CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Krannert Art Museum will host the first solo museum presentation by performance artist Autumn Knight, who incorporates elements of theater, dance, psychology and religious studies into her work.
Knight’s exhibition, “Autumn Knight: In Rehearsal,” will open Jan. 26, with a performance by the artist at the museum’s spring season opening night. Knight will perform “El Diablo y Cristo Negro,” a comedic dialogue between the devil and black Christ, inspired by Panama’s Black Christ Festival and exploring the relationship between good and evil. She’ll be joined by Xavier Roe, a University of Illinois theatre student, and Chivas Michael, a New Orleans-based actor.
Knight’s work examines with humor perceptions of race, gender and authority. She frequently gathers black women at the center of the conversation, both to question who gets to speak in institutional venues and to discuss issues relevant to them. She has created performances that address the high rate of double mastectomies among black women (“Where Do All the Black Breasts Go?” in 2013), as well as looking at how women can occupy museum spaces from perspectives of creative authority and ownership (performance for “Adding a Beat: Hirsch Library Project” at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 2014).
Knight will present four performances during the spring semester. In addition to Krannert Art Museum’s opening night, she’ll be on campus in late March and in mid-April.
The title of the exhibition, “In Rehearsal,” comes from the idea that “she’s always reworking ideas and presenting them in new formats,” said Amy L. Powell, the curator of contemporary and modern art at the museum and the curator for Knight’s exhibition. “She loves the rehearsal as work in the theater. There’s always this sense that the work isn’t finished yet. We’re getting a peek into her process. She’s bringing this sense of rehearsal into the space.”
The gallery installation will include videos showing Knight’s past work and some of the sources of her inspirations; moveable walls that will be repositioned daily; a floor treatment; and spotlights with pink and red gels.
The exhibition will include companion pieces, scheduled intermittently throughout the semester, that use the museum as an ongoing performance space. Events will include conversations among faculty members and others on themes related to Knight’s work. Among the participants are several women faculty members in theatre, dance, psychology, gender and women’s studies, and Latina/Latino studies who met with Knight during previous visits to campus. These women will become part of the conversations as a way to integrate Knight’s research into campus resources, Powell said.
Public performances by Knight and related programs scheduled for this spring are:
“Here and Now,” 7:30 p.m. March 30, Krannert Art Museum, 500 E. Peabody Drive, Champaign. This conversation with Knight will include audience members and a licensed mental health counselor. It will use elements of psychology and theater to explore group dynamics.
Gallery conversation, 2 p.m. March 31, Krannert Art Museum. Knight and Powell will discuss Knight’s work and the exhibition in an informal Q&A format. Visitors will also have a chance to interact with the artist.
“Lament,” 7:30 p.m. April 13, U. of I. Stock Pavilion, 1402 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Urbana. This dance performance is an interpretation of addiction, class and mental illness. Rebecca Ferrell, a choreographer and lecturer in the U. of I. dance department, collaborated with Knight on the piece, which will feature Abijan Johnson, a Houston-based dance and movement therapist.
“An Experimental Freezing of a Room through Metaphorical Means,” time TBD, week of April 17, Activities and Recreation Center pool, 201 E. Peabody Drive, Champaign. In this performance, Knight portrays a figure of black motherhood against the soundtrack of the jury’s decision to acquit George Zimmerman of murder charges in the death of Trayvon Martin.
Knight’s exhibition and performances are co-sponsored by the U. of I. department of dance, department of gender and women’s studies, Women’s Resources Center, Bruce D. Nesbitt African American Cultural Center and Intersections Living-Learning Community. It received funding from the Student Cultural Programming Fee.