“Minerealness”
Eureka! & The Widow Jane Mine
Kingston, NY | 2020

About the Show

In the Fall/Winter of 2020, Whoop Dee Doo artists worked with Eureka! in Kingston, NY to create a socially distanced workshop series, both in-person and virtual, and a filmed outdoor performance with six students from the Boys & Girls Club of Ulster County. The performance was filmed in the incredible and cavernous "Widow Jane Mine", where dolomite limestone was excavated for the cement used in the creation of the Brooklyn Bridge as well as the base of the Statue of Liberty.

Working and collaborating with Cliff Matias, Director and Co-Founder of the Redhawk Native American Arts Council, the Boys & Girls Club students worked alongside Whoop Dee Doo artists to create an installation and filmed performance based off of Mr. Matias’ educational programs. Throughout this series, we learned the history of multiple dances including the Robin Dance, Buffalo Dance, Stomp Dance, and Mr. Matias' Hoop Dance.

Whoop Dee Doo artists and students created soft-sculpture costumes for the students to wear during the video shoot, taking inspiration from the earth and elements (ie. water, wind, and fire). Camouflaging into the natural landscape with dual rock and water costumes, a “call and response" performance activated the deep caves and water within the mine through song and dance.

For the installation, students created mosaic cellophane imagery and paper mâché props. The full set piece represented sedimentary layers of a mountain with inclusions of fossils, local plants, and animals. During our video shoot, the set transformed through a final reveal of “stained glass mosaics” which were exposed during Mr. Matais’ Hoop Dance.

Students collaborated with Cliff Matias through in-person and zoom meetings, and worked one-on-one with Whoop Dee Doo artists to brainstorm the performance, and to create the set piece made from paper mâché, sculpture, and cellophane mosaic designs.

Whoop Dee Doo artists will be back with Eureka! in summer 2021 to create a “Part 2” of our performance.

Whoop Dee Doo Artists

Sofia Dixon
Erin Dougherty
Sanford Fels
Emily Flores
Josh Pavlick
Mai Shimura
Jaimie Warren

Student Artists

Ashara
Zion
K’Vion
Devin
Zi

Curation

Eureka!

Performers

Cliff Matias, The Redhawk Native American Arts Council

Links

The Redhawk Native American Arts Council
The Boys & Girls Club of Ulster County
The Widow Jane Mine
Reher Center for Immigrant Culture & History