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Art As Ritual Conference: Monday, Sept. 12

Artasritual
Local dancers don Nick Cave Soundsuits to perform in the Dequindre Cut as part of Cave’s Here Hear” dance lab series that took place last year. Courtesy Detroit Institute of Arts. 

The Detroit Institute of Arts will host Art As Ritual: A Conference on Lamentation in Contemporary Performance and Practice,” on Monday, Sept. 12 from 8:30 am to 6:30 pm in partnership with Christ Church Cranbrook and the University of Michigan’s Penny W. Stamps School of Art and Design.

Stamps professors Holly Hughes and Marinetta Porter will moderate discussions at the conference, which will include 14 sessions with artists, activists, academics and people of faith to discuss ways that artists use ritual in performance and social practice. Artist Nick Cave, known for his dance and costume-oriented Soundsuits,” will deliver the keynote address and the conference will end with remarks by Israeli artist Yael Bartana. 

Rituals provide us with ways to build bridges and close the social distance between the different communities living in the greater Detroit area,” the Rev. Dr. William Danaher said in a media release. Danaher is rector of Christ Church Cranbrook and canon for interfaith and ecumenical relations for the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan.

It is our belief that ritual lies at the heart of what defines Detroiters’ art as uniquely Detroit,” said Detroit-based artist Oren Goldenberg, who conceived of the event with Danaher.

Tickets are $5, including lunch and a light reception. The conference is sponsored by the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation. For a schedule or to purchase tickets, visit: bit​.ly/​a​r​t​a​s​r​itual

Art As Ritual: A Conference on Lamentation in Contemporary Performance and Practice
Monday, September 12, 2016 from 8:30 AM — 6:30 PM
Detroit Institute of Arts
5200 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48202