Blooming in the Whirlwind

Blooming in the Whirlwind is an experimental poetry + film + installation collaboration inspired by Gwendolyn Brooks, created and produced by Level Ground, and now presented in partnership with Durden and Ray. In total, the project includes 29 artists across three mediums.

In August 2020, Level Ground invited poets to submit an original poem about 'blooming in the whirlwind' of the turbulent year and we selected nine poems for the project. Each poem was then paired with a filmmaker to collaborate on an original film that premiered online on October 10, 2020. This iteration of the project was led by Andy Motz with support from Samantha Curley and Theo DeMarco.

After the initial online release of the project, Durden & Ray approached Level Ground to evolve and expand the project into a new collaboration that added installation art as a third medium. The gallery show opened at Durden & Ray on November 13, 2021 and ran through December 5. Special thanks to the Durden & Ray curators Arezoo Bharthania, Ismael de Anda III, and Sean Noyce.