An immersive public art installation that combines film, theater, photography, dance, costume design, set design, and music is coming to Astor Place Plaza to commemorate the first anniversary of George Floyd’s death on May 25.
The Haunting uses Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) iconography and familiar death references and cues from different cultures' mourning rituals that audience members will be able to move through and interact with performers while being immersed in sound and other media. At sunset, the installation will transform into a candlelight vigil.
The installation is a project of the NYU Tisch School of the Arts and For Freedoms.
“In the same way we saw so many different people come together as part of the Black Lives Matter movement, which was healing for us as a country, we want to honor the people who have been disrespected and dishonored to help turn the conversation," said Caran Hartsfield, co-director of The Haunting and associate arts professor at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. "We are asking ourselves: How can we as artists keep energy in this conversation?"
"Rituals are necessary to help remind us where we've been and where we want to go. Many cultures use rituals to keep their struggles, faith, and traditions alive and to help them remember. This needs to be our ritual, every year on May 25, so we can continue to push for social justice and reform,” said James Richards, co-director of The Haunting and Projection Supervisor at NYU Tisch.