Welcome from BAM’s Artistic Director

Every new season provides us the privilege of bringing the world’s finest artists from around the corner and around the world to our audiences. But it also presents an awesome challenge with a myriad of choices: not only to select genres, but also to think deeply about what message we convey through the selections we make.

Every choice makes a statement. And right now, playing it safe isn’t an option.

That’s why this year’s Next Wave festival showcases some of the most extraordinary women artists at work today, representing a wide range of ages and ethnicities. Some, like nora chipaumire (Dambudzo) and Eiko Otake (What Is War, with Wen Hui), are longtime members of the BAM family. Many more—including Caroline Guiela Nguyen (LACRIMA), Julianna F. May (Optimistic Voices), Andrea Voets (FOR REAL), Leslie Cuyjet (For All Your Life), and Natalia Lafourcade (Cancionera Tour)—we welcome to BAM for the first time.

Women play integral roles elsewhere: Martha Graham as muse to Richard Move (Martha@BAM—The 1963 Interview), June Jordan as lodestar for Hanif Abdurraqib (I Guess It Was My Destiny To Live So Long), Annie-B Parson joining Michael Gordon and Paul Lazar in reviving a Richard Foreman opera (What to wear). For all of these artists, personal experience transcends gender—but gender informs personal experience.

Beyond Next Wave, it feels entirely proper that our fall season begins with Arundhati Roy, one of the most fearless and uncompromising writers of our age, discussing her first-ever work of memoir. Our holiday programming this year brings the joyous return of early-music ensemble Les Arts Florissants, visiting BAM for the first time since 2019. Our incredible cinema program offers landmark films made new again through sparkling anniversary restorations. Rounding out the season are The Best of BAMkids Film Festival and the annually anticipated BAMboo!

Whether you are a newcomer, an occasional visitor, or a frequent member of our audiences, we thank you for joining us for another season of extraordinary experiences.

Yours,