Uncharted Frequencies- PAD Showcase SESSION

Welcome to Week Eight (8) of the PAD Showcase SESSIONS! This week we celebrate experimentation and innovation inspired by the rich diversity of American traditions.

These artists bring their own lived experiences and community perspectives into their artistic practice, reflecting a country that is constantly evolving, one where people of all identities and backgrounds contribute to the ever-shifting narrative of what it means to be American.

—Erin Boberg Doughton

Meet the host: Erin Boberg Doughton

Photo credit: Cedric Arnold

Erin Boberg Doughton, (she/her) Artistic Director & Curator of Performance at PICA (Portland Institute for Contemporary Art), curates and produces performance programs and multi-disciplinary projects as part of PICA’s TBA (Time-Based Art) Festival as well as year-round presentations, commissions and residencies. She teaches performance as an Assistant Professor and Mentor at PNCA (Pacific Northwest College of Art.) She serves on the working consortium for First Nations Performing Arts Network, on the partner advisory council for the National Performance Network (NPN) and is a former National Dance Project hubsite advisor. Erin holds an MFA from the Hallie Ford School of Graduate Studies, PNCA, a BFA in Theatre from Lewis & Clark College, in Portland.

Meet the Artists

Degenerate Art Ensemble

Photo courtesy of the artist

Degenerate Art Ensemble has performed across the US and Europe, known for large-scale dance and theater projects, concerts, site-specific spectacles, and public experimentation. Highlights include a major exhibition at the Frye Art Museum (2011), a commission by Robert Wilson to interpret Einstein on the Beach (2012), and a collaboration with the Kronos Quartet (2013). In 2012, they created Underbelly with Olson Kundig Architects to mark the Seattle World’s Fair’s 50th anniversary. Predator Songstress premiered at Yerba Buena Center in 2015, followed by an orchestral collaboration with Czech rock legends Uz Jsme Doma and the South Bohemian Philharmonic Orchestra in Prague (2016). Skeleton Flower debuted in Seattle (2019) and has since been performed in Mexico City (2021), Denmark (2022), and San Francisco (2023). Their latest work, Boy mother / faceless bloom, created with sculptor Senga Nengudi and musician Eddy Kwon, was staged at Colorado College and the Cincinnati Contemporary Art Center (2022) and will be presented at New York Live Arts as part of the Performa Biennale (2023).

Dorian Wood

Photo credit: Laura Pardo

Dorian Wood (she/her/they/them) is an anti-disciplinary artist based in the U.S., known for challenging traditions and systems that contribute to marginalization. Wood has performed at major venues and festivals worldwide, including The Broad (Los Angeles), Museo Nacional Del Prado (Madrid), Teatro de la Ciudad Esperanza Iris (Mexico City), Fusebox Festival (Austin), and Cully Jazz Festival (Switzerland).

From 2019 to 2020, Wood toured internationally with XAVELA LUX AETERNA, a tribute to Chavela Vargas. In 2022, they debuted LHASA, honoring Lhasa De Sela, and premiered Mares Ocultos, a multimedia chamber music project, at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Richmond. In 2023, Wood presented the 12-hour composition Canto de Todes at REDCAT in Los Angeles.

Wood has received numerous awards, including the FCA Grants for Artists Award, a Los Angeles County Performing Arts Recovery Grant, and a Creative Capital Award. They have released over a dozen recordings, including You are clearly in perversion (2023) and Excesiva (2023).

Ensemble Mik Nawooj - The Hip-Hop Orchestra Experience

Photo: Pat Mazzera

Led by composer/pianist, JooWan Kim, The Ensemble Mik Nawooj - The Hip-Hop Orchestra Experience (THHOE) creates a brand new genre of music by sampling principles of Hip-Hop and Classical. THHOE is part concert, dance party, and club night featuring original music that samples from classical and hip-hop—all presented in an underground setting like the New York scene that birthed hip-hop. Their music uniquely challenges the MCs and classical musicians pushing the boundaries of both hip-hop and concert music, creating something completely new. The program includes seminal works of Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven, deconstructed and reimagined with funky rhythms and rapid-fire rhymes.

Jin Hi Kim

Photo credit: Livia Sa

Jin Hi Kim is an innovative komungo virtuoso, Guggenheim Fellow composer, and United States Artist Fellow known for pioneering the komungo in American contemporary music. She has performed her original compositions at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, and globally. The New York Times praised her as a “virtuoso” creating “thoughtful, shimmering East-West amalgams.”

Kim’s Living Tones compositions have been commissioned by the Kronos Quartet, American Composers Orchestra, Festival Nieuwe Muziek for Xenakis Ensemble (Netherlands), Tan Dun's New Generation East program for Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and the National Endowment for the Arts. She is acclaimed for her electric komungo performances with live interactive computer programs in multimedia works like Ghost Komungobot and Digital Buddha. In 2021, GRAMMY.com called her "a musical philosopher and radiator of electricity."

Floco Torres

Photo credit: Autumn Bland Hudson

Floco Torres is an Ohio-based hip-hop artist whose music blends old school boom bap with pop and indie influences. His deeply personal lyrics revolve around themes of motivation, faith, and resilience, inspired by his struggles with homelessness and his upbringing around addiction. Torres' sound features intricate flows and relatable wordplay, creating an intimate musical experience.

With 24 unique musical projects to his name, including his work with the hip-hop group ‘Free Black!’ alongside producer/drummer HR3, Torres’ career continues to thrive. In 2011, he received a $25,000 grant to produce the 10,000 Hours EP with Grammy-nominated producer/percussionist Steve Moretti. His song "Cherry Street" won six ADDY awards and a Mosaic Award for diversity.

Olivia Komahcheet

Photo credit: Elyse Butler Mallams

Olivia Komahcheet is a composer and music producer working across music, visual media, and immersive art. She’s collaborated with top brands like Instagram, Ableton, and Walrus Audio, with her music featured on platforms like Square Register and Shudder TV. A 2021 Sundance Composers Lab Fellow, Olivia has worked with leading composers on film, TV, and video game projects.

Her music has been featured at First Americans Museum, TIFF Film Festival, and the SXSW 2023 premiere of Frybread Face and Me. Olivia’s 2023 projects include composing for the Emmy-nominated Run with Respect and Dead Bird Hearts, which won Best Indigenous Short at the deadCenter Film Festival.

She’s performed over 50 shows across the US and Canada, including NAMM, SXSW, and House of Blues Las Vegas. Her single MEEKU is featured on NPR, CBC, and Denver’s 303 Magazine. Olivia is a member of the Sundance Interdisciplinary Program and a Platinum Producer for Timbaland’s Beatclub. She’s also a grantee of Native American Arts and Cultures and an alumni of the NYC Sound Thinking Mentorship Program.