The first day I stepped into Mugwumpin’s brainstorming session for The Looking Glass Self I had no idea what to expect. As Mugwumpin’s summer intern, I’ve been in the Project Space with Mugwumpin during their Combustible Residency rehearsals for 4 months now. I’ve worked as an Assistant Stage Manager, I’ve stood in as a practice […]
Mark your calendars, CounterPulse is moving full throttle in a relentlessly risk-taking performance line-up this Fall. See our Fall 2019 performance schedule and get tickets below! Combustible Residency 2019 Mugwumpin: The Looking Glass Self Mabel Valdiviezo with Travis Bennett: Metamorphosis: Phase 1 Sept 12-14 & 19-21, Thu-Sat, 7:30pm & 8:15pm Pay-what-you-can Thursdays CounterPulse is […]
Mugwumpin Company Member Ray Oppenheimer on the development of The Looking Glass Self One of the things that I am interested in is the democratization of technology, lowering the barrier for the creation of high quality digital falsehood. As a tool to explore this loss of autonomy and ease of creation we decided to experiment […]
#NotABugSplat A little girl’s face stares towards the clouds in a meadow, a place where drones fly as often as the birds. Her face covers a massive portrait printed by a group of artist-activists as part of an installation titled #NotABugSplat. Since 2004, drone strikes in Pakistan have killed over 3,000 people, including a large […]
The Tenderloin Art Lending Library (TALL) is a queer-artist-run project that lends artwork to Tenderloin community members free-of-charge. TALL is a trust-based program where artists—the majority of whom are homeless, formerly homeless, and live or work in the Tenderloin—donate artwork that is available for loan to any member of the Tenderloin community free-of-charge. TALL is […]
Journey for Wisdom and Empowerment A key part of my artistic process for “Metamorphosis” is to connect with nature and my indigenous Peruvian roots through shamanic dance to invoke healing and strength. Shot by Life Escobar. Directed and performed by Mabel Valdiviezo Una parte clave de mi proceso artístico para “Metamorfosis” es conectarme con la […]
A Reflection from CounterPulse’s former Development & Engagement Fellow Leaving the academic world can be jarring for most people. It’s incredibly easy to feel aimless and misdirected without an imposed colonized structure thrust upon you for the first time ever. As a recent college graduate from a “socially conscious” Jesuit university, I’m lucky to […]
A wise woman drums to the four directions of the earth Tum, tum, tum, tum, tum She calls the ancestral spirits of the land, water, air, fire And begins to teach me the way to journey There I am, as ancient as her Yet, afraid of my power Alchemy comes to my aid And […]
Because San Francisco industries are hemorrhaging artists, and CounterPulse safeguards resources for YOUR artistic community. Because you know that things can just be so much better than what they are. Because all your most brilliant friends will be there. Because we’re going ALL OUT with the Innerspace theme and transforming our building into a queer […]
What is the body’s relationship to furniture, to structure, to the design we inhabit but rarely have an opportunity to adapt? How can design be appropriated to be more collaborative in creation and destruction, shaped by our social norms and urban conditions? Can design be improvisational, performative even? What happens when humans are no longer […]