Agora Time Capsule

A note from Sasha Okshteyn, Guest Curator:

Growing up in Williamsburg, my early experience of cultural happenings in the area weren’t just formative – they were foundational and informed my curatorial practice. My work seeks to honor that spirit — one that is deeply communal, dynamic, and driven by the pulse of the people. To now be a part of the history of the neighborhood and contribute a public program with Sugar, Sugar! is both a privilege and full-circle moment. I’m excited to contribute to the same cultural fabric that raised me.

Agora (Video Documentation)

Conceived by site-specific choreographer Noémie Lafrance, Agora (2005) was staged in the then abandoned McCarren Park Pool. Audience sat around the empty, graffiti covered edges of the 50,000-square-foot space to experience a 360-degree immersive dance performance. Dancers moved both nearby and far across the vast site, producing the illusion of travel through the different layers of visceral urban experiences.

Staged for four consecutive weeks in the fall of 2005 and again in 2006 (Agora II), the performances drew nightly audiences of over 2,000. It was a galvanizing cultural moment for the neighborhood that catalyzed the restoration of the pool and its interim transformation into a concert venue. At a time when Williamsburg was on the cusp of rapid gentrification, Agora highlighted the powerful role artist-driven initiatives can play in shaping urban identity and public space.

Artist Statement:

The majestic McCarren Park Pool was built in 1936, a Robert Moses WPA project, and it layed abandoned and in disrepair from 1984 to 2004.

“As a long-time Williamsburg resident, I had my eyes on the pool for over a decade. Like many other locals, I had ventured into the derelict space often and wondered what was and what could be of this spectacular space.

In a city where real estate is so valuable, I wondered how can such a vast expanse of space be left so unwanted. As I came to understand it later, once I embarked on the mission-impossible task of making a work for this monumental site, there would lie the complexity of what makes a neighborhood.

More than choreography, Agora was a public work. Much more went into the site’s implications on all levels than the craft of dance. Entering the rabbit hole through the door of the Parks Department - to obtain permission - it soon became evident to me that even though seemingly dormant, everyone had an opinion and a dream about the pool's past and future; community boards, local associations, some dedicated solely to the pool's future, residents, neighbors. But no one could agree, and fewer found the money.

Sometimes the power of imagination, seeing the beauty that's before us and allowing others to see it too is all it takes. As simple as this sounds, graffiti and decay is not considered a sign of beauty by everyone, nor is historic architecture necessarily, some prefer things new and shiny. Nevertheless, it took moving mountains, standing on one's head, hammering on the heads, especially city official's heads, and a dose of perseverance I didn’t know I had in me, to gather the trust and willingness to let art do its work. Art is one of those things that does invisible work for all to see, which makes it all the more difficult to see.

We now have a working pool, even restored in integrity with its original landmarked design. But at the time, more than going to see a dance performance, we all just wanted to be there, and experience the pool inhabited, reimagined, and celebrated. We shared a desire to be together in that monumental space in an eventful moment.

So, in the end everybody came to the show, because the show must go on! The whole neighborhood was there. Thousands of people sat around the ledge of the pool each night dangling their feet in imaginary water. And we all got our feet wet.”

-Noemie Lafrance