By Aylin Aarhus
Artists Bonita Oliver, Eli Berman and Armond Dorsey performed their piece, “Deity of the Circle,” at the University of Maryland’s David C. Driskell Center on Thursday, April 3.
The 40-minute performance was inspired by the worship practices and musical traditions of African and Jewish diasporas, and featured both gospel music and Ashkenazi Jewish cantorial.
“Our breath is our power,” Oliver said as the piece began. She asked the audience to breathe with her as she swayed, barefoot, palms outstretched. “Lord, let me walk each day with thee,” she sang.
Performers harmonized with one another, stomping and clapping, and invited the audience into the circle with them.
Melody Meyers, a coordinator in UMD’s Office of Undergraduate Studies and a friend of the performers, was the first to join in.
“It was beautiful,” Meyers said of the performance. “I was really surprised by all the movement and the music and the noise overlapping and the audience participation. It was really quite spectacular.”
At times, the performance took on an overtly political tone, referencing Executive Order 14188, “Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism” – part of the Trump Administration’s response to pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses, which it casts as antisemitic discrimination and harassment – and Elon Musk’s apparent Nazi salute at President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.
“Why would I listen to people about supposedly Judeo-Christian values,” Berman asked, “when eight years ago they were marching with tiki torches, saying ‘the Jews will not replace us?’”
This was an apparent reference to the Unite the Right rally held in Charlottesville, VA in 2017, which resulted in the murder of counter-protester Heather Heyer.
As the piece climaxed, the artists gathered at a central table to build a sculpture from PVC pipes and metal tubes, which amplified their voices as they sang into it.
The Driskell Center is a gallery and archive dedicated to Black art. Oliver, Berman and Dorsey were joint winners of the David C. and Thelma G. Driskell Award for Creative Excellence, which grants small teams of artists a $5,000 stipend and residency at the Driskell Center.
Camara Holloway, an art historian specializing in twentieth century African American Art, was pleased with the overall performance.
“I thought it was a great display of the collective, and the capabilities of the sonic,” Holloway said. “It did what it was supposed to do.”
Aaro Bell, a retired finance executive and art collector, enjoyed the originality of the piece.
“I thought the performance was a fascinating display of human creativity,” Bell said. “It shows what we can accomplish when we expand our minds beyond the ordinary and think on a different level, and perhaps even on a different plane.”
Featured Image: Audience members join Bonita Oliver (left) and Armond Dorsey (center) in their performance at the David C. Driskell Center, April 3, 2025. Photo by Aylin Aarhus.