter with algorithmic simulation, the work probes what cannot be staged, generated, or proxied.
Participants:
Yoshiko Chuma
Valois Marie Mickens
Tamar Rogoff
Potri Ranka Manis
Peggy Shaw
Onni Johnson
Mary Fulham
Lois Weaver
John Jesurun
Participants Outreach:
Sarah Murphy (La MaMa ETC)
Violeta Picayo (La MaMa ETC)
Mattie Barber-Bockelman (CultureHub)
Billy Clark (CultureHub)
Original Footage Shot By:
Sangmin Chae (CultureHub)
DeAndra Anthony (CultureHub)
Installation Fabrication:
Thom Chiu
This project is made possible with funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
