Walking by the historic Grand Theater on Mission Street between 22nd and 23rd in recent weeks you may have been overcome with curiosity at the sight of the long-shuttered shutters open and furniture set up in its lobby. What’s going on in there and when will it open?
The answers: Gray Area Foundation for the Arts, and tonight, sort of.
Since Gray Area announced it would be coming to the Mission last month, the arts organization has been busy renovating the old theater to be an event space and arts incubator. During the renovations, it’s been partially open, holding classes and offering office space to some of its partner organization. Tonight, Gray Area hosts its first public event.
Montreal-based sound artist Tim Hecker will fill the auditorium of the yet-to-be-fully-renovated Grand Theater with all sorts of ethereal, eerie sounds. Heckler, who has seven solo albums, is known for making abstract music with a haunting, emotional feeling. In recent years, his music has focused on creating sound that’s defined by the specific acoustics of a room. Given that there’s not a ton of furniture to soak up sound in the Grand’s auditorium, which once held 876 seats, the acoustics of this particular evening should be quite something.
Hecker is also joined by musicians Jim Haynes, Matt Ganucheau and the French graphics artist desaxismundi.
The show starts at 8pm tonight at the Grand Theater (2665 Mission Street), ticket are $30-$40. More details and tickets here. For a taste of Hecker’s other-wordly work, check out this Youtube clip:
