Performances and Exhibitions

Day Eight produces exhibitions, performances, workshops, classes, retreats and residencies.

The Public Works of Rockne Krebs and Sam Gilliam

In 2018 Day Eight produced a visual arts exhibition considering the public works — built and unbuilt — of Rockne Krebs and Sam Gilliam. The exhibition considered how each artist’s technique changed due to public art commissions, and how those commissions altered the arc of each artist’s career. Day Eight published a 60 page exhibition catalog including previously uncollected archival materials, and the exhibition included never-before-displayed sketches, plans, and working drawings from Gilliam’s longtime collaborator, architect Steven Spurlock.

Enviro Arts

A participant in Day Eight’s art rental program heading home from BloomBars with a work by artist Cara Peterson in 2018

Robert Bettmann is the author of the book Somatic Ecology: Somatics, Nature, Humanity and the Human Body, which considers the human body as a site for environmental change. Several recent projects have explored connections between the human body and the natural world, including a workshop program conducted with the Lab School for Earth Day, and an eco-arts retreat conducted with the Federal City Council, Casey Tress, Anacostia Riverkeeper, and area artists.

Quis Custodiet

Our Quis project is an evening-length dance choreographed by Robert Bettmann and company considering the topic of security. The Quis project started with a successful Kickstarter campaign, and was developed over a two year period for premiere at the ten year anniversary of 9/11. The mission of the project is to encourage discussion of the issues of citizenship that are embedded in questions about local, community, and national security. The title for the project is derived from a saying attributed to the philosopher Piccarus (6th century BC), “Quis Custodiet Ispus Custodet?” — “Who Shall Watch the Watchers Themselves?”

All Good Men

All Good Men is an evening-length dance theater adaptation of a Dylan Thomas film script. The Examiner described the show, “is truly a jewel and a tribute to the commonalities between poetry, literature and dance.”

Read more about All Good Men here.

The Fun House

The Fun House is a multi-media installation adaptation of All Good Men produced with The Hamiltonian Gallery. You can see excerpts from the performance of The Fun House here and here.