I started the MOMENT NYC project as a way of supporting and giving back to the community of independent musicians in New York City – the community I consider my own. The city is well known for, and full of, national touring artists, who are just passing through. It’s also full of many musicians coming here to make a name for themselves, great sideplayers you’ve never heard of, retired masters, student and amateur musicians.
Many of these people are not institutionally supported or main stream. They make up the same demographic that has been at the center of New York City’s greatest music – that is, people making what is considered outsider, dangerous or just ignorant art. Everyone deserves the chance to express themselves through music, and every so often it takes these types of people to create incredible new things that change society.
MOMENT collaborates with other artist-led organizations, community spaces, venues, local culture holders, and of course, musicians, as well as artists from other disciplines. A large part of MOMENT for me personally, is that it creates amazing opportunities to meet, collaborate, and perform with the many fantastic artists in our city.
For some, it might be hard to think of New York City as having a folklore culture, but to me, it’s hip hop, the multiple strains of jazz (stride, swing, be bop, free/loft, fusion), do wop, glam/punk/new wave/no wave, disco, American folk, salsa…and the many foreign cultural heritages that have wormed their way into our collective consciousness. As a native, when I have to consider what my culture is, that’s really it, more than any one thing. Our folklore is independent underground, outsider art that breaks rules and that bends boundaries, without being afraid to mix and match with all the amazing sights and sounds around us every day.
MOMENT NYC’s mission is to interpret, support, and celebrate the role of independent music in NYC and beyond, through performance, exhibition, and education. Our programs support independent artist communities and individual artistic vision with work opportunities that promote diverse musical connections, and cross-generational dialog drawn from local music history.
Genji Siraisi 