HIGHLIGHTS FROM PAST LAB PROJECTS
“A hothouse for the creation of uncompromising, cross-disciplinary and sometimes hard to describe hits.” —The New York Times
Since its launch in 2012, Fisher Center LAB (formerly Live Arts Bard) has supported hundreds of artists by providing the time, resources, and funding they need to experiment, dream, and fully realize their artistic potential. Through Fisher Center LAB, we incubate ambitious new projects and build long-term relationships with artists. We support their creative practice, infrastructure, and livelihood, and help tour their work well beyond the Fisher Center.
Four
Quartets
“The most important work of dance theater so far this century.”
—The New York Times
Bard SummerScape 2018 presented the world premiere of Four Quartets, the first authorized dance performance ever to be based on T. S. Eliot’s modernist masterpiece. A LAB commission, the work is an interdisciplinary collaboration that draws on the talents of three most potent artistic voices—Fisher Center LAB Choreographer in Residence Pam Tanowitz, composer Kaija Saariaho, and modernist painter Brice Marden.
Illinoise
“Since its premiere at Bard, Illinoise has been the talk of the theater community.”
—Vanity Fair
Commissioned for SummerScape 2023, Illinoise brought together three brilliantly imaginative artists to create an ecstatic pageant of storytelling, theater, dance, and live music.
In Illinoise, Tony Award-winner Justin Peck transformed Sufjan Stevens’ beloved 2005 concept album into a full-length theatrical performance with a cast of virtuosic dancers, singers, and musicians in a narrative crafted with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury.
In 2024, Illinoise was recognized with a Tony Award for Best Choreography following its tour and transfer to Broadway.
OKLAHOMA!
“A smashing Oklahoma! is reborn. Daniel Fish’s wide-awake, altogether wonderful production is thrilling!”
—The New York Times
In 2019, the Fisher Center won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical for Daniel Fish’s production of Oklahoma!, which began life in 2007 as an undergraduate production at Bard and was produced professionally by the Fisher Center in 2015 before transferring to New York City.
Biennials
The Fisher Center LAB Biennial is a multidisciplinary festival and commissioning series that explores some of the most pressing issues of the 21st century.
The Biennial reimagines the Fisher Center as a flexible and inventive site for contemporary performance and installation and frequently activates other locations at Bard and in the Hudson Valley. The artistic, contextual, and discursive programs are created in partnership with several units of Bard College and the Open Society University Network and introduce audiences to complex responses to contemporary challenges in the arts and social justice.
A Powerful Catalyst
of art-making and a nurturing artistic home. The Fisher Center is a cultural beacon for artists and audiences alike.
