Winter, 2009

Dear Friends:

I am happy to report that in spite of the economy, this has been an exciting year for Mobius – thanks in no small part to the support of our friends, foundations, and local businesses.

After leaving our space in Fort Point, Mobius renewed its commitment to Boston’s alternative arts when we began leasing a gallery in the South End in 2007. This year we began negotiations to purchase our gallery in the ArtBlock development of SOWA, thereby creating a permanent home for Mobius.

We are committed to securing the future of experimental arts in Boston, providing a venue for artists to perform, and engaging the community in this vibrant arts scene. Please find Mobius highlights of the past year below. We are now negotiating with Simmons College and Tufts University to digitally format and house Mobius’ archive of tens of thousands of 35 mm slides, digital images, and audio/video recordings – one of the most extensive archives of performance art, spanning the past 32 years. Making this archive available to the public will contribute to the richness of contemporary art historical research and will preserve Mobius’ legacy. We are also in the process of expanding our Artists Group members to increase the volume and diversity of our programming. Towards this end, we have recently soft-launched this new website which will, among other things, give our artists and guests a forum to discuss contemporary arts and highlight their work as well as feature parts of our archive.

On the administrative side, after serving as Co-Director and Director from 1996 to 2004, this past spring Mobius Artists Group member Jed Speare stepped up once again to serve as Director. Additionally, I am personally honored to have begun serving as President of the Board in September 2008, and am grateful for the opportunity to work with such talented artists of international acclaim.

With the closing and displacement of so many local alternative arts organizations due to development and the financial downturn, Mobius has taken a forward attitude by maintaining our commitment to providing a space for experimental art in Boston. That is how Mobius began in 1977: out of necessity, yet with the simple notion of “sharing the space” with like-minded alternative and experimental artists who had no other venue or forum for their work.

We are only able to do this through the generosity of individuals, and we hope that you will share the opportunity of securing the future of Mobius through your generous contribution. For seventy-five dollars, please consider becoming a Friend of Mobius* for reduced admission to all events. You can make a donation by clicking the Paypal button on this page. Thank you very much for your support, and we look forward to seeing you at Mobius!

Sincerely,

Laren Friedman,

President of the Board

* Friends of Mobius will receive a special FOM identification card and pay only the student and senior rate of admission to all of our events !

2009 Highlights from the Mobius Artists Group

• Marilyn Arsem participated in “If to Drift,” a performance-research collaborative project in Maine and Boston this past summer. She is currently in Taiwan to perform in On the Way: 2009 ArTrend International Performance Art Meeting, and will present performances of “Writing Ada” in 2010.

• Margaret Bellafiore mounted an installation at New England School of Art and Design in September and has hosted three Drawing Marathons at Mobius this season.

• Jeff Huckleberry performed in the Open Art Festival of Performance in Beijing this past September, and has a solo exhibition at Meme Space in Cambridge in November.

• Sandy Huckleberry performed in the Open Art Performance Art Festival in Beijing this past September.

• This past May, Milan Kohout had a retrospective exhibition in Prague. In August, he served as a curator and performer in the Open Art Festival of Performance in Beijing.

• In partnership with Urbana, Mari Novotny-Jones taught a summer teen art program at Mobius. She also curated and performed in Open Art Festival of Performance in Beijing; recently performed in the Infraction Festival in France, and concluded a residency with a lecture and performance at University of Northern Iowa.

• Tom Plsek performed at the International Trombone Festival in Aarhus, Denmark this past June, and in September began the Musical Mondays series at Mobius with Jane Wang.

• Bob Raymond had an exhibition of his photographs from the Mobius archive at Studio Soto this past July, and also participated in “If to Drift, “ a performance-research collaborative project in Maine and Boston in August.

• Awards and recognition followed the conclusion of Joanne Rice’s two-year performance “The Human Cost of War” in October.

• Jed Speare performed at Frantasia Festival of Out Music and the Arts in Maine this past August, and saw the publication of an essay on performers Rob List and Julie Andrée T in Architecture and Art and Vision magazines in China recently.

• Cathy Nolan Vincevic rejoined the Mobius Artists Group after a leave-of-absence and celebrated the publication of her book, The Tiki Room recently at Mobius.

• Alisia L. L. Waller presented work at The Dance Complex earlier this year and performed in the Open Art Festival of Performance in Beijing this past August. She will participate in the dance/music collaboration Juddertone, and will present a choreography concert of her work at Mobius the first weekend of December.

• Jane Wang recently performed in “My Life in a Nutshell” at HERE in NY; curated “The Politics of Shoes.” at Mobius and co-produced the first Juddertone Composers/Choreographers Concert.

• As we continue to grow and expand, we have recently welcomed several new artists to the Mobius Artists Group, including: J. Ellis Coleman, James Coleman, Ellen Godena, Jennifer Hicks, Derek Hoffend, Max Lord, Burns Maxey, Cathy McLaurin, El Putnam, Liz Roncka, Grant Smith, and Anna Wexler. We’re looking forward to their work, and you will too.