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KEVIN DRAPER PRESS KIT – OCT 2023
Kevin Draper: Art, Architecture, Theater, and Technology
Kevin Draper, is a prolific multi-media artist, architect, stage designer, scriptwriter, and technologist, whose body of work captures the unexpected momentum of the creative process. Themes of time as distance covered; disjuncture; motion; formal systems versus internal reality; are seen throughout his extensive oeuvre. In Draper’s world boundaries are purposely blurred and then redefined by his dynamic ethos. Wherever his drive goes, whether it’s the design of scenery, ballets, musical playlists, sculptures, digital images, buildings, films, or poetic librettos the work takes the viewer to sites unseen. His conception of space is never far from the idea of motion, and the fundamental structures that define it. Transportation machines, roller coasters, building structures, light, projections, scale, sound, and the digital realm find themselves integrated in the crafting of his narrative. The passing of time is seen through the textures of urban decay, through motion and stops, through the human body, and through the lens of ever evolving technology. His is a vision of building and dissolving in concert. A perpetual transformation at accelerated speed: The concrete and the infinite.
About Kevin Draper
Kevin Draper (1967) was born in Michigan, USA. After a few years working as a mechanical engineer, he completed a Master’s in Architecture, studied printmaking, and began his trajectory as an artist. In 2010 he moved to New York City. There, he founded Satellite Collective, a vibrant and innovative community of creatives that has produced award-winning theater productions, films, music recitals, dance performances, and multimedia exhibits.
Key Highlights
Visionary Architecture
The premise that we live in a geometric space, is at the center of Kevin Draper’s creative tenor. His visionary architecture lives in the gap between the renderings and the building. Informed by his knowledge of physics, it explores the notion of man in relation to space, force, and its mechanistic creations. His work inspires conversations about human creativity, mind patterns, frames of reference, speed, and motion.
Stage Design, Creative Direction
From its inception, Kevin Draper is involved in every phase of the project. He writes Librettos and poems that generate the action and choreography. Stories that reimagine mythical love, like the one of Echo and Narcissus in New York City, are set at different points in time. Informed by his understanding that we live in a geometric world, his stage designs are created taking into account the distortion created by the audience’s point of view. The way humans and objects move in space and their frames of reference are at the hub of Draper’s creative ethos. He understands the mechanics of stage design instinctively: A place that plays a fundamental role in storytelling, transporting the audience into the world of the performance
Multi-Media Work
Kevin Draper is a multimedia artist. Among the media he employs are scans and digital imaging; a technology used in the exploration of our world, and the study of our bodies.
Scanning involves capturing detailed information, and it is invaluable in archeology and art preservation. In his scans, Draper challenges the way we view time and space. Everyday objects are seen from the dimension of a digital void. The motion and light of
the scanner preserve things in a suspended state: Time as a function of space, as a point of reference in an infinite geometric continuum.
Founder of Satellite Collective In 2010 Draper founded the Satellite Collective with a group of creatives from various disciplines. An incubator for innovative thinking and performance with the philosophy of equal collaboration for all artists, virtually, and globally. The initial projects were collaborations with dancers and choreographers from the New York City Ballet. As the collective grew and expanded, they worked with creators from the Alvin Ailey, San Francisco Ballet, and X Ballet. Kevin Draper’s role in multiple productions for over a decade showcased his talent for collaboration and artistic direction. The ballets, films, theater, installations and musical productions have premiered at Brooklyn Academy of Music, Baryshnikov Arts Center, 92Y, and regional performing arts centers in Michigan; as well as the Art Center in Portland, Oregon. These lauded large productions garnered awards and propelled the growth of the Collective. The New York Times wrote in 2018, that his productions were “overflowing with creative inspiration.”
Script Writing Stories are at the center of all of Draper’s creations, and they present the scope of his artistic expression. All productions are generated from the stories he writes. His is an all encompassing vision: He writes the scripts, designs the sets, collaborates with choreographers, light designers, and musicians to bring his narrative to life. In 2010, Kevin began producing what were called “silent librettos” with friends at the New York City Ballet. These librettos were the threads that tied together dance, film, projection, and music, performances at the Baryshnikov Performing Arts Center, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Technologist Technology is a fast-evolving science, and it is Draper’s forte. He spent decades working in the tech field advising multinational corporations. His list of clients include Nike, Walmart, General Atomics, Boeing, GE, to name a few. His artwork, skill as an artistic director, and founder of Non-profits stems from his expertise in the architecture of enterprises at all levels. His creativity and business acumen extends to current projects, like the creation of financial systems for artists, as well as interactive installations, innovative lighting and sound design, etc.
