Braiding Time, Memory and Water

By Sue Schroeder with Jonathon Keats and Felipe Pérez Santiago

Presented by Flux Projects in collaboration with Core Dance

Braiding Time, Memory and Water is a site-specific, environmental (earth) artistic creation by Sue Schroeder alongside and in collaboration with conceptual artist Jonathon Keats and composer Felipe Pérez Santiago. The performance, including an ensemble of dance artists and percussion, responds to the geography, history, and environmental concerns of two locations along the Chattahoochee River as it meanders through the Atlanta metropolitan area: Powers Island, one of the most serene sections of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, and Zonolite Park, a 13-acre nature sanctuary along the Southfork of Peachtree Creek, a tributary of the Chattahoochee River.

At these performance sites (October 19 & 20, 2024 at Powers Island and April 26 & 27, 2025 at Zonolite Park) the work will follow the braiding paths of the water over the duration of approximately an hour. With the braid as central to the creative action of the performance, the work follows the naturally occurring form that is composed and performed by water as it flows. The composition is inscribed in the land through ongoing passage, which varies based on fluctuations in flow rate. The river, therefore, acts as a natural timekeeper and a collaborator in the performance(s). Ambient sound and field recordings integrated into a larger sound composition further nature’s collaboration in the work.

Braiding Time, Memory and Waters animates a rhythm, individually and collectively, of coming back to the water, of reconnecting to nature, particularly the river, as natural timekeepers. Simultaneously, the work offers opportunities and experiences to question, discuss, debate, and take action in response to long-term changes in the dynamics of rivers. A deeper understanding of the natural cycles in nature will encourage us to seek and find solutions to safeguard and nurture our environment.

Designed within the structure of a community-based residency, Braiding Time, Memory and Water aims to build community across seemingly disparate groups, specifically employing art to create a sense of shared stakes in critical issues related to the earth, its waters, and its people/us. Specific to the Chattahoochee River, the critical issues include stormwater and wastewater pollution, increased water consumption and landscape changes that interrupt natural flow patterns. Through the cross-fertilization of diverse artists, activists, experts, students and the public, the community-based residency serves as a creative catalyst and meeting place for artists with curiosity and interest in cultivating contemporary art-making for intentional community experience and inclusion. At the heart of Braiding Time, Memory and Water is advocacy for access to nature for all and support of creators of art that advocate on behalf of nature.

Braiding Time, Memory and Water is a collective performance experience built in publicly accessible locations. The hope is people feel represented and reassured nature is a place for them to experience, and in doing so, the project speaks to the artists/creators’ goal of raising awareness for environmental justice issues for all people and the planet to thrive.

Photo by Simon Gentry

FLOW

Braiding Time, Memory and Water is part of FLOW, a multi-year series designed to explore Atlanta’s history with water, how it has shaped our city and the potential it holds for our future. FLOW engages issues of conservation, equity, and urban design through installations and performances around the city.

About the Artist

In over 40 years of work in the arts, Sue Schroeder has created more than 110 original dance
works for theaters, museums, green spaces, architectural works, and water environments.  Her 
work has appeared throughout the United States, as well as Mexico, Israel, France, Germany,
 Poland, Georgia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Iceland, United Kingdom, Sweden, Canada,
 Guatemala, and Hungary.  Schroeder’s multidisciplinary vision has led to collaborations with
major voices in dance, music, spoken word, visual arts and design.

Additionally, Schroeder is recognized as a leading arts activist and mentor and the founding
 artistic director of Core Dance.  As a contemporary artist and dance maker, Schroeder focuses
 on the creative process, movement research, exploration, and dance-making as a catalyst for social change.

Under the umbrella of Core Dance, Schroeder facilitated the creation of DanceATL, a dance
 service organization that nurtures and promotes dance as a vibrant part of Atlanta’s arts
 ecosystem.  DanceATL connects artists to resources, grows and engages audiences in the city,
 and supports the full range of the industry by cultivating an awareness and appreciation of
 dance that is sustainable and expansive.

Schroeder holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Houston and earned her Master of
 Fine Arts in Theater Arts with a dance and anthropology concentration from the University of
 Arizona at Tucson.  Educated under dance greats Bill Evans, Hanya Holm, Oliver Kostock, Anna
 Halprin, Isa Bergsohn and John M. Wilson, she holds certifications throughout the U.S. as a
 Teaching Artist and is a founding member of the Teacher Training Institute (TTI), a training
 program established to develop best practices to teach dance and kinetic learning in
community-based settings.

See Also

Jonathon Keats, The Erosion of Time

Felipe Pérez Santiago, composer