signs and symbols

signs and symbols is pleased to present About An Arabesque, a performance by Jonah Bokaer within and in response to his first New York solo exhibition of the same name. Exploring the arabesque as a visual motif and building block of Western dance, along with the Orientalism implied, the performances of About An Arabesque are conceived as choreographic activations of Bokaer's two-dimensional works and in conversation with the choreographed overlays of drawing on the silkscreen prints.

jonah bokaer is an interdisciplinary artist working in the fields of choreography, visual art, video, and research. Since 2002, Bokaer has cultivated a new form of choreography merged with visual art and design. He has created over 63 works in a wide range of mediums, such as film, opera, mobile apps, and installation, in a variety of venues ranging from stages, museums, and galleries to architecturally resonant locales. Bokaer has presented works that operate between choreography, visual art, and moving images at many museums including the Guggenheim Museum, MoMA PS1, New Museum, Cooper Hewitt, Museum of Art & Design, MASS MoCa, Musée d’Orsay, Ludwig Museum of Budapest, MAC Marseille, Miami MoCA, IVAM Valencia, Palazzo Delle Arti Napoli, Kunsthalle St. Gallen, Delaware Art Museum, SCAD Museum of Art, MUDAM Luxembourg, and Whitney Museum of American Art, among others. Bokaer is a recipient of a Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Residency (2019), a UNC DisTIL Mellon Foundation Fellowship (2019-2020), the Mohr Prize at Stanford University (2019), among numerous others. His work resides in many private collections and in the permanent public collections of the Parrish Art Museum and Center for Jewish History, New York. In his dance and choreography practice, Bokaer has worked with Merce Cunningham (2000–2007), John Jasperse (2004–2005), David Gordon (2005–2006), Deborah Hay (2005), Tino Sehgal (2008), and many others. He has also interpreted the choreography of George Balanchine as restaged by Melissa Hayden. Bokaer is also a frequent choreographer for Robert Wilson (2007–Present). Jonah Bokaer Choreography, Bokaer’s multi-ethnic dance company, has authored 63 original works produced in 34 nations, 27 American states, and 292 cities across the globe, and is currently exhibiting and touring worldwide with 8 international dancers. In addition to his artistic practice, Bokaer has established a non-profit practice that has succeeded in delivering 3 permanent arts facilities for younger artists: Jonah Bokaer Arts Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization which through the support of its Board, generous donors, foundation grants, and government support, the organization has triumphed in crafting and fulfilling a dual mission: to foster the development, research, and presentation of new performance works across disciplines, while establishing affordable art spaces for artists, notably Chez Bushwick (2002) & CPR (Co-Founded 2008), adjacent affordable studios in Brooklyn, and Space 428 Hudson (2016): incuba-tor of The Hudson Eye. Bokaer is Tunisian-American and an LGBTQIA leader.