Paul Chan
was born in Hong Kong in 1973. Chan first studied video and digital arts at the Art Institute of Chicago School in 1996 before continuing on to Bard College where he received his MFA. For the past seven years Chan has exhibited his politically and socially charged work on the international scale including exhibitions at The Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam); UCLA Hammer Museum (Los Angeles, CA); Institute of Contemporary Art (Boston, MA) and The Serpentine Gallery (London). His work has also been part of various group shows including Paper Trail: A Decade in Acquisitions (Walker Art Center, Minneapolis); Art in America: 300 Years of Innovation (National Art Museum of China, Beijing; Shanghai); Down By Law (Whitney Museum Of American Art, New York). Chan has also hosted a number of lectures and presentations relevant to his work and artistic practice, such as The Art of Disarmament: Paul Chan in conversation with Kathy Kelly (New York Public Library). A solo exhibition of Chan’s work will open at the New Museum in New York City in April 2008.

Read Paul Chan's Artist Statement about the project.
Complete artist CV.

Creative Time
Creative Time commissions, produces, and presents temporary public artworks that better our neighborhoods, communities, and daily lives.  Our work is driven by three core values: The belief in taking art outside the confines of art institutions and into the spaces of everyday life; the desire to enliven public space, making our cities more captivating and inspiring places to live, work, and visit; and the commitment to providing artists with opportunities for visibility and artistic growth. Our work ensures that art remains a meaningful part of our society, available and relevant to millions of people beyond differences of race, class, religion, or culture.

Since our founding in 1974, Creative Time has pioneered the field of public art. The organization came into being at a time when artists began taking their practice beyond studios and galleries and into New York’s neglected public spaces, invigorating an almost bankrupt city while creating experimental new work. To date, we have produced over 300 adventurous projects, served 1,362 artists, and reached literally millions with the most innovative art of our time. Presenting in such landmark locations as Coney Island, Rockefeller Center, the Brooklyn Bridge Anchorage, Times Square, and Grand Central Station, we bring artists dream projects to life throughout city streets and parks, neglected neighborhoods and landmarks, on building facades and in the skies over Manhattan.

At times commemorative and spectacular, recent projects range from Tribute in Light, which served as a gesture of hope and healing in memory of the tragic events of 9/11, to Light Cycle, an experimental explosion of fireworks that celebrated Central Park's 150th anniversary. We have revitalized neglected sites with projects like Dreamland Artist Club, an array of 50 artist-painted signs on local businesses throughout the historic areas of Coney Island. We provided a framework for artists interested in socially-engaged practices with Who Cares, an initiative and publication on art and social action. Most recently, we enlivened Midtown with Doug Aitken’s first public project in the U.S., sleepwalkers, a large-scale video work on the exterior facades of the Museum of Modern Art.

The Classical Theatre of Harlem
The Classical Theatre of Harlem was co-founded by Alfred Preisser and Christopher McElroen who were both teaching theatre at The Harlem School of the Arts (HSA) since 1995 and 1997 respectively.  Inspired by the enormous talent and enthusiasm demonstrated by the participants in a Shakespeare workshop they taught at HSA in 1998, the Classical Theatre of Harlem was founded in 1999. In each of its productions - which have included numerous works by Shakespeare, a new stage adaptation of Richard Wright’s Native Son, Melvin Van Peebles’ Ain’t Supposed To Die A Natural Death and Jean Genet’s seminal political drama, The Blacks: A Clown Show, - the Theatre is dedicated to returning the “classics” to the stages of Harlem, to nurturing new, young, and culturally diverse audiences and to producing theatre that truly reflects the diversity of ideas and racial tapestry of New York City. Their long list of awards includes 5 OBIE Awards, 2 Lucille Lortel Awards, Drama Desk Award and Edwin Booth Award for Artistic Excellence, among others.