CVLA + CCC 2024 REPORT
Greetings dear friends and Happy 2025!
Thank you for arriving here at my newsletter report of last year’s creative activities for Cilla Vee Life Arts and The Center for Connection + Collaboration.
I welcome your comments and responses and hope to hear from you.
Blessings and best wishes - Claire*
Hurricane Helene
Yes - Cilla Lee Life Arts and The Center for Connection + Collaboration is based in Asheville, North Carolina. And yes - Asheville was hit very hard by Hurricane Helene. Much of the area was absolutely devastated - including, sadly, Asheville’s RAD (River Arts District) as well as the small town of Marshall close by, which was also a thriving arts community (where I previously co-directed an art space).
The scene was surreal and post-apocalyptic!
My house (home and art center combined) is OK apart from some relatively minor damage. I was displaced for a while - initially because I had been away and couldn’t physically access any roads back into town! Then I left again due to the prolonged outages of power and water.
FEMA, Central World Kitchen and many other independent and volunteer rescue organizations were AMAZING! ….. We are all still struggling to get back on our feet - but we are a resilient community!
Special Announcements and Project Reports
I know it can be a bit of a cliche, and perhaps ever so slightly eye-rolling when someone announces “I feel deeply and humbly honored to receive this recognition ….. “ etc etc …. BUT ….
I do indeed feel deeply and humbly honored!
2024 saw invitations to play a major role in two wonderful organizations I’ve been involved with over the years.
Sacred Dance Guild
The international Sacred Dance Guild was initially formed in 1956 and within two years, in 1958 held the first Sacred Dance Institute at Jacob’s Pillow (modern dance mecca!) led by Ted Shawn (modern dance royalty!) Over time it has evolved to include and represent all forms of sacred dance from all over the world. In recent years the guild has been establishing their Legacy Project to archive and preserve the history, as well as to define their mission going forward. Part of the Legacy Project is the Sacred Dance Professional Facilitator Program, for which I was invited to interview and was accepted.
SDG facilitator:
https://sacreddanceguild.org/resources/facilitators/#claireelizabethbarratt
Fresh Dirt
On a smaller scale but deeply meaningful to me was the invitation to be a member of the Fresh Dirt surrealist collective. This incredible group of avant garde thinkers began by shaking things up around Birmingham and Tuscaloosa, Alabama back in the 1970s! Although two are now sadly deceased, the group continues to have a presence internationally and I’m very happy to be a part.
Fresh Dirt surrealist collective member:
Projects
Two main Cilla Vee Life Arts projects for 2024:
“The Rhizomatic Collective Unconscious Dreamcatcher”
The Rhizomatic Collective Unconscious Dreamcatcher is a performance and sculpture installation that draws on traditions of weaving to express recurring forms in nature. This work explores the crucial networks and systems of unification and connection in the natural environment and in human society by comparing mycorrhizal fungi with the neural networks of the mind and our Collective Unconscious – its expression in archetypal myths and dreams.
Dreamcatcher Project Report:
“Renaissance Noise Restoration”
We founded RNR to explore our mutual fondness for Baroque and Renaissance music, noise/improv, and performance art.
Constantly seeking new ways to fuse period instruments, movement, and imagery with digital audio processing and synthesis, we are creating something altogether unique.
Sometimes we are ridiculously sublime; sometimes we are sublimely ridiculous!
RNR Project Report:
https://renaissance-noise-restoration.blogspot.com/2024/10/rnr-august-2024-tour-report.html
2024 Chronological Report
January - March :
“Big Banana Bong”
2024 started out with an unexpected collaborative music / sound art project with Elka Bong, comprised of the duo Al Margolis and Walter Wright - plus whoever else they bring into the mix! In this case, the mix included Tom Law and myself, after our fun success as a quartet the previous year in the “Weird Yoga Tour”. Walter reached out to us all at the beginning of January with an invitation to this long-distance collaboration.
We worked remotely, each taking a turn to initiate a 10 minute track to which the others responded. Then all four parts were merged and mixed by Al (That’s AL - not A I - the intelligence was all human!)
