Out-FRONT! Fest. 2026 Presenting: Ian Andrew Askew; Johnnie Cruise Mercer

Out-FRONT! Fest. A Festival curated by Pioneers Go East Collective and presented in partnership with Judson Memorial Church.

Out-FRONT! Fest is a new dance, performance art, and film festival championing the voices of LGBTQ and Feminist artists for a lively exchange of art and culture. The Out-FRONT! Festival 2025 is curated by Gian Marco Riccardo Lo Forte, Philip Treviño, and Daniel Diaz; producer Remi Harris, and cultural organizer Joyce Isabelle. The Festival features award-winning artists who enlighten, entertain and promote conversations around aesthetic diversity and personal journeys on the intersection of mutual ideas, cultures, and meanings.

This performance will take place at Judson Memorial Church. General Admission and Free tickets available. All are welcome!

Ian Andrew Askew presents:

SLAMDANCE punk lessons (World Premiere)

SLAMDANCE punk lessons is the third iteration in the SLAMDANCE series, an ongoing project on punk and blackness. With punk lessons, Askew continues their research on moshing as a site of simulated violence and as a social dance which emerges, in part, from African diasporic traditions. Borrowing from instructional dance videos, boxing rulebooks, and international humanitarian law, Askew invites the audience to consider who is protected by the rules created to control violence and curtail its impact.

Direction: Ian Andrew Askew

Created and performed by: Ian Andrew Askew in collaboration with Cheyanne Williams, Anthony Sertel Dean, Itohan Edoloyi, and Justin Allen

Johnnie Cruise Mercer presents:

Mercies of a Butterfly (World Premiere)

"Mercies of a Butterfly" is a one act dance theater work, performed and created by Johnnie Cruise Mercer. A movement allegory about resilience, the work follows a recently born spirit as it contends with the weight of changing. With Mercer’s meta-physical history at its root, the work spills out as a testimony on both flying through and weathering the storm!

Choreography, Direction, Performance: Johnnie Cruise Mercer

Music: Young Denzel (Music Producer), Robert McSweeney (Horn Player), and Jean Chalot (Drummer & Percussionist)

Design: Torian Ugworji (Visual Design & Creative Direction), Pierre Rashad (Wardrobe Design)

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to Pioneers Go East Collective, which directly supports artists and programs like this one!

DIRECTIONS:

Judson Memorial Church

243 Thompson Street

New York, NY 10012

Subway:

A, C, E, B, D, F, M to West 4th Street

R to NYU 8th Street

Accessibility:

Our accessible entrance is by way of 243 Thompson St. Use the lift to get to the Meeting Room on Level 3 or our accessible bathrooms on Level B (basement). Return to Level 1 for street access back to the corner of West 4th & Thompson St.

Photo Credit: TBD