The performance series Ephemeropterae˜ explored the rich traditions and innovations in the arena of the spoken (and sung) word—storytelling, lyrics, poetry, and music—throughout the summer 2012, and turned the garden into a vibrant stage for art and hospitality, taking place at the Ephemeropterae˜ Pavilion designed by David Adjaye.

Ephemeropterae˜ – the term for insects that live only a day – oscillate between oral histories and storytelling, poetry and music, lecture, comment, rant, speech; from internal voice to transcription of messages of ghosts (from paranormal to normal) and non-verbal communication. By resisting definitions and directly addressing and engaging audiences, this series offers different approaches to the nature and the experience of an oral practice that is rooted in every culture and civilization.

Ephemeropterae˜ is a series of 16 performative events held in the park at twilight every Friday evening as an exploration of the abilities of the spoken word to express the ephemeral, the apparently insignificant, and the imperfect; to reveal secrets; and to use the cadence and prosody of the voice, with its distinct variations of tone, color, timing, and inflection. Ephemeropterae˜ oscillate between oral histories and storytelling, poetry and music (Sanskrit verses, Sufi poetry, shamanic litanies, troubadours and trobairitz, the Harlem and San Francisco Renaissances, Noigandres, Beatnicks, Last Poets and Language poets, and more), lectures, comment, rants, speech (from internal voices to messages from the beyond), and nonverbal communication.

By resisting definitions and directly addressing and engaging audiences, this series offers different approaches to the nature and experience of an oral practice that is not only rooted in every culture and civilization but is also reinvented for the 21st century, thereby revealing itself as one of the most consistent, potent, and thought-provoking sites in contemporary culture.

Curated by Daniela Zyman and Boris Ondreicka