Minerval Initiations - open to all 0* and up!

Join us for a field trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to explore Dreamworld: Surrealism at 100—a mind-bending celebration of a century of surreal art, ideas, and beautiful weirdness. Think Dalí, dreams, and delightful disorientation.

Please purchase your own ticket for the PMA and plan to meet at the exhibit around 1:00 PM.

✨ Note: This outing replaces the previously scheduled film event, which has been moved to February 21.

Come wander the dreamscape with us—reality optional.
All are welcome!

Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti is a black-and-white documentary film of approximately 52 minutes. It is about dance and possession in Haitian vodou that was shot by experimental filmmaker Maya Deren between 1947 and 1954.

In 1981, twenty years after Deren's death, the film was completed by Deren's third husband Teiji Ito (1935-1982) and his wife Cherel Winett Ito (1947-1999). Most of the film consists of images of dancing and bodies in motion during rituals in Rada and Petro services.

Deren had studied dance as well as photography and filmmaking. She originally went to Haiti, with the funding from a Guggenheim fellowship, and the stated intention of filming the dancing that forms a crucial part of the vodou ceremony. In 1953, Deren's book Divine Horsemen: The Voodoo Gods of Haiti, on the subject of vodou, was published by Vanguard Press.

The film that resulted, however, reflected Deren's increasing personal engagement with vodou and its practitioners. While this ultimately resulted in Deren disregarding the guidelines of the fellowship, Deren was able to record scenes that probably would have been inaccessible to other filmmakers.

The film will be followed by a lecture about the film, and discussion. Open to all!