Brendan Fernandes

Chicago-based dancer, choreographer, and visual artist Brendan Fernandes turns the Riverwalk into a space to gather and dance to coincide with the 40th  anniversary of house music. For his commission, the artist imagines 'new' windows and doorways into THE MART, using the movements of animated human dancers to continuously 'reshape' the façade of the building. Colorful backdrops that reference foliage and African textiles honor the essential contributions of African diasporic peoples to American art forms, while emphasizing the natural elements of our man-made urban surroundings. 

Fernandes's newest work exhibits the artist's proven flair for subverting the conventions of dance performance, approaching the form with an architectural eye and an empathetic heart, imbuing all of his work with equal parts cultural responsiveness, critical theory, and aesthetic beauty.

Accompanied by a house music soundscape by Chicago-based producer Sean J. Wright, Fernandes's Build Up the House highlights the power of THE MART as an accessible platform for expressions of solidarity, community-building, and celebration.

Build Up the House airs Thursdays through Sundays beginning at 7:30pm. 

Credits
Animation and Post-Production: Daily Planet
Original Music by Shaun J Wright
Produced by Domenic Del Carmine
Danced by Katlin Michael Bourgeois and Lieana Sherry

This new commission is made possible through the generous support of Cari and Michael Sacks, Anne Kaplan, and the Alumnae Board of Northwestern University.

Brendan Fernandes (b. 1979, Nairobi, Kenya) is an internationally recognized artist working at the intersection of dance and visual arts. Based in Chicago, Brendan’s projects address issues of race, queer culture, migration, protest and other forms of collective movement. Committed to creating new spaces and new forms of agency, Brendan’s projects take on hybrid forms: part Ballet, part queer dance party, part protest, to foster collaboration and solidarity through actions of generosity and kindness.


Brendan is a graduate of the Whitney Independent Study Program and a recipient of a Robert Rauschenberg Fellowship. In 2010, he was shortlisted for the Sobey Art Award, and is the recipient of a prestigious Canada Council New Chapters grant (2017), the Artadia Award (2019), a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation grant (2019), and a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship (2020). Brendan’s projects have shown at the 2019 Whitney Biennial; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York); Museum of Modern Art (New York); The Getty Museum (Los Angeles); National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa) among many others. In his home city of Chicago he has exhibited solo exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art, The Graham Foundation and DePaul Art Museum. He is Assistant Professor at Northwestern University in the Department of Art Theory and Practice and represented by Chicago’s Monique Meloche Gallery. Recent projects include performances and presentations at the Munch Museum, Oslo; The Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia; The Pulitzer Foundation, St Louis; The Phillip Johnson Glass House, New Cannan, and a commission by The DR Vocal Ensemble, Copenhagen.

Above image by Kevin Penczak
Quote image by T. Harrison Hillman, courtesy of Brendan Fernandes and Kinfolk Magazine

Born and raised in west suburban Chicagoland, Shaun J. Wright spent most of their teen years immersed in the sounds of house music. In the late 80’s and early 90’s, house music was a powerful force, permeating the mainstream airwaves of Chicago’s most prominent radio stations. With Wright being raised in the epicenter of house culture during this era, their love for dance music began to expand throughout their high school years as they partook in the underground dance scene now globally known as Juke.

While in undergrad at Morehouse College in Atlanta, they developed their skills as a dancer in the vogue ballroom scene and professional dance companies. After acquiring an MA Fashion Curation from the London College of Fashion, Wright enjoyed an active career in fashion in New York City. That is where they met Andrew Butler, founder of Hercules and Love Affair, in 2008, and began a whirlwind collaboration with the ensemble as a vocalist. They spent nearly three years touring with the outfit, performing in major venues & festivals throughout North & South America and Europe. They’re also featured prominently on the ensemble’s lauded sophomore album, Blue Songs.

Returning to Chicago in 2012 to forge their solo career, Wright began to collaborate with respected DJ and producer Alinka. Promptly after beginning their party Twirl in the spring of 2013, Wright & Alinka released their first EP, Twirl Vol. 1, on the celebrated Classic Music Company led by luminaries Luke Solomon and Derrick Carter. They continued to expand upon the brand in late 2014 with their Twirl Records debut release Journey Into The Deep EP which included remixes from Kim Ann Foxman and Stereogamous. The label's output has received much critical acclaim and has been supported by DJ Mag, XLR8R, Mixmag, BBC Radio 1’s Heidi and Annie Mac, and a plethora of notable DJs.

Wright continues to collaborate with other sought after producers including Chrissy, Kiki, System Of Survival, Stereogamous, Bell Boys, Bobmo, and Nicholas Iammatteo, and has been released on labels including Freerange, BPitch Control, Honey Soundsystem & Cocktail D’Amore, Discovery, Marble, and 4Lux. Wright steadily exhilarates dance floors internationally as a DJ weaving live vocals throughout their sets in locations as far and varied as: Sydney, Berlin (Panorama Bar), London, Auckland, Stockholm, Barcelona, NYC, Los Angeles and his hometown of Chicago (Smart Bar).

Image via Resident Advisor / Sean J. Wright