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| Warm Up (MoMA PS1) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Warm Up |
| Venue | MoMA PS1 |
| Location | Long Island City, Queens, New York City |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Founders | MoMA PS1 |
| Typical genre | Electronic music, dance, experimental, disco, house, techno |
| Attendance | up to several thousand per event |
Warm Up (MoMA PS1) Warm Up is an annual summer music series produced by MoMA PS1 in Long Island City, Queens that combines live performances, DJ sets, art installations, and large-scale public gatherings. The series has featured internationally recognized artists and collectives from scenes associated with New York City, Berlin, London, Los Angeles, and Rio de Janeiro, situating contemporary music alongside visual arts programming at a contemporary art institution connected to the Museum of Modern Art.
Warm Up functions as a platform for electronic music, experimental performance, and dance culture, often staged in the outdoor courtyard of MoMA PS1 adjacent to the Gantry Plaza State Park vista of the East River and Manhattan skyline. The series showcases artists associated with labels such as Ninja Tune, Defected Records, Warp Records, and XL Recordings, and promoters including DFA Records and Red Bull Music Academy. Curatorial leadership has intersected with figures linked to institutions like the Whitney Museum of American Art, Tate Modern, and Institute of Contemporary Arts.
Warm Up began in the late 1990s as part of MoMA PS1's efforts to broaden engagement with contemporary audiences during summer months, aligning with institutional developments tied to Alanna Heiss's founding influence and later directors who connected programming to international biennials and festivals such as the Venice Biennale and the Sundance Film Festival. Over decades the series adapted to shifts in club culture influenced by scenes from Detroit techno, Chicago house, Caribbean sound system traditions, and European electronic movements centered in Berlin and London. Administrative and funding relationships have involved partnerships with organizations including the New York State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Ford Foundation, and private patrons connected to collections at the Museum of Modern Art.
Lineups have combined headline acts, emerging artists, and museum-affiliated DJs, featuring artists linked to a wide array of institutions and award systems such as the Mercury Prize, Grammy Awards, Turner Prize, and Pulitzer Prize-winning composers. Past participants have included artists associated with scenes represented by Aphex Twin, Arca, Björk, Nina Kraviz, Four Tet, Bicep, Skepta, Mitski, Madlib, Carl Craig, Laurie Anderson, Solange Knowles, Kendrick Lamar, FKA twigs, The Chemical Brothers, Goldie, Nicolas Jaar, Richie Hawtin, Sandy Rivera, Sister Nancy, Baaba Maal, Annie Mac, Ben UFO, DJ Harvey, Peggy Gou, Honey Dijon, Damon Albarn, Yoko Ono, Pharrell Williams, Questlove, Thom Yorke, Robert Smith, St. Vincent, Arto Lindsay, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Slam, Tiga, Jamie xx, Erykah Badu, Grace Jones, Laurent Garnier, Thelma Houston, Mark Leckey, Hannah Gadsby, Søren Kierkegaard —artists, curators, and performers drawn from global electronic, experimental, and pop spheres. The series often spotlights record labels such as Sub Pop, 4AD, Matador Records, Domino Recording Co., and Ghostly International.
Events are presented in the restored industrial courtyard of MoMA PS1, designed to host expansive sound systems, lighting rigs, and temporary architecture produced by firms and collectives affiliated with OMA, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Snøhetta, and independent scenographers who have worked for festivals like Coachella and Glastonbury. Production teams coordinate with city agencies including the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, New York City Police Department, and Metropolitan Transportation Authority to manage crowd logistics, safety, and transit access via Queensboro Plaza and Court Square–23rd Street station. Technical partnerships have included sound equipment suppliers used at venues like Berghain, Output (club), and Rex Club.
Critics from publications such as The New York Times, The Guardian, Pitchfork, Resident Advisor, The Village Voice, and Artforum have examined Warm Up as a site where museum programming intersects with nightlife economies shaped by entities like Vice Media, Conde Nast, and Time Out New York. The series has been discussed in scholarship published by universities such as Columbia University, New York University, Princeton University, and Yale University, and has been analyzed in conference contexts including panels at SXSW and ICTM gatherings. Warm Up has influenced urban cultural policy debates involving the Mayor of New York City's office and advocacy groups like Dance/NYC.
The series has hosted collaborations linking visual artists associated with Ai Weiwei, Marina Abramović, Kara Walker, Cindy Sherman, Jeff Koons, and Olafur Eliasson to musicians and producers from scenes tied to Dubstep, Drum and Bass, and Afrobeats; commissions have involved choreographers connected to Merce Cunningham's legacy, companies such as Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and fashion designers who have shown at New York Fashion Week including Virgil Abloh and Alexander Wang. Special projects have included curated nights by collectives like NTS Radio, Mixpak, Dekmantel, Hessle Audio, and artist-led takeovers featuring institutions like FACT Magazine and Red Bull Music Academy.
Educational programming around Warm Up has included panels, workshops, and youth outreach in partnership with institutions such as PS 1 Contemporary Art Center's community initiatives, Queens Museum, Museum of the Moving Image, MoMA, and local schools including PS 1Q and Queens College. Collaborations with nonprofit organizations like BRIC Arts Media and The New York Foundation for the Arts have supported internships, arts education, and career pathways for emerging DJs, sound engineers, and curators. Community health and safety partnerships have involved NYC Health + Hospitals and public programming tied to SummerStage and Make Music New York.
Category:Music festivals in New York City Category:MoMA PS1