Our Work

The Art Monastery is a social sculpture that produces multi-disciplinary work by a wide network of artists in Europe and the USA. Specifically interested in process as much as product, the Art Monastery takes care to provide opportunities to emerging artists who are interested in the intersection of creativity, contemplation, and community. You'll find in our portfolio a wide sampling of public performances, interventions, and installations by the Artmonks since the project's inception in 2008.

Visual Work by Suiko McCall

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Calici Sotto Le Stelle

Ad Mortem: Un’avventura Proprio

"Ad Mortem: Un'avventura proprio" is an original show about death, life, time, and love. Created by the 2012 summer Artmonks-in-Residence, the show's conception began with the question, "How do I live when I know that I'm going to die?" From this sincere, urgent, and hopeful query grows a 70-minute theatrical journey that mixes contemporary dance, shadow play, and a full-length original score (including the innovative new technology of live looping). The title is a mix of Latin and Italian (roughly translating to "Towards Death: A Real Adventure!") and captures the excitement and complexity of death, loss, and transitions of all size and scale. Drawing inspiration from Roman mythology and famous Italian poems, Ad Mortem gives life to an original world of complex thought and profound emotion that resonates with audiences of diverse ages and cultures.

Ad Mortem premiered at Calici Sotto Le Stelle, with additional performances at the La MaMa Spoleto Open Fringe festival, in summer 2012. Each performance was designed to be site-specific and unique for each location.

In Labro, the work premiered under the alternative title: L'Eterno Smascherato (The Eternal Unmasked).

Ad Mortem is part of the Vigils year of our eight-year Art Monastic Cycle, an in-depth exploration of the western monastic office.

Director: Liz Maxwell
Composer, Music Director: Charles Darius
Choreographer: Neva Cockrell
Ensemble: Neva Cockrell, Charles Darius, Ryan Hazelbaker, Andi Hemmenway, Raphael Sacks
Costume Design: Anaya Cullen
Light Design, Shadow Play: Betsy McCall
Stage Managers: Marko Grunz, Kelly Jenkins
Language Artist: Christina Vani
Music Mastering & Mixing: Charles Darius

Special thanks to Summer 2012 Artmonk community who was an invaluable part of the process.