Follow this link to check out the results:
https://elkabong2.bandcamp.com/album/big-banana-bong
March :
“Echoes of Contemporary Surrealism” - and Fresh Dirt in Alabama
I’ve been affiliated with the unique and eclectic arts scene of Birmingham and the surrounding areas in Alabama for many years now - through LaDonna Smith and her legacy in partnership with the late Davey Williams. The Improvisor / Transmuseq - plus an on-going surrealist collective including Janice Hathaway and Johnny Williams, previously entitled Glass Veal, the current collective is known as Fresh Dirt.
I’m excited to now be an “official” member of the Fresh Dirt surrealist collective - and included in the “Echoes of Contemporary Surrealism” international surrealist sympatica - with events taking place in France, Egypt and Alabama USA! … Although not appearing in person abroad, videos in which I collaborated were screened at the Andre Breton Maison in Saint-Cirq-Lapopie and in Cairo.
I performed live when Fresh Dirt hosted the sympatica in Birmingham at East Village Arts (EVA) and in Eutaw at The Silos.
Visit the following Fresh Dirt website pages for Janice Hathaway’s report of Alabama events:
EVA
https://www.fresh-dirt.us/the-performance-event-at-eva/
Silos
https://www.fresh-dirt.us/eutaw-and-the-silos-of-green-county-alabama/
April :
“Dreamcatcher” debut at Black Mountain College Museum’s {Re}Happening
Having been involved in the Black Mountain College Museum’s annual {Re}Happening at Lake Eden (site of the first ‘Happening’ organized by John Cage in 1952) since its inception in 2010, it’s quite a challenge to propose something for this event that will be outstanding amongst the sea of creativity simultaneously presented around the campus throughout the day!
I have always had an eye on the island in the middle of the lake and was waiting for my imagination to produce an idea that would give the site justice. … and then one emerged:
“The Rhizomatic Collective Unconscious Dreamcatcher”.
Please follow this link for a beautiful short documentary of the Dreamcatcher at {Re}Happening by Beth Starling Media:
Dreamcatcher video by Beth Starling Media
To view images taken by {Re}Happening event photographers Michael Oppenheim, Kim Rueger, Beth Starling, Jeff Davis, David Gwaltney, Forest Gamble, Grace Clark, Kimmy Tolbert, Neeta Kepchar, Rachel Goldstein:
Dreamcatcher photos on Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/114531261@N02/albums/72177720316789379
For information about the {Re}Happening:
ReHappening page - BMCM website
https://www.blackmountaincollege.org/rehappening/
Leading up to the {Re}Happening I was interviewed (as well as Madalyn Wofford of local arts collective Swannatopia) for Matt Peiken’s award-winning Asheville area podcast The Overlook:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-overlook-with-matt-peiken/id1669577221?i=1000651547336
Interview can also be found on the Overlook website - go to https://www.podavl.com/ and search for (Re) Happening | Claire Elizabeth Barratt
May and June:
Interdisciplinary Collaborations
May and June brought about some collaborations of my improvised movement with some of my fav regional NC and TN musicians.
An immersive sound and video environment with Spectral Habitat (Elisa Faires and Meg Mulhearn) at The Well in West Asheville.
A Summer Solstice audio-visual evening of female electronic sound artists produced by Elisa Faires and Chandra Shukla at Asheville’s Revolve. Featuring Elisa Faires with Chandra Shukla, Belly Full of Starts, Slow Blink, Angela Winter.
Femme Electronica in AVL - photos on Flickr:
Two memorable sound and movement collaborations with musicians Kris Gruda and Emily Hay.
At Revolve:
CillaVee/Gruda/Hay trio at Revolve AVL - video
At the one-and-only, one-of-a-kind AfterMAF festival at Art Rat Studios in Roanoke VA:
CillaVee/Gruda/Hay trio at AfterMAF - video
July and August :
The Big Summer Tour
“Renaissance Noise Restoration” and “The Rhizomatic Collective Unconscious Dreamcatcher” hit the road together - in one truck - for five weeks!
