Water is Life - Part 1
Hidden Springs - Atlanta
Circa the 1860’s
As Proposed to Art on the Beltline in Atlanta 2011

Inspiration

Two major influences, history and healing, have inspired the creation of  Hidden Springs - an original, outdoor, site specific performance work.  In September 2000 I became the Artistic Director of The MASK Center - located on the ground floor of The Little Five Points Community Center in Atlanta. During renovation into an exhibit, studio and performing venue Joe Shifalo,  the then building manager, told me the space was directly above a spring that had once been part of a field hospital that treated injured soldiers during The Civil War. I think of this often as I work and create in the space. This historic reality has been aching to express itself artistically for over a decade and especially now as 2011 begins the 150^th anniversary of The Civil War.    

 

During the summer of 2009 with support from Alternate ROOTS and the Ford Foundation I returned to the Findhorn Foundation in Scotland ,  a United Nations’ training center for planetary sustainability, to attend a workshop focalized by staff member Franco Santoro.  Franco's workshop introduced a process that  offers the opportunity to align with a  landscape to encourage the emergence of  cooperative processes with the land, nature, ourselves and others. This type of  intentional action  invites renewal, re-creation and rejuvenation. During 2010 a staff member at the Oakhurst Community Garden in Decatur, Georgia and a community coordinator at the award-winning East Lake Commons Co-housing in Atlanta  worked with me to implement this design approach in support of  each organization’s vision for its community.  An essential premise is that the land has a history that needs to be recognized and healed. Hidden Springs encourages this process. 
Sandra Hughes, March 2011 ,Atlanta, Georgia

Concept

The title Hidden Springs refers to the once famous Ponce de Leon Springs and other lesser-known springs in and around Atlanta  that were once above ground until buildings and other forms of development covered or diverted them.  The production features visual art, dance, drama, music, mime, masks, storytelling and narration as well as audience and community participation to bring the story of the springs to life through performance to celebrate the historic importance of these water sources to the residents of Atlanta during the 1860's. 

 

Design

Pre-Event Community Involvement in Art Making –  12-20 community members work with master-artist Michael Hickey to create bowls and masks for the production.

 

Site Alignment -  Creative team members work together to align themselves with the performance  site  with the intent to allow a deeper understanding of the qualities contained within each of the 12 sections of the landscape to emerge during the performance.  The photo images and renderings below feature a site near The Carter Center in Atlanta.
  

Site/ Ground Row Installation – The three fabric ground-row visual art pieces that honor Atlanta’s Hidden Springs are installed before the performance.

 

Pre-Show Audience Involvement – Performers as their characters greet audience members and usher them to the site. Performers at each of the 12 site sections hold bowls and invite audience members to select and read a paper with a quality written on it. Audience members place these papers in the large community bowl at the site’s center.  

 

Performance Content - Five dance-drama pieces are performed to instrumental music interspersed with sections of storytelling and historic narration.  The dances celebrate a past era in Atlanta’s history during the 1860’s - a time when the springs  served the needs of the people. These water sources provided pure liquid for multiple uses to local residents and sustained soldiers during the Civil War.  Dances:  #1 The Spirit of the Springs.  #2 Water to Drink.   #3 Water to Cleanse.  #4 Water to Heal.  #5 Finale: Spirit of the Springs Celebration with entire cast in masks. See the site renderings below with art installation pieces and dance-drama characters for more details.

 

Visual Art Content – Three fabric art installations, eight masks, 12 community-crafted bowels.