Notable Collaborations
- ● Gordon-Matta Clark Estate – Ongoing collaborations, Pop up Exhibition, Installations
- ● Lora Robertson – Films and Dance Performances
- ● Troy Schumacher – Choreographer, Dance director
- ● Nick Jaina – Composer, Music Director
- ● Ellis Ludwig-Leone – Music director, arranger
- ● Nathan Langston – Composer
- ● Stelth Ulvang of The Lumineers
- ● Aaron Severini
Achievements
Citation by New York City Mayor Eric Adams for Achievements in the Arts, 2018
Grants and Endowments
Kevin Draper’s art and collaborations have garnered the support of major institutions and Individuals in the Arts, such as:
Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs Brooklyn Academy of Music
Fremont Area Community Foundation
Grand Rapids Arts Museum
Center for performance research Dogwood Center for the Performing Arts SAP AMERICA
Satellite Gallery
Laird Family Foundation
Quotes – Periodicals
Draper’s work has been reviewed by the New York Times, The Observer, Berkshire Fine Arts, among other publications. Here are some memorable quotes:
“…a collaborative model that can generate new visions for dance, multimedia, music, and poetry.” – New York City Mayor Eric Adams, 2018
“lush” – New York Post 2012
“peculiar” – NY Times 2013
“admirable” – NY Times 2016
“overflowing with creativity” – NY Times 2018
“international scope” – NY Times 2021
“An admirably cooperative endeavor, and a peculiar one.” – New York Times
“His Satellite Collective “works at the intersection of dance, visual art, and music” and has been doing so for eight years and garnering awards and citations from the Borough of Brooklyn.” – Voce di Meche
“They [citations] were well deserved.” – Voce di Meche
Television
Channel 8 – Grand Rapids – Live stream of the Performance and installation at the Gerald Ford
Presidential Museum
Timeline – Works
Site Specific Sculpture
2022 – Sad Blim – Site specific sculpture – Gerald Ford Museum / Ahnab Ahwens Park – Grand Rapids, MI
2022 – Sad Blimp Rocket – Site specific sculpture – Rosa Parks Museum – Grand Rapids, MI
2018 – Echo and Narcissus – Live opera and Site Specific Sculpture – SITELAB Franklin Street School Project, Grand Rapids, MI
2016 – City Night Park – Extended 48 ft canvas – 92Y Lexington – New York City 2016 – Grand Jericho – Architectural intervention – SITE:LAB Rumsey Street Project,
Grand Rapids, MI
Ballets – Writer, Producer, Multimedia and Stage Design
2017 – Echo and Narcissus – immersive multi-disciplinary performance – Brooklyn
Academy of Music, Fishman Space, New York City
2016 – Grand Jericho – architectural installation + short film + placemaking – 92Y Lexington, New York City
2016 – Maria’s Garden – spoken word + soundscape – 92Y Lexington, New York City 2016 – Voice Mail Message – dance + music + microtones + mobile set – 92Y Lexington,
New York City
2016 – We Go – dance + instrumental score + mobile set – 92Y Lexington, New York City
2016 – View from the Ceiling – canvas/ink monoprint mobile set – 92Y Lexington, New York City
2015 – Eddie Lives Twice – experimental short film + short film + libretto + original score – Brooklyn Academy of Music, Fishman Space, New York City
2015 – Walls – Interdisciplinary dance + dance + multimedia + original score – Brooklyn Academy of Music, Fishman Space, New York City
2015 – Individuate – ballet + strings + electric guitar – Brooklyn Academy of Music, Fishman Space, New York City
2015 – I can help you – spoken word + music + soundscape – Brooklyn Academy of Music, Fishman Space, New York City
2015 – Water – solo instrumental + multimedia imagery – Brooklyn Academy of Music, Fishman Space, New York City
2014 – Twin Star Event – short film + original score + silent libretto – Brooklyn Academy of Music, Fishman Space, New York City
2014 – Rituals – ballet + original score + multimedia projections – Brooklyn Academy of Music, Fishman Space, New York City
2014 – Spoken word – spoken word + soundscape + multimedia – Baryshnikov Arts Center, New York City
Academic Life
Notre Dame University, Executive MBA
Tulane University, Master of Architecture, with Commendation University of Michigan, BS Architecture
Affiliations
President, Tibetan Poverty Alleviation Fund JV, China (2006-2016) Board of Advisors, Tulane University School of Architecture, 2012-2016)
Links
Broadway World – August 2, 2018 https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Satellite-Collective-Announces-ECHO-NARCISSUS-9 14-15-20180802
DIYdancer – September 12, 2018 https://diydancer.com/2018/09/12/making-echo-narcissus-modern-satellite-collective-returns-to- bam-fisher/
HI! Drama – September 14, 2018 https://www.facebook.com/hidramas/posts/2063609880345582?__xts__
The Brooklyn Paper – September 12, 2018 https://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/41/37/24-narcissus-play-at-bam-2018-09-14-bk.html
The New York Times – September 9, 2018 – The Week Ahead https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/07/arts/childish-gambino-eddie-izzard-gael-garca-bernal-.htm l
Time Out New York
Press Contact
For interviews, high-resolution images, or additional information about Kevin Draper, please contact: kevindraper@satellitecollective.org
Follow Kevin on Instagram: @Kevinrusselldraper Website: Kevindraper.org
Satellite Collective Website: Satellitecollective.org