RNR
Tom (Law) and I had already debuted RNR in the forgiving zone of the AfterMAF festival, so we felt somewhat ready to launch into our intensive tour schedule of New York State and New England - plus a border hop into Canada. Beginning with an artists talk at Benton C Bainbridge’s media arts Mecca FEED in Erie PA, we performed in a great variety of venues - from a crowded house-show basement, to a crumbling old church, to a kava bar, a books and music fare, art centers, dance studios - you name it! Anywhere but a traditional theater, it seems. We shared bills with some of our fav peers. A highlight was working alongside the very dear Laurie Amat (The Residents) as well as folks like Bonnie Kane, Mike Pride, Adam Arritola, Paul Kafka-Gibbons and many others.
For a full RNR tour report, visit:
https://renaissance-noise-restoration.blogspot.com/2024/10/rnr-august-2024-tour-report.html
To view an example of one of our performances, follow this link:
RNR at The Hive in Sommerville MA - video
https://youtu.be/5u3YI8bH68Q?si=ml5u1C0BpXbqOIbQ&t=1
Arachnid Doom
As an extra bonus, a new project came about when Tom and I went to Mike Pride’s recording studio sFarming Studios in Chester NY to get a studio recording for RNR. Afterwards we decided to have a fun, no-pressure improv session together with Al Margolis (who lives close by). Well, we all enjoyed it so much that we felt it worthy to be its own project and entitled our quartet “Arachnid Doom” due to the unfortunate demise of a spider during our session! The resulting album is entitled “The Hermit of Serignan” and will be out later this year (2025).
Curious? …. You can get a sneak preview on my Soundcloud page:
https://soundcloud.com/cilla-vee
Look for the following tracks:
The Hermit of Serignan
By
Arachnid Doom
1 - Itsy Bitsy Spider
2 - Fireworks on a Space Station
3 - Quan Yin at the Grocery Store
4 - Bottle Shop Hoedown
Arachnid Doom are:
CillaVee: Voice, cello, other bits & pieces
Tom Law: Max/MSP
Al Margolis: Viola, contact mics, objects/detritus, oboe(?)
Mike Pride: Drumset & percussion
Produced by Tom Law
All music by Arachnid Doom, all rights reserved.
Published by Funhole Music, BMI.
Recorded September 2024
Recorded, mixed & mastered by Mike Pride at sFarming Studios, Chester NY
“Dreamcatcher” in Maine and Ottawa
After the Dreamcatcher’s debut at the Black Mountain College Museum’s {Re}Happening event, I was eager to expand the performative aspect of the work. In Maine and Ottawa I had the opportunity to explore a workshop setting in which to incorporate multiple performers and to develop my idea for the performers to produce long vocal tones as they are moving.
Maine
Two Diamond Art Farm in Saco ME is the home of my dear friends Patrick and Kathleen Pierce, as well as the creative space in which Patrick makes and exhibits his unique sculptures. Here, I worked with local dancers from Collective Motion studios to perform with the Dreamcatcher for a Sunset Stroll on the art farm. Here we had the addition of Tom, who provided an ambient electronic soundwash.
To view photos by Kathleen Pierce of the Dreamcatcher at Two Diamond Art Farm:
Dreamcatcher at Two Diamond Art Farm - photos on Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/114531261@N02/albums/72177720320591107
For information about Patrick Pierce and Two Diamond Art Farm, visit:
https://www.patrickpierce.com/19-photographs
Ottawa
In Ottawa I facilitated a weekend intensive workshop with members of the Sacred Dance Guild - culminating in a performance-meditation at Bells Corners United Methodist Church on the Sunday morning, then a sunset performance installation that evening at Remic Rapids on the Ottawa River with the rock sculptures of John Ceprano. This was a truly magical experience. The rock sculptures at Remic Rapids is a place dear to my heart. I’ve presented work there for a number of years, but then had over a decade of problems at the Canadian border (for very minor issues) I felt so blessed to finally be there again!
