Jonah Bokaer & Tom Lee

2008 Young Leaders Jonah Bokaer and Tom Lee joined the French-American Foundation to talk about an upcoming collaboration. Bokaer will three new works with visual artist Daniel Arsham October 23-26, inaugurating the arts programming at Lightbox, an experience space founded by Lee in New York.

Biographies

Jonah Bokaer

Born to Tunisian and American parents in Ithaca, NY, Jonah Bokaer is an international choreographer, media artist, and art space developer. His work, which integrates choreography with digital media, is often the result of his cross-disciplinary collaborations with artists and architects.

Creating choreography for museum spaces since 2002, Bokaer has performed at The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, P.S.1 MoMA, The New Museum, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City, as well as in The Asia Society | Texas, Le Carré d’Art à Nîmes, IVAM Valencia, Kunsthalle St. Gallen, and MUDAM Luxembourg, among others.

The creator of 33 dances, ten videos, three motion capture works, three interactive installations, two mobile applications, and one film, Bokaer’s work has been produced throughout theaters in Belgium, Canada, Cuba, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, India, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Recent performances include two seasons at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival (2011-2012), the 2012 Festival d’Avignon in France, Théâtre de la Cité Internationale in Paris, and the BAM Next Wave Festival 2012, for which he was commissioned for the inauguration of BAM Fisher, with artist Anthony McCall.

In 2008-2009 Bokaer became the first dance artist to be appointed a Young Leader of the French American Foundation, in acknowledgment of his efforts to develop Chez Bushwick, and CPR – Center for Performance Research, two independent arts centers which nurture young artists in New York City and internationally. Bokaer has collaborated with artists including Daniel Arsham (2007-present), Anne Carson, Merce Cunningham, Robert Gober, Anthony McCall, Tino Sehgal, and Robert Wilson (2007-present). As choreographer for Robert Wilson, he has completed many operas including “Faust” (Polish National Opera), “Aïda” (Teatro dell’Opera di Roma), “KOOL” (Japan/USA Guggenheim Works & Process), “Fronteras” (IVAM Valenica), and “On The Beach” (Baryshnikov Arts Center).

Bokaer was recently named one of ten American artists to receive a Doris Duke Charitable Foundation grant award for the development of his third mobile application, in partnership with Georgia Tech.

Learn more at jonahbokaer.net.

Tom Lee

Tom Lee is the chief executive and visionary behind One Medical Group – a rapidly growing model of primary care that integrates innovative design with leading technology to deliver higher quality care and service, while also lowering the total cost of health care.

In addition, he is the founder and President of lightbox – an interactive digital arts and event space dedicated to pioneering performing artists and innovation sustainably within urban environments.

Prior to One Medical, Tom served as Chief Medical Officer, Editor-in-Chief, and lead designer of mobile applications for Epocrates — currently in use by millions of health care professionals worldwide to reduce medication errors.

Tom is a board-certified internist who completed training at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He received his BS from Yale University, MD from the University of Washington School of Medicine, and MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.

Interview

Let’s start with the basics. Who are you, where did the two of you meet, and how did this collaborative effort come about?

Tom, your career has transitioned from physician to entrepreneur, founding One Medical, to Lightbox, this new endeavor, a new event space that uses interactive technology to create a multi-dimensional experience. What do you have envisioned for this space and what are your hopes as you introduce arts programming, such as Jonah’s inaugural performance, into the fold?

Jonah, why don’t you tell us a little bit about Chez Bushwick and your past work developing space for the arts and how this came from your own work as a dancer and choreographer?

How did this collaboration come about and what are your hopes for arts programming in the future?