The Shed, the highly anticipated 200,000-square-foot project by New York City–based Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Rockwell Group will not be completed until 2019, but the multi-arts center will be hosting a 12-day pre-opening event—dubbed "A Prelude to The Shed"—at an off-site location one block from the site of the building. A temporary pavilion designed by Nigerian architect Kunlé Adeyemi of Nlé Works in collaboration with Berlin-based artist Tino Sehgal will house a program in which artists "move and reconfigure the structure in a fluid integration of architecture and choreography," according to a press release. "A transformable structure is as vital to the architecture of Prelude as it is to the Shed, where perimeters shift to accommodate multiple artistic disciplines under one roof." In addition to housing dance and music performances, the temporary pavilion will feature an exhibition on an unrealized concept by late British architect Cedric Price—dubbed "Fun Palace" (1961)—which had inspired the Shed's architecture.
Flexible #architecture enables flexible programming. Preview the structure, designed by architect Kunlé Adeyemi of @NLEWORKS, that will be the home of A #PreludeToTheShed, a free, two-week multi-arts event opening this May in #NewYorkCity. pic.twitter.com/9QgZURTSbX
— The Shed (@TheShedNY) February 8, 2018
“Prelude begins to demonstrate the Shed’s mission to nurture artistic invention by commissioning and presenting new work for a wide audience,” said the Shed's CEO and founding artistic director Alex Poots in the same press release.
"A Prelude to The Shed" opens on May 1 and will run through May 13 at 10th Avenue and West 30th St. in Manhattan.
