Tanja Grunert Gallery presents Let’s Take a Walk #53, a moving participatory performance by Marie Christine Katz. The walk will begin in-person at 7th St. Park in Hudson and conclude at the gallery while simultaneously being shared virtually on social media.

Marie Christine Katz

Let’s Take a Walk #53

2:00 pm on November 6, 2021

In-person walk: 7th Street Park, Hudson, NY
Virtual walk: #walkingtogetherapart
Twitter: @mcayer
IG Live: @mcayer27

Tanja Grunert Gallery presents Let’s Take a Walk #53, a moving participatory performance by Marie Christine Katz. The walk will begin in-person at 7th St. Park in Hudson and conclude at the gallery while simultaneously being shared virtually on social media.

Katz’s practice attempts to collect and share stories of place, while exporting the experience globally. The theme of the walk will be hope: for awareness of the effect our actions have on others around us, reverberating impact from our community through the whole world. The talk will highlight the fact that our actions affect each other while honoring our interconnectedness.

The Let’s Take a Walk project began in 2009 as a virtual Twitter guided walk. So far there have been 52 walks with participants globally joining via Twitter and Instagram, creating a shared moment, a collective step towards peace. On site, each walk is assisted by a Town Crier, Tweet Master and Drummer.

Prior to the walk, Katz conducts knitting sessions with passerby’s at different locations in town, collaborating on the making of the costume for the performance. She works together with the environment, gathering stories aligned with the theme, to create a final tapestry of this place.

During the walk, Marie Christine asks questions revolving around social justice, environmental awareness and women’s rights. The questioning prompts a conversation which invites participants to share their story by singing a song, saying something nice to someone, and engaging in new ways. As Marie Christine walks, the knitted skirt made prior to the walk unravels, leaving traces of the journey. Performance artifacts along with film and photographs of the walks are compiled into an installation, capturing the ephemera of the shared experience.

Performance artifacts will be on display in the salon from November 6 — December 19, 2021.

Walk along with us on Twitter @mcayer or on IG Live @mcayer27 or @tanya_grunert_gallery

Marie Christine Katz has multidisciplinary artist practice focused principally on performance and installations that address environmental issues and current events affecting society regionally and globally. Her work is participatory utilizing story sharing and collaboration with artists of various disciplines. Katz’s projects are often developed over years with performances that are informed by passerby responses to posed questions. She makes costumes and objects out of found materials like dryer’s lint, fabric, hangers, yarn, wax, wire. Currently utilizing social media as a medium, Katz engages directly with issues about the environment, socio-political concerns, and women’s rights. Her participatory walks are also simultaneously shared with the world via Twitter, creating another dimension of influence.

B.A. from Empire State studied at New York Studio School. Residency, The Field 2010, Art Omi 2011.Exhibitions & Performance highlight, Bronx River Art Center, Velada Santa Lucia Festival Venezuela, AiOP, The Northside Art with The Consulate General of Switzerland, Bergen Art Festival, Nicosia Art Festival, New York Studio School, recently performed at Local Project and presented a performance workshop at The Fountain House Gallery, Plaxall Gallery LIC, Blue Spirit in Costa Rica and The Bier Factory in Paterson NJ. Swiss born, NYC resident since 1985.

Twitter: @mcayer
Instagram: @mcayer27 (platform for Hangers 101 & a Litany of Hashtags & LTAW Live) Instagram: @mck_workinprogress (featuring upcycled items)
Instagram: @DancingAloneWithmyShadow

Cast of Characters for the Walk
The Guide: Marie Christine Katz

The Town Crier: Laura V Ward —- Laura V Ward is a maximalist artist, the artistic director of Octavia Cup Dance Theatre, somatic movement educator, and member of your grandmother’s punk rock band, Dick Pinchers. www.lauravward.com

The Drummer: Tonus Maximus —- Tonus Maximus is a visual artist, singer, multi-instrumental musician, composer, film maker, writer, and Latin scholar.

The Tweet Master: Angelina Vezzetti —- Artist and Photographer working in Hudson, NY