For Norte Maar, year 2012 will forever be connected with John Cage, and the 100th anniversary of his birth. A year ago, Bushwick’s premier non-profit for arts joined the world movement to celebrate the life and work of one of the greatest composers and artists of the 20th century. Monthly events dedicated to John Cage speaking a number of artistic languages has been titled Cage Transmitted: 12 evenings of performance. In creating the series, Norte Maar collaborated with Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.), namely with its leading figure, legendary Julie Martin.

Lectures, poetry, ballet, electronic and classical music, Norte Maar has not only ventured across the boarders of the artistic disciplines but also far beyond the boarders of Bushwick. They have introduced a night of Cage at Dumbo Arts Center; at Park Avenue Armory or at National Academy Museum.  Norte Maar has been consistently proving, and the Cage Transmitted series has only confirmed that they have branched out from Bushwick and became a strong voice on the New York art scene, and thus fulfilling the Bushwick ideal – developing a successful home base for arts on an alternative basis outside of the old structures; in a small scale reaching a large audience and importance in New York.

We took a moment to reflect on the Cage Transmitted series as it reaches its final installment this Thursday at English Kills with curator Jason Andrew and choreographer Julia Gleich from Norte Maar, as well as with Julie Martin from E.A.T.