Apr

Artist Abigail DeVille presents “Dark Matters” at the Hirshhorn

The site-specific performance will take place Saturday, April 29, at dusk.

Artist poses with her outdoor installation — Abigail DeVille with her Light of Freedom, 2020. Welded Steel, cabling, rusted metal ball, painted mannequin arms, painted metal scaffolding, wood. 156 x 96 x 96 inches. Collection the artist, courtesy the artist. ©2020 Abigail Deville. The exhibition was organized by Madison Park Conservancy, New York, and was on view from October 27, 2020 through January 31, 2021. Photograph by Tonje Thilesen.

How do we reconcile the grand architecture of the National Mall with the realities of its construction? How can we honor those whom history has obscured? What is the path forward? These are some of the questions artist Abigail DeVille will pose in her site-specific performance, “Dark Matters” on Saturday, April 29, 8-9 p.m. at the Hirshhorn Museum.

Gather with the artist and her collaborators, including the celebrated musician Meshell Ngedeocello and a high school marching band, for an hour-long participatory performance, rain or shine, at dusk.

Inspired in part by The Invisibles: The Untold Stories of African American Slaves in the White House by Jesse J. Holland which chronicles the enslaved African Americans whose contributions were central to the construction of recognizable landmarks to freedom and democracy such as the White House and U.S. Capitol, the performance will explore the tension between darkness and illumination.

“Dark Matters” will bookend DeVille’s 2021 performance “Wake Up! Liberation Call at Dawn” which activated the artist’s sculpture “Light of Freedom” (2020) in the Hirshhorn’s Sculpture Garden. We hope you’ll join us for this singular performance.

Smithsonian staff receive a 10% discount at Dolcezza at the Hirshhorn.

“Dark Matters” is presented in collaboration with the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Art in Embassies: Democracy Collection, celebrating 60 years of curating art in U.S. Embassies with art diplomacy for democracy.

For more information about this message, contact Kate Gibbs at (VoIP) 3-2825, (Non-VoIP) 202-633-2825 or GibbsK2@si.edu.