Wendy Yu, she/her
Commissioned by the Greenway Conservancy in 2022, As We Rise is a site-specific video installation featuring short bursts of freestyle-based street dance from 5 local dancers spanning multiple generations. Created in collaboration with artist Wendy Yu (Sydney, Australia), local street dance organization The Flavor Continues (Cambridge, MA) and projection artists ILLUMINUS (Boston, MA), the video installation was generated through a process of reciprocal creative exchange over a period of six months. Their artistic collaboration creates an innovative platform to share the intricate and complex –yet often overlooked– practices and traditions of street dance in new ways. Featuring lead dancers Jahmier Berry-Irvis, Sovathy Douer, Danny Guzman, Brian Lim, and Colleen Sayers, the digitally-designed video highlights the dancers’ movements as they interpret music in the moment and engage community techniques in ways that reflect their individual styles. By elevating dance in this abstract, large-scale, and digitally-designed way, Yu and her collaborators invite viewers to experience the incredible control and precision of dancers and their practices, as well as collectively reimagine the urban landscapes of downtown Boston. This installation will run until December 1, 2023 and will be displayed from ~5:30p-10p each evening. It was projected on the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s northern exterior wall, and was viewable from both The Greenway and along portions of Boston’s waterfront.
Artist Statement
In my creative works of dance and projection design, I aim to create engaging immersive environments that make the viewer feel in awe of what they are seeing. By elevating dance in this abstract and digitally-designed way, I enable new ways for viewers to experience the incredible control and precision of dancers and their movements.
About the Artist
Wendy Yu is a Sydney-based interdisciplinary artist who works with dance and urban media art. She designs interactive works with computer systems to build large-scale immersive and monumental experiences in public spaces. Her practice vaults forms of movement and dance typically confined to the streets or practiced low to the ground, such as breakdancing and everyday athletic feats, to contemporary abstract art landscapes. Yu’s work as an artist, choreographer, dancer, and computer programmer has been featured in major cities and institutions across the globe.
About the Dancers
Jahmier Barry-Irvis
Sothavy Doeur
Danny Guzman
Brian Lim
Co-Founder & Operations Director at The Flavor Continues
Brian, better known as Brian Pistols, stepped into breaking at the young age of 11 years old. Considering himself a student of the craft and lover of the artform, his roots run deep within the breaking scene. Starting on a similar path as most breakers do, he heavily focused on competitions. His journey grew and pushed him to become a multi-faceted resource in the Massachusetts breaking community, whether it was getting down, competing, performing, organizing, hosting, judging, or teaching; Brian has done it all. Through his eyes, the most impactful accomplishment to date is the connections he has built with the community near and far beyond the competitions.
Brian is the curator behind one of New England’s favorite and most highly anticipated events “Entering ShaoLynn” held in his hometown, Lynn, MA. It is at this event which you may have heard or seen the reiteration of “the flavor continues”, as it started out as his motto, later manifesting into the moniker of the nonprofit organization before you today. Currently, he is the Operations Director of TFC, bringing this passion project to life.
Colleen Sayers
The Flavor Continues
A Special Thank You to Our Supporters
Public art on The Greenway is funded exclusively through grants and private sources, including generous support from The Barr Foundation, the Boston Cultural Council/Reopen Creative Boston Fund administered by the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture, and Goulston & Storrs. As We Rise was also made possible through support from the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau and Yotel. The Greenway Conservancy is thankful to partners at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston for their support of this public art display, in particular for hosting the projection infrastructure and artwork.
About the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, one of 12 regional reserve banks, serves the First Federal Reserve District, which includes all of New England except Fairfield County, Connecticut. Within the district, the Bank monitors local economic conditions to aid in the formulation of monetary policy, engages in outreach to promote economic growth and community revitalization, supervises banks and bank holding companies, and provides financial services to facilitate banking operations. Learn more about the Boston Fed on the Bank’s website.
About The Flavor Continues
Started in 2019, The Flavor Continues (TFC) is Massachusetts’ first community-led and community-focused non-profit organization serving the Street and Club dance communities by providing primary programs, events, education, media, and a community space and studio for Street and Club dancers. To learn more and support TFC’s mission, visit theflavorcontinues.org and follow @theflavorcontinues on social media for upcoming offerings.
About ILLUMINUS
Since 2014, ILLUMINUS has been supporting local artists, designers and creatives to produce nighttime, site specific, experiential pieces in a variety of mediums including new media technologies, perforance, light, and sound. ILLUMINUS puts Boston’s creative community in direct conversation with the city with the goal of developing new works that ignite imagination, create moments of connection, and serve as a contemporary expression of Boston. Learn more at www.illuminusboston.org.
