Crossings: An Art Performance Event | Participant Meetings

Midlands residents are invited to be a part of a new art performance event to be created for the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Burning of Columbia. Created and facilitated by South Carolina artist Candice Ivy, Crossings will be held on Columbia’s Main Street on the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 17, closing the official commemoration ceremony for the 150th anniversary of the Burning of Columbia.

The mission of the performance is to express the collective voice of participants through action and sound, symbolically recalling our inter-connected past with our present experience of local history. During the performance, participants will collaborate with the artist to work symbolically with sound, cloth, water and ash sourced from the remains of two historic homes. The goal will be to collectively create and hold a respectful space that reflects an acknowledgement of history's continual presence within people, place and culture.

Anyone, regardless of background who would like to share their personal story may volunteer to participate. This performance is largely dependent upon the collective and diverse voices of the community to be successful. Narratives can be open in content, but should speak to each individual’s personal experience related to the traces of the Civil War in the South, not excluding stories connected to the range of complexities, sensitivities and divides connected to this shared history.

In preparation for the event, volunteers are invited to participate in several activities as a means to share their stories, connect with the artist, and each other. In part one of these preparatory meetings, participants are asked to bring any small object that connects them to their story. This performance pays reverential acknowledgement to our collective experiences. All potential participants are asked to bring their stories with openness and respect.

Meetings will take place at The Big Apple, located at 1000 Hampton Street in downtown Columbia, S.C., and will be held at 6 pm on Feb. 9, 11, 13 and 16. Participants are required to attend both the first and last meetings. 

About Columbia Commemorates:
Columbia Commemorates is a multi-disciplinary coalition comprised of Midlands and statewide organizations formed to plan and implement a citywide commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Burning of Columbia. Through lectures; tours; film; visual, literary and performing arts; exhibits; public discussion; and large public gatherings, Columbia Commemorates will explore the events of February 17, 1865, as well as the immediate and long-term ramifications of the burning of South Carolina’s capital city. For more information about the commemoration and a calendar of events, please visit BurningofColumbia.com and follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.