The Momentary, a contemporary art space satellite to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, welcomes Argeo Ascani as programmer of music and festivals.

Ascani joined the Momentary team this August as programmer of music and festivals ahead of an exciting season of musical offerings at the contemporary art space, including the premiere of FreshGrass | Bentonville, held October 1-2, 2021.

In this role, Ascani will plan and execute concerts and multidisciplinary performances, festivals, residencies, commissions, sound installations, workshops, and more at the Momentary.

“We’re delighted to welcome Argeo to the team—I know they will bring new perspectives and energy to the Momentary as we continue to offer frequent and exciting opportunities for music and festivals,” said Rod Bigelow, Crystal Bridges executive director and chief diversity & inclusion officer. “The Momentary is a space for adventurous art discovery, and we know Argeo has the desire and experience to set the stage for new and deepened musical experiences for our visitors and community.”

Ascani is devoted to presenting musical performances as opportunities for individuals to encounter the unexpected and walk away with new perspectives and energy around the artists and experiences they find at the Momentary. They look forward to connecting (and reconnecting) audiences to live performances, a vital part of human culture, while amplifying the existing cultural offerings of Northwest Arkansas and uplifting less regionally common genres, cultures and perspectives.

Formerly, Ascani served as a curator at EMPAC – the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, where they worked with a range of artists including Pauline Oliveros, John Zorn, Tim Hecker, Oneohtrix Point Never, Anne Akiko Meyers, and Tyshawn Sorey. As an educator, Ascani has lectured in over a dozen countries, taught in the music history and contemporary performance practice departments at the Manhattan School of Music, and led workshops with professors from Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford. They have also supported and produced dozens of albums on labels including Warp, Cantaloupe, Hyperdub, New Amsterdam, Tzadik, New Focus Recordings, Kranky, Bedroom Community, and Wergo. Ascani holds a Masters in Music from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City.