04/14/2026
Saturday April 18th, 5-6 PM at 37 E. Pennington
Created and Performed by: Julie Becton Gillum
Title: DUSK, the Darkening World (2023)
Music: Sabine Sangitar
The wall featured in "DUSK..." symbolizes resistance, overcoming obstacles, and breakthroughs. Walls provide safety and authority, defend borders, and offer stability for communities. They can deter smuggling and human trafficking. However, walls can also divide communities and isolate individuals, impeding the movement of refugees and contributing to humanitarian crises. Additionally, they may harm ecosystems by disrupting wildlife migration, altering water flow, and leading to significant climate and temperature changes.
DUSK originated from an improvisation involving a wall. Imagery evolved as the dance continued. The Western Wall in Jerusalem represents the founding of three major religious groups that have been in conflict for thousands of years. The controversial border wall between the US and Mexico remains a contentious issue. The wall dividing Berlin was finally taken down in 1989. The Great Wall of China and Hadrian’s Wall were both built to keep out raiders and invaders.
Consider the numerous human hands that have come into contact with these walls - those that constructed it, meticulously selecting and placing each stone. Ancient walls, deemed sacred, have been touched with reverence throughout countless centuries. Prayers, spanning over immeasurable time, have been softly whispered and imprinted into the wall's crevices. Over time, their very essence seeps out, bursting forth like projectiles - whether in the form of arrows, stones, or bullets. The wall has become a canvas, bearing witness to the firing squad's executions, the warm blood and tissue splattered against its surface. The DNA absorbed into the wall has since become the very foundation of stories, myths, and legends.
Photo by Carlos Salazar
