curated by Robert Blackson

Image of Bob Bard.
Photo credit Jeremy Deller.

This Is Us is a compilation of music performed by musicians living in Red Hook, New York, recorded on CD by the British artist Jeremy Deller. This eclectic collection of 16 field recordings, ranging from performances by church choirs to cheerleaders, was made over a three-week period in March and April 2003. This Is Us is an attempt to reflect the variety of local musical tastes in Red Hook, the town in which Bard College and the Center for Curatorial Studies are located. The CD will be distributed by the Center for Curatorial Studies and will be available in restaurants, gas stations, bookstores, and churches in the Hudson Valley. A release party will be held on Sunday, May 11, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Black Swan Pub in the nearby village, Tivoli. This free, catered, public event is an opportunity for all of the musicians who have contributed to the CD to lend their instrument or voice to a collective performance.

In addition to This Is Us, the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College will also present five other exhibitions curated by students in the Center's graduate program in curatorial studies and contemporary art. Organized by the students as part of the requirement for the master's degree, the five other exhibitions—Split: Women in Dislocation; More Than A Thousand Words; Rest Assured; To What End?; Subscribe: Recent Art in Print—will be on view from May 11 to 25, 2003.