Elysium - Leviticus or Love and to walk amongst HUMANS: Book II by Dani tirrell and the Congregation

About This Grant

We propose a weekend of free community performances that are created by and for Black communities hosted in May 2025 at Kubota Garden in South Seattle. ?Elysium - Leviticus or Love and to walk amongst HUMANS: Book II?, is a site-responsive performance that leads audiences through a journey of death and revival to find themselves in a world where Black bodies are the blessed and dying to oneself is a rite of passage. Conceived and shaped by dani tirrell, choreographers Nia-Amina Minor, Quynn Johnson, Cyrah Ward, keyes wiley, and Majinn and performed by a cast of 20 local artists, this project is a celebration of the cultural practices of many overlapping identities held by the creators: the rituals of Black religious communities, Black LGBTQ+ nightlife practices like House and Club dance, and the power of gathering outdoors and sharing art together. The work will serve as a chance for Black communities to create and witness an arts event in an outdoor garden in their own neighborhood.