OUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE BOROUGH OF KINGS
Off the grid
Event planner launches high-end
Zoom performances for local artists
ART OUT OF THE BOX: Brooklyn-based artist Annika Rhea performs BODY MEDIUM as part of a
COURIER LIFE, MAY 8-14, 2020 23
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
A Long Island-based event planner
has started organizing high-production
online performances with Brooklyn
artists that go beyond typical bedroom
livestreams.
Late last month, event afi cionado
David Miller kicked off a series of virtual
“parties” with Bedford-Stuyvesant
artist group KooKooHaus Collective
that offer audiences an interactive
and personalized spectacular in the
age of social distancing.
“We want to blur the line between
live and virtual events,” said Miller.
The organizer put together a largescale
show for a family friend streaming
live out of the sprawling nearby
venue the Box Factory across the
Bushwick border in Queens on April
24.
During the livestream, the quartet
of artists took center stage, and the
program featured vaudeville sketches,
an artist painting a wall-size artwork
using her own body, and a dramatic
fi re-show reminiscent of the Burning
Man festival, according to Miller, who
partnered with Emmy Award winning
director and cinematographer Marc
Bloomgarden to bring the project to
life.
The 67,000 square-foot space allowed
all of them to social distance
during the shoot.
Miller said he got the idea for the
new medium — and the partnership
with local artists — when he organized
a party for his son’s 18th birthday back
in the beginning of April.
He then got in touch with the Brooklyn
four-piece and hired them for a
show out of their home studio near the
Kosciuszko Street subway stop. He organized
two more virtual events before
the owner of the Box Factory gave
him access to the venue.
The 30 minute to one-hour shows
have been a welcome opportunity for
the artists, according to one of the performers,
who said that show cancellations
and gallery closures have made
it diffi cult for them to stay fi nancially
afl oat during the pandemic.
“All of the members of our collective
have lost our jobs with the closing
of galleries and venues,” said Annika
Rhea, a visual and performance artist
based out of Brooklyn. “This has really
been a blessing for us to have an
income during this time.”
But the transition from the stage
to the screen has also been an adjustment,
Rhea said. For one, there is less
audience reaction in a Zoom call than
in front of an in-person audience.
“You’re not getting the reaction, the
laughter, and the energy that is emitted
off of the audience,” she said. “We
are primarily stage performers. I have
done some video work, but this has
been a very interesting experience.”
In the four events so far, the group
tailored their performances to Miller’s
clients by singing a favorite song
for someone’s birthday or customizing
a massive painting based off of a large
fi sh tank a viewer showed off on the
video call.
The event maker believes these
kinds of personalized touches and
good production value are key to moving
beyond standard online shows.
“I’ve been to 100 Zoom meetings in
the past month and everybody’s sitting
in their bedrooms and it’s boring,” he
said. “We want to use more high-end
production value that gets people more
involved.”
Miller said the new online model
could work for artists looking to fi nd
work again during the viral outbreak,
as well as for corporate events, or for
more public shows.
The space’s set up allows for events
that don’t require close contact and
can be accessed from one’s home online
— which could become more popular
as Brooklynites aim to start going
to events again.
“It’s going to be a long time before
we get back to normal and even before
that, there’s going to be a generation
of germaphobes and higher standards,”
said Miller, who is working
to organize the group’s next online
showcase.
For more information about David Miller’s
future Zoom events, contact info@
zoomari.com.
Zoom-broadcasted showcase. Photo by David Miller
/zoomari.com
