New exhibit explores impact of Morrill Hall takeover 50 years ago

With the opening of the Takeover: Morrill Hall, 1969 exhibit in Northrop’s fourth-floor gallery on Jan 22, we invited principals involved with the project to blog about the experience. Jennifer Gunn, director of the Institute for Advanced Study, explains the collaboration and impact of this exhibit:

Partnering with Northrop and the Heritage Studies and Public History program (HSPH) to put together this exhibit has been a wonderful opportunity for seeing firsthand the complexity and value in bringing units doing different work into an interdisciplinary project as equal partners. The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) has been in conversation over the past year with units on and off campus about how 1968 and 1969 are still relevant today. These conversations have led to the event series 1968-1969: Historic Upheavals, Enduring Aftershocks (with Northrop and the University Honors Program), as well as this collaborative exhibit in the Northrop gallery, in addition to the other displays throughout the building taking place over the course of the academic year.

The year-long collaborative focus on the dramatic events of 1968-69 is a key part of the revitalization of Northrop’s historic role as a key campus-community site for intellectual and cultural engagement.

As someone who appreciates how our history still influences us, I am happy to have an exhibit in the building that addresses this important part of the University’s past, especially while we have the opportunity to learn from some of the original participants. Too often we only look at our past when it’s too late. I think this exhibit complements A Campus Divided, but covers more recent history. It also works well in conjunction with the HSPH-curated exhibit Owning Up: Racism and Housing in Minneapolis at the Hennepin History Museum. The University is stronger when we work together to create new knowledge for not only our student population, but also the broader community.

Ate9 and Wilco drummer combine for calling glenn

Is calling glenn fate for Ate9?

Certainly when Danielle Agami titled her latest work calling glenn, she named it after Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche, the guest artist and collaborator who appears in the piece, right? Actually, no. The vibrant, playful and percussive performance is named after a different person, someone who also loves the arts and dance. Agami explains: She had just received a donation from Glenn Kawasaki a mere 24 hours before she was introduced to Kotche—and already had promised to name a piece after Kawasaki. The fact that both share the same spelling of their first name must be (f)Ate9.

Fate isn’t all calling glenn has going for it, there’s also Agami’s considerable past experiences and talents. Agami is known for her work teaching and creating performances using Gaga Movement Language, a multilayered style created by Ohad Naharin that focuses on expressing movement over specific steps and positions (like in ballet). Agami danced with Batsheva Ensemble under Naharin, known as Mr. Gaga, in the early 2000s and served as the company’s rehearsal director before moving to the United States to start Ate9, which is now based in Los Angeles.

When Northrop first announced calling glenn will appear Feb 7, I was beyond excited. I’ve seen Wilco perform numerous times in the Twin Cities, from Midway Stadium to the Basilica Block Party to the Fitzgerald Theater for a live performance on the then-named Prairie Home Companion and I always enjoy the concerts. I knew less about Ate9’s work and Gaga in general, but I had the opportunity to see calling glenn Nov 16 in Chicago as part of the Auditorium Theatre’s “Made in Chicago” series. Kotche is from the Chicago area and the city is calling him one of their own. The performance was the finale of a trio of companies, which also included Visceral Dance Chicago and Deeply Rooted Dance Theater. All were surprising and engaging but I found calling glenn, with its unique collaboration, staging, choreography and live music performed directly on stage, the most innovative and playful.

Agami has said calling glenn explores the themes of asking for help and sharing similar human secrets. Some parts of the performance elucidate these better than others, such as when the nine dancers appear to be screaming into a microphone or face the audience head on to create a connection. There’s a simplicity in the stark black and red monochromatic costumes that allow the dancers to move freely to interact with the propulsive, rhythmic music. Kotche adds yet another layer as the audience ponders drumming as a new dance language while he moves from playing the on-stage drum kit to vibraphone to the edge of the stage itself. Overall, the collaboration works. Wilco fans may find a new outlet to experiencing the music while Gaga fans may find adding a drummer to the performance is yet another form of dance expression. Let’s call it fate.