I’m completely blown away to be able to announce the following list of launch events for Life and Death on the New York Dance Floor. The Museum of Modern Art party on 13 October is an obvious highlight. So is the all-day symposium that’s taking place at NYU on 8 October. After the symposium many of us will head to HOWL gallery to watch and listen to slideshow presentations by four photographers whose work appears in the book—can’t wait. Along the way there are going to be numerous bookshop and record store events, many of them with added twists. I’ll also be signing books at several parties, including Lucky Cloud Sound System in London, and the Loft, 718 Sessions and Better Days/Analog in New York. The mood might be a little more sober during talks at Columbia Uni, Cornell Uni, the Graduate Centre/CUNY and Yale—but then again, it might not.
The events will feature many of the key figures from the early 1980s NYC party scene, including Emily Armstrong, Patti Astor, Ivan Baker, Richard Boch, Jeffrey Deitch, Johnny Dynell, Kit Fitzgerald, Bruce Forest, Jim Fouratt, Bernard Gendron, Bobby Grossman, Steven Harvey, Michael Holman, Pat Ivers, Dany Johnson, Danny Krivit, Ann Magnuson, David Mancuso, Sal Principato, John Robie, Sukhdev Sandhu, Will Socolov, Justin Strauss, Allan Tannenbaum, Marvin Taylor, Chi Chi Valenti, Harvey Wang, Sharon White, Ande Whyland, Greg Wilson and Michael Zilkha. I hope you’ll have a chance to join the conversation as well as the dance floor celebrations in New York, London, Germany and wherever any future events might take place…
Sunday 25 September
Lucky Cloud Sound System’s autumn Loft party
Rose Lipman Building, de Beauvoir Road,
London N1 5SQ
5:00pm to midnight
Dance party and book signing
Reservations here
Friday 30 September
Pages of Hackney, Institute of Light
376 Helmsley Pl.
London E8 3SB
7:00pm to 1:00am
Greg Wilson discussion with Tim Lawrence, screening of Downtown 81, DJing by Guillaume Chottin/Simon Halpin
Reservations here
Saturday 1 October
Donlon Books, 75 Broadway Market
London E8 4PH
6:30pm to 8:30pm
Tim Lawrence readings and early 1980s exhibition (curated by Conor Donlon/Tim Lawrence)
Free, no reservations
Tuesday 4 October
Yale University, Interdisciplinary Performance Studies Working Group
New Haven, CT
5:00pm to 6:30pm Tim Lawrence short talk and discussion
Free, no reservations. More info here
Thursday 6 October
Cornell University, Musicology Colloquium Series, Music Department
Lincoln Hall, Room 124, Ithaca, NY 14850
4:30pm
Tim Lawrence lecture followed by Q&A and reception
Free, no reservations. More info here
Friday 7 October
Graduate Centre, CUNY
365 5th Ave, NY 10016
6:30pm to 8:00pm
Tim Lawrence lecture and conversation with Tavia Nyong’o followed by reception.
Free, no reservations. More info here
Saturday 8 October
pt 1: NYU book symposium, NYU Tisch Performance Studies
721 Broadway (at Waverly Pl.), Suite 612
10:00am to 6:00pm
Featuring panels on Downtown Video and Film; The Lifecycle of the NYC/Downtown Party Scene; The Downtown Sound; and Collaboration, Convergence, Democracy. Keynote: Tim Lawrence. Featuring Leonard Abrams, Emily Armstrong, Patti Astor, Jeffrey Deitch, Johnny Dynell, Bernard Gendron, Kit Fitzgerald, Jim Fouratt, Steven Harvey, Michael Holman, Pat Ivers, Danny Krivit, Sal Principato, John Robie, Sukhdev Sandhu, Chi Chi Valenti, Sharon White, Michael Zilkha. Readings: Patti Astor and Tim Lawrence. Lunch and refreshments provided. Held in conjunction with CCSR/UEL.
Free, no reservations. More info here
Saturday 8 October
pt 2: Howl Gallery
6 E 1st St, New York, NY 10003
6:30pm to 9:30pm
Book photo show featuring presentations by Allan Tannenbaum, Harvey Wang, Ande Whyland with Dany Johnson, and Bobby Grossman with Richard Boch
Free, no reservations. More info here
Sunday 9 October
pt 1: Loft party
Second Avenue
5pm to midnight
With Tim Lawrence book signing
Invite only.
Sunday 9 October
pt 2: 718 Sessions party at Space
637 West 50th Street, bet 11th & 12th Ave,
New York, NY 10019
With Tim Lawrence book signing
Ticket information here
Tuesday 11 October
Rough Trade
64 N 9th St., Brooklyn
New York, NY 11249
7pm to 8pm
Tim Lawrence conversation with Bruce Forest (Better Days), Steven Harvey (New York Rocker) and Will Socolov (Sleeping Bag) plus book signing.
Free, no reservations. More info here
Thursday 13 October
Museum of Modern Art
Film Plus, Titus 1 Theatre, 11 W 53rd St.
New York, NY 10019
Book signing, Dany Johnson DJing, screening of Downtown 81, panel discussion led by Tim Lawrence featuring Patti Astor, Johnny Dynell, Michael Holman and Ann Magnuson.
Open to MoMA members and invitees
Saturday 15 October
pt 1: Superior Elevation Records, 100 White St.
New York, NY
4:00pm to 8:00pm
Tim Lawrence conversation with Ivan Baker and Justin Strauss, DJing set by Ivan Baker and Justin Strauss.
Free, no reservations. More info here
Sat 15 October
pt 2: Better Days at Analog BKNY
177 2nd Avenue. Brooklyn
New York, NY 11215
10pm to 7am
Bruce Forest DJing, Tim Lawrence book signing.
Ticket information here
Sunday 16 October
Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects/SHFAP exhibition, Paradise: Underground Culture in NYC 1978-83
208 Forsyth St
New York, NY 10002
Tim Lawrence in discussion with Steven Harvey.
Free, no reservations. More info here
Monday 17 October
Columbia University, Institute for Research on Women, Gender and Sexuality
754 Schermerhorn Ext,
New York, NY 10027
4:00pm to 5:30pm
Tim Lawrence lecture
Free, no reservations. More info here
Wednesday 26 October
Phonica Records, 51 Poland St
London W1F 7LZ
7:30pm to 9:00pm
Tim Lawrence readings and q&a
Free, no reservations. More info here
Sunday 6 November
Classic Album Sundays
Brilliant Corners, 470 Kingsland Rd,
London E8 4AE
featuring Dinosaur L’s 24>24 Music, hosted by Colleen Murphy, with Tim Lawrence talk/q&a/book signing.
Ticket information here
Saturday 26 November
Walthamstow Rock n Roll Book Club
Waterstones, Walthamstow
6pm to 7.30pm
Conversation between Tim Lawrence and Greg Wilson with some readings. After Party at Wildcard Brewery, Ravenswood industrial estate off Shernall St, Walthamstow, featuring Soul Picnic DJs and guest DJ, 8:00pm–1:00am. Followed by Greg Wilson DJ set at Slide, Brixton, with concessions for those attending in Walthamstow.
Ticket information here
Thursday 8 December
Fokwang Universität der Künste
Essen, Germany (Telekom Electronic Beats)
Details to follow
Friday 9 December
Location to be announced
Berlin, Germany (Telekom Electronic Beats)
Details to follow
Saturday 10 December
Robert Johnson Theorie
Offenbach, Germany (Telekom Electronic Beats)
Details to follow