To view photos by James St. Laurent of the Dreamcatcher with the Ottawa Sacred Dance Guild:
Dreamcatcher at Remic Rapids - photos on Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/114531261@N02/albums/72177720320068692
For information about John Ceprano and the Remic Rapids rock sculptures, visit:
https://www.jfceprano.com/rock-sculpture/balanced
September :
“RAW MATERIAL: Re-Wilding The Body” documentary video release
Marking the one year anniversary of Re-Wilding The Body, CVLA’s month-long nature performance installation at NYC Port Authority Bus Terminal with Chashama arts organization, we released a truly lovely documentary video about the experience.
Using video footage captured by Fred Hatt, plus interview clips from the artists and my narration, documentary filmmaker Yuko Takebe wove it all together into this 15 minute gem:
Re-Wilding The Body video by Yuko Takebe and Fred Hatt
Prince Tunde Odunlade at EVA Birmingham AL
Back in Birmingham AL for the month of September and a rare opportunity to collaborate with a prince! Prince Tunde Odunlade is a Nigerian artist and musician who has developed an elaborate Batik, appliqué and tapestry style. EVA hosted an exhibition of his work with an evening of performances.
Performance with Prince Tunde video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fyfSgdTlw0
For information about Tunde Odunlade, visit:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunde_Odunlade
For information about East Village Arts, visit: https://www.evabham.org/
November :
“Dreamcatcher” at Chattanooga Fringe Festival
Just as the year began with an unexpected invitation, it also closed with one. Ann Law - dear friend, dancer, founder of Barking Legs theater in Chattanooga TN - reached out to me in October to invite me to participate in Chattanooga’s first ever Fringe Festival! She knew I was temporarily displaced after Hurricane Helene and it really helped to have a creative focus. I spent a very enjoyable week with the vibrant Chattanooga arts community and presented the Dreamcatcher as my contribution to the festival.
For information about the Chattanooga Fringe Festival, visit:
https://www.barkinglegs.org/fringe-fest-2024
CCC-AVL - The Center for Connection + Collaboration, Asheville NC
The CCC serves as home base for Cilla Vee Life Arts, as well as serving the local Asheville area community - plus traveling artists and creatives - with space to meet, create and share. We also connect with our global community, making some events accessible via Zoom.
2024 has been a quieter year for the CCC in terms of event production. Our focus has been on the introduction of our new Personal Retreat program plus project development for Cilla Vee Life Arts’ “Dreamcatcher”, while still being open for community use.
Personal Retreats are designed to provide space for individual personal time. Primarily for women, this can be an opportunity to create, reflect, read, write, meditate, practice music or movement, to cook food or just sit in the garden with a cup of tea.
Please visit our Programs page for details:
https://www.ccc-avl.org/programs-and-services
The CCC is currently on hiatus as we recover from Hurricane Helene. We plan to be up and running again later in 2025.
To donate and support CVLA and the CCC
please visit the DONATE page on the CCC website:
https://www.ccc-avl.org/donate
💟
SPECIAL THANX
The Rauschenberg Dancer Emergency Grant - NYFA
Janice Hathaway and Ruurdje Laarhoven
David Barratt
Alan and Debbie Wood
Robyn Thomas
Enno Fritsch
Marc Dale
“Uncle Don” Fanning
Felicia Sullivan
Jeff Whitaker
Kelly Dennae
Walter Wright
Mary Ann Kearns
Ralph Eaton
Ann Law and all at Barking Legs Theater
Wendy Morrell
Daniel Lanoue
John Ceprano
LaDonna Smith
DeJuana McCary
SI Reasoning
Patrick and Kathleen Pierce
Yuko Takebe
Fred Hatt
Beth Starling
Elisa Faires
Julie Becton Gillum
Geo Lynx
Tom Law
Bonnie Kane
Scott Prato
Mike Pride
Paul Kafka-Gibbons
Laurie Amat
John Loggia and Elise at 118 Elliot St Gallery
Linda Montano
Roger Munch
Chloe Harnett-Hargrove