ILLUMINATE THE LOCK:RETURNING THE RIVER
BY MIKE HOYT, DAMEUN STRANGE, AND DIVER VAN AVERY WITH RITIKA GANGULY
SEPTEMBER 20, 21, 22 – 2018
UPPER SAINT ANTHONY FALLS LOCK AND DAM

A night of poetry, projection, and music will illuminate a future where both rivers and people are liberated, where we celebrate wildness, and where we practice reciprocal relationships between all bodies of water, including one another’s.  

Returning the River tells the story of a daughter born into a time of walls whose life is intrinsically linked to the life of a paddlefish. Participants will take in visual projections on the water by Mike Hoyt, a soundscape composed by Dameun Strange and a story written and narrated by Molly Van Avery from a boat in the Lock chamber and sung by Ritika Ganguly from above. Come listen and sing along. Hold water drawn up from below, imbue it with blessings for descendants, and then pour it back into the river to make its way towards liberation.

Read an interview with the artists here.

Illuminate the Lock is a program that uses the 49 foot tall chamber of Upper Saint Anthony Falls Lock & Dam as a platform for artistic intervention. Each night of programming is free and open to the public.  

Presented by Northern Lights.mn, Mississippi Park Connection, and the National Park Service with support from St. Anthony Falls Heritage Board and the US Army Corps of Engineers.