Billed as a "young wave festival," the third annual CultureMart arrives Jan. 2 at NYC's HERE theatre. Curator Kristin Marting says the fest "provides audiences with easy access to challenging work."

This year, such works include Mercuria, a performance piece by Lynn Book & Theo Bleckmann; Khupe, a poetry and klezmer music work; and Jabbering Head, a dance work by Nora Laudini, directed by Paul Bargetto.

Other alternative pieces include Freshman Year Sucks, a solo by Rob Nash, who plays 26 characters at a religious prep school (Gregory Gunter directs). Annie-B Parson and Big Dance Theatre offer Hula Girl, while Molly Hickok performs her own Massa's In The Cold, Cold Ground, directed by Paul Lazer. There'll even be an installation, The Portrait Project, directed by Ruth Margraff.

Weirder still is Titanium Sutrarama #2: I Was A Record Player, in which a tourist takes an accidental journey into the millennium. This "macro/media theatre piece was created by the Dean Street Field Of Operation troupe.

All these shows and more play in rep from Jan. 2-24, with most tickets priced at $12. As can be seen from the above descriptions, the idea between CultureMart shows is to cross two artistic disciplines, be it theatre with dance, music with poetry, or visual installation with spoken word. For information on the third annual CultureMart festival call HERE, 145 6th Ave., at (212) 647-0202.

-- By David Lefkowitz