The Secret Gem You Need To Know About: Powerhouse:International

Deep in the heart of Brooklyn, just off the Gowanus Canal, hidden behind a CubeSmart storage facility, is the colossal Powerhouse Arts building, home to the Powerhouse: International festival through December 13th. As a Brooklynite myself, I relish the chance to discover exciting, first-class work in my borough. Others might balk at the unfamiliar address, but to miss the Powerhouse: International festival would be to miss some of the most breathtaking work by a handful of the world’s leading artists. 

I had the chance to speak with Kate McIntosh, a Brussels-based multihyphenate artist whose installation Worktable runs through November 9, and David Binder, the curator of the festival.

“It’s a secret gem,” says Binder of the Powerhouse Arts building. “When you invite audiences to go to a space that they don't know about, in a place maybe they don't go to, it invites a more open spirit, a more adventurous spirit, a more exciting spirit, from an audience member.”

I had the chance to experience two of the festival’s offerings in one evening: McIntosh’s Worktable, an immersive art installation, and Sibyl, a two-part production by the world-renowned South African artist William Kentridge. It was an evening at the intersection of visual and performing art, which is just as Binder intended:

“It's just the nature of the building itself. The space is really a home for visual artists. There's a lot of different kinds of artists working there. Then, combined with this grand hall, which is 20,000 square feet, I thought, well, this is a place to be doing performing arts of all kinds, next to visual artists of all kinds.”

McIntosh, who works across a variety of performance styles, called Worktable a “beautiful match” for the festival. “It’s really exciting,” says McIntosh. “There’s a great mix of different things happening. Also, the industrial history of the building really links into the themes inside Worktable.”

Worktable is a solitary experience and a surprisingly meditative one. At the beginning, I’m tasked with choosing an object from a shelf. They’re all objects you might find at home—a wig, a mousetrap, a hairbrush, a shoe. I chose a ceramic figurine of an elegant lady wearing a gown and pearls. After choosing, I’m brought to a room where the only instructions given are to destroy, or take apart, the object.

On the table in front of me is safety equipment, which you are urged to use, and a variety of tools: scissors, pliers, saws, hammers, wrenches. As someone who rarely works with these kinds of tools, I found myself getting creative in the way I destroyed my object instead of just going for the smash-to-pieces approach. You can see how vastly different this part of the installation can go depending on what object you choose.

I’m not able to discuss what happens next but it remains hands-on and physical. It took me just over an hour to complete, though McIntosh tells me people have spent over 3 hours in the installation. (The record is 5 and ½ hours.)

“The piece is about change,” says McIntosh. “Obviously, when you dismantle something, it's a major change that you're initiating. Change is inevitable, and we are a part of it. I think it's very good to refresh that we have that agency to change even things that seem fixed or inevitable, that we have a lot of potential to dismantle things that don't serve us.”

It’s an inspiring message, one that was on my mind throughout the installation. Change and the dismantling of oppressive structures is often at the heart of William Kentridge’s work too, which explores the effects of apartheid and colonialism, specifically in his home country of South Africa. 

The centerpiece of the Powerhouse Arts building is the colossal grand hall where I got to experience Kentridge’s chamber opera Sybil. The stage and seating risers are surrounded by graffiti-covered walls. The ceiling soars high above us. Kentridge’s work includes two parts: The Moment Has Gone and Waiting for the Sibyl, the latter of which he created for the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma. Both parts feature his signature hand-drawn, stop motion films. These films are featured alongside live music and singing composed and conceived by Nhlanhla Mahlangu and Kyle Shepherd.

Kentridge’s work is dense and cerebral, but also grounded in swelling emotions and a winking sense of humor. Sybil is a meditation on the future and the futility of trying to divine what’s to come. While the performers sing and dance, Kentridge’s videos are projected onto the set and sometimes directly onto their costumes.  

What struck me most about my evening at the festival was the unique opportunity I had to experience two different yet interconnected works of art in one night. The festival provides a wealth of breathtaking works for New York audiences, filling a crucial gap in our city’s artistic ecosystem.

“We're in a time where the walls are going up—the literal walls, the metaphorical walls—and I think that what we aim to do at Powerhouse: International is create a space where new things can emerge. That, to me, is what a great city like New York runs on,” says Binder.

To ensure the accessibility of its offerings, the festival has priced 10,000 tickets at $30. With over a dozen works across an array of artistic disciplines, there is something for everyone at this international celebration of art and culture. It’s not to be missed.

The Powerhouse: International festival runs through December 13th. Information about the festival can be found here.