Press release

Galerie Isabella Bortolozzi is pleased to present a staging of Anthem, a multi-channel sound installation and sculptural projection featuring the legendary singer, composer, and transgender activist Beverly-Glenn Copeland.

Originally commissioned for the Guggenheim’s Rotunda space, Anthem draws from lesser-known histories of the word, which are tied to practices of spiritual call-and-response. The film portrait of Glenn-Copeland becomes a polyphonic collaboration woven with contributions from his partner Elizabeth Glenn-Copeland, musician Kelsey Lu, composer Asma Maroof, and performer Tosh Basco.

Anthem highlights the central role that collaboration plays in Wu Tsang’s practice, exemplifying how she utilises it as an aesthetic strategy for undoing conventional narratives and modes of authorship. Tsang frequently works with a “roving band” of interdisciplinary artists called Moved by the Motion, cofounded in 2016 with Tosh Basco.

As an independent recording artist, Glenn-Copeland’s career spans over 50 years. He is most well known for his pioneering experimentations in electronic music, which were ‘rediscovered’ in 2015 with the cassette tape Keyboard Fantasies (1986), now a cult classic.

ANTHEM (2021)
A FILM BY WU TSANG
IN COLLABORATION WITH BEVERLY GLENN-COPELAND

Featuring Beverly Glenn-Copeland and Elizabeth Glenn-Copeland Musical Accompaniment by Kelsey Lu
Arranged by Asma Maroof and Daniel Pineda
Movement Direction by Tosh Basco

Directed by Wu Tsang
Produced by Tosh Basco
Produced by Jason Levangie and Mark Tetreault

Executive Producers: David Codikow and Nadja Rangel

Director of Photography: Paul McCurdy
1st Assistant Camera: Riley Turner
2nd Assistant Camera: Jacob MacDougall
B Camera Operator/DMT: Tim Mombourquette Gaffer: Mark Kenny

Grips/LX: Stuart Rankin and Dave Hutchins

Art Director: Michael Pierson
Costumes: Peter Do

Styling: Kyle Luu
Wardrobe Assistant: Sarah Haydon Roy

Makeup: Charlotte Gavaris

Hair: Mallory Glenn
Production Assistant: Pierre Hache
Driver: Izzy Muschol
Catering: Lisa Barry and Courtnay MacMullin

Sound Recordist: Francisco Lopes
Editor: Wu Tsang
Sound Mixer: John Herberman
Sound Design: Asma Maroof and Daniel Pineda Sound Spatialization: Cy X and Dave Rife Colorist: Randy Coonfield
Post Production: Blueline Finishing

X Zhu-Nowell, Liyu Yeo, Ellen Kirk, Nick O’Byrne, Lookout Kid Records, Third Side Publishing, Ship’s Company Theater, James Early, Posy Dixon, Lucie Rebeyrol, and Fred Moten