Southampton Arts Center will present a special screening of Stefanie Batten Bland’s award-winning short film Kolonial, followed by a moderated conversation with Batten Bland on Friday, September 22, at 7pm. 

Commissioned by Baryshnikov Arts Center, Kolonial (2021) is the final product of a three-year research project between installation artist Conrad Quesen and Stefanie Batten Bland. An installation-based dance-cinematic work, Kolonial is centered inside performative transparent spaces—cages that reveal colonial foundations and mythology. Inspired by the ethnic exposition parks primarily of Europe, North America, and the colonial Caribbean during the 1810s to1940s, this dance-cinema piece examines how we create definitions to justify systems that exploit and oppress. The film’s physical posturing and gestures interrogate identities suppressed through human zoos and how that relates to our viral cages of today.

“Kolonial is beautifully conceived, filmed, and performed…” (The Dance Enthusiast)

Kolonial has received seven US and international film awards.

Direction and Choreography: Stefanie Batten Bland
Direction and Cinematography: Jean Claude Dhien
Scenic Installation: Conrad Quesen
Installation Assistant: Anthony Quesen
Costume Design: Shane Ballard
Hair and Makeup: Damian Monzillo
Musical Composition: Grant Cutler
Performers: Miguel Anaya, Stefanie Batten Bland, Yeman Brown, Rachel Watson-Jih, Jennifer Payán, Paul Singh, Latra A. Wilson
Montage: Victoria Roseburgh 
First Assistant AD: Victoria Roseburgh 
Production Manager: Emma Rivera 

Run time: 20 minutes