On Monday evenings as part of bloom how you must, wild until we are free CARA will host Cooler Nights!

This series of experimental programs are inspired by Gavilán Rayna Russom's memories of the free, artist-curated “Monday Nite” series that took place between 1993 and 2001 at The Cooler, a club in the pre-gentrification Meatpacking District, not far from CARA. While active, the Monday Nite series became an important site for artists and musicians including Amiri Baraka, Debbie Harry, Peaches, Christian Marclay, and Russom herself.

Instigated by the Voluminous Arts study program, Cooler Nights at CARA aims to reconnect with and revitalize the legacy of our neighborhood, referencing the history of The Cooler and bringing in the voices of contemporary artists. Cooler Nights are portals to an alternate timeline, where Monday evenings are transformed into deep-night environments that conjure spirits of counter-normative pasts and presents. These portals  are access points into immersive soundscapes–subwoofer frequencies pulsate through your body, sludge noise carries you into a space of transcendence, and visceral performances provide moments of recognition. Guided by the wisdom of trans, queer, and gender non-conforming artists, the haunting, cathartic, and beautiful sonic and visual experiments of Cooler Nights are rooted in New York’s many layers of experimental art, underground nightlife and street scenes.

Cooler Nights are co-curated by Gavilán Rayna Russom with artist pairs Yvonne LeBien and Mercury Symbol (July 24) Omari Love and Ris Gumpert (July 31), Rat Porridge and  Anka Raczynska (August 7), and CARA’s curatorial team members Rahul Gudipudi and Emmy Catedral. Cooler Nights are produced by Agustin Schang with the assistance of Marian Chudnovsky and ọmọlolú Refilwe BABÁTÚNDÉ.

More information on these events can be found here.