Francesca Gabbiani:Gossip

Francesca Gabbiani: Gossip

A performance and fundraiser for LA fire relief efforts

Saturday, January 25

Doors at 6:30 pm

Performances at 7 & 8 pm

520 North Western Avenue

Free with Suggested Donation to Grief + Hope

L.A.-based artist Francesca Gabbiani will premiere Gossip, an ambitious, multi-media performance that investigates feminist symbology through dance, live percussion, electronic music, poetry, animation, and shadow puppetry. 

The performance will be an occasion for the community to gather after the worst of the ongoing emergency situation. We ask all who can to please donate to Grief + Hope: LA Art World Fire Relief, a fundraiser and mutual aid effort spearheaded by a group of LA-based artists and art workers to help those impacted by the Eaton, Palisades, Sunset, and other fires in L.A. County. 

Gabbiani has long created work about the interconnectedness of human lives and natural forces, often depicting the wildfires that are a regular occurrence in Southern California. In this work, symbols of fire, plant medicine, domesticity, reproduction, and the aging female body are explored through rich visual depictions and layered soundscapes. The score, composed and directed by Eddie Ruscha (assisted by Milo and Tristan Ruscha) incorporates live drumming, percussive sweeping, and whispered incantations. 

In the early Medieval era, the term gossip--derived from the Old English word godsib, denoting a godparent or dear friend--commonly referred to a group of female friends or a woman's special friendship; a woman’s gossip may have included midwives, female relatives, and close companions. By the 1500s, with the rise of the European witch hunts and the persecution of “rebellious” women, gossip became vilified as harmful, idle talk, a historically patriarchal view that persists today. Through her work, Gabbiani challenges this notion while recentering the creative and intellectual power of women gathering, exchanging knowledge, and sharing bonds.

What to Expect

Gossip will take place in the raw space immediately north of The Brick (520 N. Western). Public restrooms will be available at The Brick's site (518 N. Western). 

Doors open at 6:30pm and the first performance will begin promptly at 7pm, the second at 8pm. Due to the nature of the event, no late arrivals will be admitted. 

Each performance is 30 minutes long and is standing room only. Viewers are invited to come for one cycle or stay for both. The performance will take place in the round and viewers are invited to move freely throughout the duration.

There is metered parking along Western Ave. and free street parking in the surrounding neighborhood

Both The Brick and 520 N. Western are wheelchair accessible, from street level. Limited seating will be available for those who need it. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to be in touch. If you have any questions, please contact Hannah Burstein (hannah@the-brick.org)

This performance was made possible through the generous support of The Hillenburg Family Foundation. It was commissioned as part of the exhibition Life on Earth: Art & Ecofeminism. 

Lead support for Life on Earth: Art & Ecofeminism is provided by Getty and PST Art: Art & Science Collide, with additional generous support by The Margaret Morgan and Wesley Phoa Fund, The National Endowment for the Arts, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Knox Foundation, Teiger Foundation, and the Wilhelm Family Foundation.