Art Abu Dhabi doesn’t officially kick off until Thursday, but for VIPs, tomorrow night’s private opening brings with it a much-anticipated performance. Rock royalty Patti Smith is slated for an hour-long set, during which she will perform Killer Road, a conceptual piece in which she reads the final poems of Velvet Underground collaborator and Warhol superstar Nico. The National reports that for those not on the guest list, the performance will be filmed and screened three times during the fair. Smith performed the work in London’s Union Chapel recently, alongside the Soundwalk Collective.
If you can’t swing a last-minute trip to Abu Dhabi, never fear. Smith will take the stage alongside director Darren Aronofsky at New York’s Museum of the Moving Image on November 17, where she will perform a new song written specifically for Aronofsky’s forthcoming film Noah, which will also be screened that night. According to DNAinfo, the song is called “Mercy Is,” and she will be doing an a cappella version. The movie, which stars Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, and Emma Watson is an interpretation of the classic biblical story of Noah’s Ark.