No Longer Empty, a nonprofit artist collective that temporarily takes over abandoned NYC buildings, is founded on the concept of art in strange places. But when you show up at its current exhibition tonight (51 Bergen St between Court and Smith Sts, Brooklyn; nolongerempty.com), don’t be surprised if there’s more action going on in the elevator than in the rest of the building. Starting at around 3pm, Giuseppe Stampone, who has scribbled verses from Dante’s Divine Comedy over the elevator shaft walls, will film an hour-long video of Julia Kent playing her cello while in the elevator. Though audience members cannot cram inside during filming (for obvious reasons), Kent will give a more traditional performance at 7pm on the main floor.
After that, from 8pm to 8:30pm, visitors are invited to take a ride in the elevator, which has been reimagined by Stampone as the boat used to carry souls across the River Styx. Inside “Charon’s Bark,” visitors will be able to listen to recordings of Kent’s music and read the Dante excerpts on the shaft walls as they rise “from Hell, through Purgatory, to Heaven.” Naomi Hersson-Ringskog, director of development, explains, “The windows at the top, where Heaven is, have been improved and reinstalled. So especially during the day, you can really sense the escalation into Heaven.” If you happen to miss tonight’s piece (though we can’t think of anything more alluring than an elevator ride to heaven on a Saturday night), you can visit “Charon’s Bark” Thursday to Sunday, from noon to 8pm. How long does it take to get to Heaven? You’ll just have to find out for yourselves.









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