“The kind of fiercely independent artists the world needs more of.” – LiveEye TV
For well over a decade Thollem and ACVilla’s collaborations have resulted in many different projects, including multimedia experiences as well as documentaries of artists engaged in their communities. Organizations within which the duo have participated range from public and private schools to universities, from museums and film societies to DIY spaces and community centers throughout N. America and Europe.
ACVilla is a visual Chicana artist who focuses her camera on the subtleties of interpersonal dynamics and the power that context plays in constantly redefining what people believe they already know. ACVilla highlights those aspects of Life with an analog sensibility using digital equipment that fits into her nomadic lifestyle. She is known for contextualizations, her unique approach of projecting the outside world onto the interior of adobe and centuries-old homes, visually combining present-day shared realities into the intimate spaces of families past and present.
ACVilla has been commissioned by the cross-border group Estamos Ensemble, the Rova Saxophone Quartet, and the Thollem/Riley/Cline Trio, among others.
As a perpetually traveling pianist, keyboardist, composer, improviser, singer-songwriter, activist, author and teacher, Thollem‘s approach is founded on the two questions, What if? and Why not?. As a result, his projects are ever-changing, evolving and responding to the times and his experiences. He is known in concentric circles as an acoustic piano player in the free jazz and post-classical worlds, as the keyboardist and vocalist for several bands, and as an electronic musician. Both as a soloist and in collaboration with hundreds of artists across idioms and disciplines, his lifelong interest has been to work with people from all walks of life, bringing artists and communities together in ways that create experiences uniquely valuable to everyone involved.
