Artist Tim Hinck is bringing his largest work to date to the Tennessee Valley, Cyclopædia.  It is a work which involves some 23 cast/crew members, 10 high school volunteers, and a diversity of artistic disciples that range from music performance, to visual art, to dance, and theater.  

Cyclopædia is a multimedia (intermedia) essay on the distortion and manipulation of information as it passes through the filters of human language, the media, internet, and other technology.  It is essentially a work of experimental theatre that combines sound composition, movement/choreography, and visual projections to discuss the topic of distorted communication. The project is impacting the cultural community of Chattanooga by bringing together over 35 individuals to directly work on the project and delivering the performances to hundreds of audience members. 

This multimedia performance will be delivered to the public in a five-night run at the Chattanooga High School's Center for Creative Arts auditorium. The audience will be seated in the center section of the hall, allowing for a constant variety of visual and sonic elements to take place all around the audience. Following the performance, all audience members are invited to stay for a Talk Back with the cast/crew and Mr. Hinck. 

Fresh off being awarded a 2012 Make Work grant, Mr. Hinck began a conversation with the Arts faculty of CCA which resulted in a partnership between the project and beloved area school. Not only does this collaboration provide a performance venue for the project, but it has also generated an opportunity for the students of CCA. Don Andrews, a longtime artist, arts administrator, and current chairman of CCA’s fine arts department, speaks to the collaboration. "This project complements the regular activities at CCA by offering a multi-media, improvisatory experience that crosses over traditional art disciplines. CCA students working with Tim Hinck and his team come from acting, dance, technical theatre, instrumental music, and visual arts backgrounds," he said.

"Cyclopædia is a dream come true for me; a bizarre, frenetic, surreal dream in which I get to play out all of my ideas on a large stage in front of an audience," said Mr. Hinck.  "The opportunity to be able to do a large-scale performative work is an enormous gift, and I am grateful to MakeWork for their generous support, as well as the tenacious dedication of my cast and crew."

Mr. Hinck is the founder and director of the New Dischord Ensemble and the New Dischord Festival and teaches at UTC. He has created and performed a full portfolio of music and mixed-media compositions. Such projects include Rebecca Furiosa, a stage performance for dancers, classical and commercial instrumentalists, and visual artists, Blue Monsters, a musical composition for brass quintet, vocalists, and mixed-media, and Kalosis, a creation which featured musicians performing both their instruments and a variety of visual equipment. In 2012 Mr. Hinck was a presenting artist for Soundcrawl, a mixed-media and sound art festival in Nashville. Along with Soundcrawl, Mr. Hinck has performed his works across the United States and Europe.

Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for children and students (with valid ID) and $25 for a VIP ticket.  Performances are Feb. 21-25 at 7:30 p.m.