The Door Presents: Whitney x Door x Listening Lab

Floor 3, Theater

A grueling pandemic, increasing social isolation, and a divisive political season left many unheard, unseen, and unsure of how to come together. To explore this challenge, five emerging artists from The Door and a multidisciplinary team of professionals worked together to explore how to co-create a work of art in public space. 

During a six-week training program they learned approaches from different community builders, and a synthesis of their ideas and inspirations formed a vision of reversing COVID-19’s degradation of social systems. With the goal of establishing soft connections, the team designed a series of public activations that invited strangers to sit at a table for a recorded conversation, offering a serendipitous opportunity to be seen and heard.

To continue the work Listening Lab was established and, since June 2021, this multifaceted team has gone into the five boroughs of New York City to invite passersby to converse, reflect, and connect by asking a simple question: since March 2020, how has your life changed? On March 18, a selection of these conversations will be exhibited alongside an interactive performance at the Whitney.

The Door’s mission is to empower young people to reach their potential by providing comprehensive youth development services in a diverse and caring environment. The Door is one of Whitney’s Education Community Partners.

Group members:

• Fadwa Yousef
• Benjamin Brown
• Naomi Young
• Mahfouz Soumare
• Farhana Akter
• Deena Ismail
• Sarah Howard
• Matthew Chavez

Special thanks:

• Rei Chou
• Tiffany Chan
• Mindy Fullilove
• Dirk Leidig
• Natalie Black
• Nickey Frankel
• Jack Saul
• Fataah Dihaan