look around (2019)
co-creator
DIRECTOR
designer
Mark DeChiazza co-created this large-scale outdoor collaboration with composer Shara Nova. The work asked us to question ourselves. Where are we? Who are we? Look Around asks how we can better see one another, and deeply listen to our neighbors and our environment.
In an immersive music performance extending from Ziegler Park through the Over The Rhine district and culminating in Washington Park, over 600 performers from over 30 local groups including choirs, instrumental ensembles, and dancers, along with the Cincinnati Symphony gathered together in a massive-scale musical conversation on August 3rd, 2019. Inspired by the native northern mockingbird’s ability to listen and learn from others, the groups performed music created with composer Shara Nova, with direction by Mark DeChiazza, extending throughout the parks and neighborhood in an invitation for active audience participation.
Over 8,000 audience attended.
The title of the work is taken from Siri Imani’s poem “Lost Generation” which begins with the words, “I need you to care not about yourself or obtaining your wealth / I need you to look around”. Text for the music was derived from interviews Nova will conduct with local community members focusing on identity, emphasizing our cultural diversity and reflecting on what it means to have a sense of home.
To learn more visit Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra online.
