Who decides what art is and where it belongs, and what is the role of race, class, and pedigree? THIS IS MODERN ART, the acclaimed and controversial play by Idris Goodwin and Kevin Coval, based on the 2010 “bombing” of the Art Institute of Chicago by an underground graffiti crew, is making its New York debut. The production by Blessed Unrest is directed by Jessica Burr and performing as part of the inaugural season of Next Door at New York Theatre Workshop. Blessed Unrest brings their award-winning, trademark physicality to a play that has wowed audiences in Chicago, Denver, New Haven, and Houston. The set design features a stage-filling original graffiti piece painted for the production by legendary NYC street artist KEO XMEN. The cast consists of returning Blessed Unrest collaborators J. Stephen Brantley, Nancy McArthur and Ashley N. Hildreth, as well as the actors making their debut with the company: Andrew Gonzalez, Shakur Tolliver, and Landon G. Woodson.

The question of graffiti’s status as expression or vandalism has served as a point of contention for decades of urban history. While modern New Yorkers may regularly encounter such works without a second thought, closer inspection of graffiti’s contested status reveals the broader racial, legal, and economic factors in which the debate takes root. Based on true events, Blessed Unrest’s production of This Is Modern Art highlights these topics through the story of three Chicago street artists and the risks they took to make one career-altering public statement. Set in early 2010, This Is Modern Art follows young graffiti writers Seven (Shakur Tolliver), JC (Andrew Gonzalez), and Dose (Landon G. Woodson), collectively known as the L.O.H (Look Over Here) Crew. Fueled by adrenaline and creative passion, the three strive to make as prominent a mark on Chicago’s art scene as on its buildings, yet constantly struggle with with the ephemerality, underrepresentation, and precarious nature of their work. At a party one evening, a privileged student’s praise of the Art Institute of Chicago’s new Modern Wing — and dismissal of graffiti as an art form — inspires Seven to make a social and arti …Read more