Performance Exhibition

Premiere of Brendan Fernandes: Score for the Murphy Auditorium

Friday, April 10, 2026

In this newly commissioned durational work choreographed by Brendan Fernandes, the first artist-in-residence to activate the Driehaus Museum’s 1926 Murphy Auditorium, an ensemble of performers from across Chicago’s vibrant independent dance community gather to create a dynamic site for sculptural installation, movement, and sound. Inspired by the pioneering spirit of New York City’s Judson Dance Theater, this core performance work will recur across five activation weeks throughout the episodic exhibition Brendan Fernandes: In the Round. Improvisational in nature, with no prescribed beginning or end, each performance features a rotating cast of dancers that interact with minimalist site-specific installations designed by AIM Architecture (Antwerp, Shanghai, Chicago) alongside textiles developed in collaboration with The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, and a sound installation by Chicago-based experimental musician Alex Inglizian.

In the Round features immersive performances that invite audience members to share the auditorium space with the performers. Guests are welcome to move through the space, observe quietly, or remain seated for the full performance. Limited seating will be available throughout, and audience members may enter or exit the space as needed. If you require accessibility accommodations, please reach out to programs@driehausmuseum.org.

Presented in partnership with EXPO ART WEEK’s Art After Hours.

This event is free and open to the public, with donations gratefully accepted in support of continued cultural programming.

Lead support for Brendan Fernandes: In the Round is provided by Cari and Michael J. Sacks.

Major support is provided by the Driehaus Trust Company, LLC, Anne L. Kaplan, and Gary Metzner and Scott Johnson.

Generous support is provided by Elizabeth Liebman.

Additional support is provided by Friends of Brendan Fernandes.

About the Artist: Brendan Fernandes is an internationally recognized Canadian artist based in Chicago whose work merges dance and visual art to explore race, queer culture, migration, and collective movement. Blending ballet, queer dance, and protest, his collaborative projects create spaces of agency and solidarity. A graduate of the Whitney Independent Study Program, he has received major honors including the Platform Award (2024) and Creative Voice Award from Arts Alliance Illinois. His work has been shown at leading institutions including the Whitney Museum of American Art, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Museum of Modern Art, J. Paul Getty Museum, National Gallery of Canada, and Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal. Fernandes is Associate Professor of Art, Theory, and Practice at Northwestern University and is represented by Monique Meloche Gallery and Susan Inglett Gallery.