On Friday, November 30th at 7PM,The Rotunda Gallery, 33 Clinton Street, Brooklyn Heights, will present an evening of short performances featuring artists in ANIMAS! an exhibition exploring the spirit that animates objects. Admission is free. For reservations call 718-875-4047x11.

In the spirit of the exhibition, artists will bring life to their works on view. Participating artists will all perform simultaneously, allowing the audience to roam freely between each act. Artists include:

Matt Freedman will create drawings based on the tradition of vaudeville art "spirit" or "lightning" drawing. Freedman has been delighting audiences with his engaging blend of storytelling and spontaneous drawings at Rotunda openings and at PS 1 Museum.

Yoko Inoue whose sculpture Accumulation of Suppressed Emotion, consists of a multitude of small ceramic objects and fabric aprons is on view, has created a performance piece to engage audiences in dialogue as she unravels yarn from knitted sweaters and caps.

Hanne Tierney, an acclaimed practitioner of abstract theatre. Tierney has created an evocative installation made from suspended fabric. By manipulating her complex counterweight stringing system, she makes the forms move in haunting ways.

John Del Signore of the Mercury Men. This completely silver and completely still human mannequin confounded visitors at the recent Animas! opening event. First spotted in 1999, the Mercury Men have mesmerized huge crowds in Times Square, Battery Park and the South Street Seaport.

This performance evening is part of the Rotunda Gallery exhibition Animas! The tradition of performing objects has a long history stretching back to ancient performance practices, folk and popular theater, as well as religious ceremony. Taking object theater as its starting point, Animas! encompasses drawing, sculpture, masks, puppetry and storytelling, and explores the presence of life in objects for both the visual and performing arts. From delicate wire and found object sculptures to costumes and props for theater, the works presented in Animas! evoke a sense of magic and wonder. Many of these works (such as prototypes of props used in the Broadway production of The Producers) have a whimsical theatrical presence. In addition to contemporary artists who use masks and puppet sculpture, the exhibition includes artists whose work concerns the narrative force of anonymous objects. Animas! will remain on view through December 29. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday, Noon - 5 PM and Saturday, 11 AM - 4 PM. Admission is free. Information: 718-875-4047.