[5x5] 2025_recap
Sophia Giovannitti x Avgi Saketopoulou x Rachel Ossip; Simon Liu x Tiffany Sia; KJ Abudu x Omar Berrada x Adam HajYahia; Nile Harris x Alexandra Tatarsky; Savanah Leaf x Kyle Abraham x Habiba Hopson
In its third edition, 5 Artists paired with 5 Curators to present live, in-progress work with the public over the course of 5 nights at 99 Canal. Each collaboration is entirely self-directed, there are no fixed formats, outcomes, or expectations. It’s intentionally low-stakes, a space for open dialogue.
1/5 08MAY2025_Confession Prototype 1, On Having “Alot of Heart”
Sophia Giovannitti
x Avgi Saketopoulou x Rachel Ossip
Sophia Giovannitti in conversation with practicing psychoanalyst and academic Avgi Saketopoulou, moderated by Rachel Ossip, Deputy Editor at Triple Canopy. The discussion draws on the speaker’s work around erotics, ethics, cost, and consent, and is the first episode of our 5x5 series, following Sophia’s lecture-performance Confession Prototype 1, On Having “a Lot of Heart” at 99 Canal.
“I began escorting in 2017 when I was 25 I’ve written about this before, how and why I began to the best of my ability to Remember, my understanding has evolved somewhat, and this is a new page, so I’ll say I used to give a solely material answer, which wasn’t untrue, but also wasn’t honest. I was a writer, an artist. That was what I wanted to dedicate my time to, and it didn’t pay me enough to live in New York. There is so much money to get, and a lot of it sits in the pockets of bored, horny men, barely professionalized. High end escorting was a practical solution. Nothing else I was qualified to do would pay my rent in two hours.”
Sophia Giovannitti
2/5 22MAY2025_ SHOCK STUDIES -/- PAN PRESSURE
Simon Liu
x Tiffany Sia
SHOCK STUDIES_a new expanded cinema performance by Simon Liu. Featuring an intricate network of analogue projection, handmade electronics, live sound, and reflective materials, the work examined the problematics of nostalgia, representations of prohibited spaces, and the boundaries of control within an increasingly automated world. The performance was followed by a conversation with artist Tiffany Sia.
I think I try, every two years, I try and switch up my game quite drastically. Whenever I feel as though I’m getting comfortable or confident with the way I’m working with something, it feels as though a way in which making the work feels perfunctory. Part of making the work for me is to just feel as though I created a problem that just feels kind of out of my control, and the process of making it feels as though I’m just trying to solve that problem.
Simon Liu
3/5 06JUNE2025_ Combat Breathing: Aesthetics of Agitation
KJ Abudu
x Adam Hajyahi x Omar Berrada
A screening curated by KJ Abudu and Adam Hajyahia, featuring works by Harun Farocki, Alaa Mansour, Tiffany Sia and Not Channel Zero, a video series by Black Planet Productions. A conversation between the curators, moderated by Omar Berrada followed the event, where the speakers explored contemporary art as a form of anti-imperial counter-propaganda in response to the failures of neoliberalism and the rise of fascist media ecologies.
“In my view, I think that these films agitate us into breaking out of a more neutralized, sedated state of consuming images into making us a little bit uncomfortable. What am I witnessing? Should I witness this? Should I not?… I see these films as ones that are clear about what they are, and they’re not detached or delusional about being politically driven; they are simply attuned to the social and political conditions that structure their production.”
Adam HajYahia
4/5 17JUNE2025_ “Talk Back”
Nile Harris
x Alexandra Tatarsky
Alexandra Tatarsky & Nile Harris shared experiments composed from diaristic digital communications from the past few years. From IG close friends posts to private emails and notes, the writings navigate varying registers from the mundane to the manic sublime and humorously shameful. The evening culminates in a cold reading of an artist “Talk Back” scripted by poet and playwright Peter BD, underscored by Shane Riley.
“I’m glad to be here with you. You look cunt in that outfit, friend.”
Nile Harris
5/5 24JULY2025_ RUN + RUN 002
Savanah Leaf
x Kyle Abraham x Habiba Hopson
A conversation between artist Savanah Leaf, choreographer Kyle Abraham, and curator Habiba Hopson, following the screening of RUN + RUN 002, two single-channel videos functioning as a self-portrait that explores the physicality of the Black female form. Starring the artist herself, William Richards and Willem Dafoe, the short film series was previously exhibited at Hauser & Wirth, Los Angeles and SFMoMA.
It’s also a curiosity of when you have to abandon an idea because it’s maybe not a good idea, but it was something worth trying. That’s something I’m always grappling with, that inner saboteur. —-
Kyle Abraham
About 99 Canal
99 CANAL is a project run by artists, for artists. As a 501(C)3 non-profit, our studio program and public program seek to amplify artist perspectives and promote equitable access to studio spaces and experimental art practices in the heart of Chinatown, New York City.
With a strong emphasis on film-based media and performance, our public program actively supports experimental practices while offering our local audience unique opportunities for engagement through participation and long-term reflection.
As an artist-run space, we intend to make 99 Canal a hub where impactful forms of art are nurtured, presenting ambitious projects outside of current New York City canons. The public programme is currently funded by our close community, and is access free to the public.
Website
https://99canal.net/#