The Barnes Foundation is pleased to present Room 21, a new musical performance piece by composer Jace Clayton, also known as DJ /rupture, on the Opening Night of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. The project is curated by Lee Tusman, in association with Ars Nova Workshop. The site-specific hour-long composition is written and choreographed by Clayton in response to the art and objects included in the Barnes collection as well as Dr. Albert C. Barnes’s own vinyl record collection. Clayton was drawn in particular to room 21 of the Barnes collection, which contains an eclectic mix of works including Pennsylvania German furniture, Amedeo Modigliani’s painting Reclining Nude from the Back, African masks, religious works, and paintings by Barnes students. The composition includes select melodies and themes from Barnes’s extensive vinyl record collection, which features a variety of spirituals and classical music. Room 21 will be performed in the Barnes Foundation’s Annenberg Court by an ensemble consisting of more than a dozen musicians, including the Prometheus Chamber Orchestra, banjoist Ben Lee, Ethiopian Musician Gezachew Habtemariam and Pianist Emily Manzo, all wearing custom costumes handcrafted by fashion designer Rocio Salceda of Prellezo. Based in New York City, Jace Clayton uses an interdisciplinary approach to focus on how sound, memory, and public space interact, with an emphasis on low-income communities and the global South. Bob Hammond of New York Magazine called him “a one-man musical Venn diagram, linking up genres, people, styles, and beats.”

Room 21 has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.