Performances – Hettie Barnhill, Duhirwe Rushemeza

  • Date: February 18, 2022
  • Time: 3:30 pm—5:00 pm
  • Location: SHINE Portrait Studio
  • Speakers
  • Moderator/s

Hettie Barnhill

A presentation on blackness as the message and using multiple vehicles of art to carry its meaning. Stemming from the question ‘Have you ever loved a black person? Director and Choreographer Hettie Barnhill, will speak about the process of creating multimedia art that stems from her identity as a black, queer female and present excerpts of her film, A Love Letter to Brian Lesley and Michelle to inform how deep self-reflection, free writes, and boundless improv became the foundation to creating this work. A Love Letter to Brian Lesley and Michelle, is an experimental  film that holds a mirror to the audience and challenges the viewers through dance, theatre, and text to reflect upon themselves and their presence within the everyday narratives that are presented to them via social media, television, newspapers, politics, family, and first-hand encounters. Covering topics such as WHITE FRAGILITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION, ANTI-BLACKNESS, ANTI-QUEERNESS & RACIAL FEAR. The film forces viewers to step outside of their own bodies and into bodies that continue to be brutalized, objectified and minimized within America. The tension of everyday life and the experiences of Black and Brown people are brilliantly woven together in ways that have yet to be seen on stage. Viewers are left to decide if they will be active in the fight for this generation’s civil rights or if they will simply sit on the sidelines.  Within this presentation, We will focus on the inquiry of process and how space for black artists to process is necessary and beneficial for the society as a whole.  This presentation will live at the intersection of of art and activism.

Duhirwe Rushemeza

Residuum in Black is a unique performance piece created by artist, Duhirwe Rushemeza, and an experimental art making process. The proposed performance below fits very well within the Black Portaiture[s] VII theme of Performance and Play, and the sub-topic of artistic process. The original idea for the project and performance was conceived from the artist’s desire to investigate not only what one collects from moving about the globe as she did growing up in a diplomatic family. The artist became increasingly curious about what an individial living a peripatetic existence leaves behind, their personal residue, with each uprootment. 

In this demonstrative performance, Residuum in Black, the artist will be painting their face as well as the faces of three other individuals.The setting is a dark black room with black walls that have been lined with large black mural-like sheets of paper. The only light source will be coming from several strategically placed black lights around the room. 

During the performance, the faces are painted in the dark room, the bright highly saturated day glow colors on each face are activated by the black light. After which, each painted face will act as a matrix or stamp to create performative impressions, a unique form of printmaking, on the large black sheets lining the black walls. The resulting prints or impressions created by the faces are also activated by the black light. [The artist is happy to provide images of a recent similar perfomance to the selection committee.] 

As the demonstration performance terminates, the audience are invited to have a closer look at the resulting art and encouraged to also have their faces or hands painted to add their own mark or residuum to a specially designated area of the mural wall art.


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