Art

Superbloom is about radical beauty in the natural world. In a super bloom, wildflower seeds in the desert bloom in high numbers all at the same time. It doesn’t happen often, and a particular set of conditions must be met for the dormant seeds to thrive—rain, wind, cloud coverage, and temperature in the right measure.

Carrie Hanson, Artistic Director of The Seldoms, notes “A super bloom is demanding and somewhat defiant as it sits outside our attempts to order and harness nature—it is wild in the absolute. Leading up to this project, I was reading The Practice of the Wild by poet and deep ecologist Gary Snyder, in which he writes about wildness and our relationship to nature. Superbloom, which first premiered in 2023 as a multimedia dance performance, continues my/The Seldoms’ interest in our environment. Our body of performance explores how a relationship to all life on earth—and to the earth itself—might be based in sustainability and justice. Superbloom aims for splendor as a mirror of the sublime beauty of the natural world and posits awe as a mode of reconnecting to nature, and to one another.

Superbloom premiered as a work for stage in July 2023 at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, and will be performed at the Chicago Botanic Garden on July 25-27, 2025.

Choreography & Direction: Carrie Hanson
Visual Design: Jackie Kazarian
Projection Design: Liviu Pasare
Performance & movement development: Gabriela Chavez, Damon D. Green, Haley Marcin, Timothy Tsang, Maggie Vannucci
Music Composition & Performance: Finom (Sima Cunningham & Macie Stewart)
Costumes: Damon D. Green

"ORA The limits of the planet" is a visionary multimedia work created by Francesca Pasquinucci and Davide Giannoni of IMAGINARIUM, with original music composed by Davide Giannoni. The installation explores urgent themes surrounding climate change, the loss of environmental awareness, and the evolving relationship between humanity, nature, and the cosmos. Developed in collaboration with experts in climatology and space science, “ORA” blends poetic storytelling with scientific insight. The work combines traditional felt-tip pen illustrations on paper with digital animation, inviting viewers on a surreal and immersive journey through the concept of the planet’s ecological and existential limits. Presented in partnership with the Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago.

Bring your friends down to the riverwalk to watch this awesome projection in honor of Pride month!