“Ocean Body”: The Live Premiere of the Commission from 2019 Hermitage Greenfield Prize Winner Helga Davis
For live event ($25/person), click here.
For virtual event ($5/household), click here.
This event is presented in partnership with the Greenfield Foundation, Community Foundation of Sarasota County, EnsembleNewSRQ, and New College of Florida.
Saturday, March 19, 6pm
Inspired by the deep friendship between Hermitage Greenfield Prize winner Helga Davis and her collaborator Shara Nova, and forged on the beach of Manasota Key, “Ocean Body” is a multi-disciplinary exploration of the ties that bind us all. Inhabiting a living sculpture that unites Helga and Shara and surrounded by film of the ocean created in collaboration with Mark DeChiazza, the debut of this commission premieres in an innovative musical and visual experience, enhanced by live music and a diverse chorus of voices.
Registration required for in-person or virtual program.
In person (indoors*) at the Hermitage Palm House Studio (indoors* — entrance at 6660 Manasota Key Road, Englewood, Florida 34223).
*Please note: This will be the first indoor event in the Hermitage’s season, and #SafeArtsSarasota protocols will be followed.
$25 per person. Register here.
—OR—
Virtual, Live-Stream.
$5 per household. Register here.
Winner of the 2019 Hermitage Greenfield Prize, Helga Davis is a composer, vocalist, and performance artist with feet planted on the most prestigious international stages and with firm roots in the realities and concerns of her local community. She was principal actor in the 25th anniversary revival of Robert Wilson and Philip Glass’s seminal opera Einstein on the Beach. Among the collaborations and works written for her are Oceanic Verses by Paola Prestini, You Us We All by Shara Nova and Andrew Ondrejcak, and Faust’s Box by Italian contemporary music composer Andrea Liberovici. The renowned theater director and visual artist Robert Wilson describes her as “a united whole, with spellbinding inner power and strength.” Davis also starred in Wilson’s The Temptation of St. Anthony, with libretto and score by Bernice Johnson Reagon; and The Blue Planet, by Peter Greenaway. She is the recipient of the 2014 BRIC Media Arts Fireworks Grant and completed her first evening-length piece, Cassandra. Current projects include Silent Voices with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus with text by Hilton Als; Requiem for a Tuesday with bass-baritone Davóne Tines and dancer/choreographer Reggie Gray; and Yet Unheard, a tribute to Sandra Bland by Courtney Bryan, based on the poem by Sharan Strange. Davis conceived and performed First Responder and Wanna as responses to Until and The Let Go by multidisciplinary artist Nick Cave. Davis is artist-in-residence at National Sawdust, host of the eponymous podcast HELGA on WQXR/New Sounds, and was the 2018–19 visiting curator for the performing arts at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.