In January of 2024, Rec, Center, Stage, convened a group of 20 members of the public who had responded to an open call issued by Dia Art Foundation and NYC Parks to devise a site-responsive performance at the Chelsea Recreation Center as part of Dia’s Activations series. Led by Salome Oggenfuss, the group was comprised of Chelsea locals and members of the recreation center who shared an interest in writing, performance and choreography.

As “Chryssa & New York” continues its U.S. tour, following its debut at Dia Chelsea, we are looking back on this important, long-overdue exhibition.

A meditation on architecture, sequence, and collage, artist Alan Martín Segal’s Activations program Eventually everything becomes a melody presents short films of the Chelsea Recreation Center created by its own members. The screening is the culmination of a collaborative process in which members captured footage of the center in response to creative prompts, then participated in an editing salon to transform the collective footage into kaleidoscopic video portraits.