Suzanne Fiol

Suzanne Fiol, photographed by Joe Holmes

Suzanne Fiol (United States, May 9, 1960 – October 5, 2009), "an impresario of avant-garde culture in New York",[1] founded the performance space ISSUE Project Room in 2003 and oversaw its growth from the fringes of the New York new music scene into what The Village Voice,[2] The Brooklyn Borough President,[3] and Fiol herself[1] predicted would become the "Carnegie Hall for the avant-garde" when it opened its Downtown Brooklyn location in 2011. Fiol's goal in life "was to create a dynamic environment for music, performance, readings, and the development of new work, and she succeeded; the organization has become a reference for experimental art in New York City….(S)he devoted her life to the promotion of experimental culture."[4]

A fixture of the downtown experimental performing art scene for twenty years, she was an early supporter of composer Rhys Chatham,[5] experimental musicians like Alan Licht and Tony Conrad,[6] Sonic Youth, the reclusive Texas musician Jandek,[6] drummer Ikue Mori,[5] and "new-music regulars like Marc Ribot, Anthony Coleman and Elliott Sharp",[1] [7] numbers of teenage and obscure bands, (for instance "Nautical Almanac, the hyper-obscure Baltimore noise duo "[2] as well as established groups like Moby, which provided a fundraiser appearance for ISSUE Project Room. In addition to her leadership role in the performing arts, Fiol was a respected photographer whose work was exhibited nationally and internationally and appears in the permanent collections at The Art Institute of Chicago, The Brooklyn Museum, The Queens Museum, and the Milwaukee Art Museum.[4] Fiol died of lung and brain cancer in October, 2009.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d Sisario, Ben (2009-10-08). "Suzanne Fiol, Avant-Garde Impresario, Dies at 49". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  2. ^ a b Baron, Zach. R.I.P. Suzanne Fiol, Founder and Director of Issue Project Room. The Village Voice: Oct. 6 2009 "R.I.P. Suzanne Fiol, Founder and Director of Issue Project Room - New York Music - Sound of the City". Archived from the original on 2009-12-10. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
  3. ^ Kuntzman, Gersh and Yakowicz, Will. Issue Project Room's Suzanne Fiol is dead at 49. The Brooklyn Paper http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/32/40/32_40_gk_suzanne_fiol_is_dead.html
  4. ^ a b WomenArts, WomenArts Mourns Passing of Suzanne Fiol, October 9, 2009 "WomenArts: WomenArts Mourns the Passing of Suzanne Fiol, Photographer, Curator, and Founder of New York City's ISSUE Project Room". Archived from the original on 2010-08-20. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
  5. ^ a b Fischer, Annie. Issue Project Room Moves Again, A nomadic experimental-music spot gets a lovely (and hopefully permanent) new home. "The Village Voice" May 06, 2008 http://www.villagevoice.com/2008-05-06/music/the-latest-issue/
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Sis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Murrin, Tom. Backstage with Issue Project's Suzanne Fiol. "Paper Magazine" http://www.papermag.com/?section=article&parid=2916