Robert Rauschenberg’s Collaborations with Trisha Brown & Merce Cunningham

As part of Robert Rauschenberg's centennial celebrations, join us for a conversation exploring the artist’s creative relationships with Trisha Brown and Merce Cunningham and the lasting impact of their collaborations on both dance and visual art. Presented just ahead of Trisha Brown Dance Company’s performances at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, this event also marks the upcoming public opening of the Trisha Brown Dance Company archive at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. 

Rauschenberg’s visionary stage and costume designs played a pivotal role in shaping postmodern performance. His collaborations with both Cunningham and Brown helped dissolve boundaries between disciplines, creating some of the most iconic moments in 20th-century dance. 

This conversation moderated by Merce Cunningham Trust Scholar-in-Residence Nancy Dalva, brings together leaders who now steward and shape those legacies: 

Carolyn Lucas, Associate Artistic Director, Trisha Brown Dance Company 

Andrea Weber, Director of Licensing and Operations Manager, Merce Cunningham Trust 

Francine Snyder, Director of Archives, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation

Together, they will reflect on the artists’ creative intersections, Rauschenberg’s impact on the stage, and the vital role of archives in preserving and reimagining dance history.

Photo Credit: Set and Reset. Photos©Beatriz Schiller. Jerome Robbins Dance Division.

SEATING POLICY | Programs are free and open to all, but registration is requested. Check-in line forms 45 minutes before the advertised start time. Registered guests are given priority check-in 15 to 30 minutes before start time. Five minutes before the advertised start time, all seats are released, regardless of registration, to our patrons in the stand-by line. If you arrive after the program starts, you will be seated at the discretion of our front-of-house staff.

STANDBY LINE | If registration is sold out or has ended, do not fret! We welcome you to come to the Library regardless of registration status and wait in our standby line, which forms 45 minutes before the advertised start time. Five minutes before the program starts, all remaining seats are released. While this is not guaranteed, we will do our best to get you into any of our programs.

ASSISTIVE LISTENING AND ASL | ASL interpretation and real-time (CART) captioning available upon request. Please submit your request at least two weeks in advance by emailing accessibility@nypl.org.

BRUNO WALTER POLICY | Please note that any unoccupied seat will be released five minutes before the show begins and holding seats for anyone beyond that is prohibited. There is no food or drink allowed inside the venue.

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PRESS | Please send all press inquiries to Alex Teplitzky at alexteplitzky@nypl.org. Please note that all recording, including professional video recordings, are prohibited without expressed consent from the Library.