DIGITAL DINNER PARTY: togetherness in a time of “social distancing” | Week 9 of 12.

THEME BY | Nikki Martens, with Caitlind Brown, Lane Shordee, and Wayne Garrett

ARTISTS | Eric Heitmann, Svea Ferguson, Lollipop (Jessica Wittman), Lane Shordee, Matthew Waddell, Caitlind Brown & Wayne Garrett

In the weird and worrisome wake of COVID-19, we decided to reschedule our intended theme (REVOLUTIONS), and invite folks instead to a DIGITAL DINNER PARTY 🍗🍕🍝🍷🥗🍰 Participants pulled up a dish and their chosen screen, and literally ate dinner together… in non-physical space.

After dinner, we scheduled a participatory program of activities and performances. Nikki Tambourine guided us through Cleanse, a meditative hand-washing ceremony.

Svea Ferguson added a new drawing to her ongoing Hibernation Fridge Series, with the twist that she was live-drawing her weekly illustration. Each week she illustrates the theme, in this case “Digital Dinner Party.”

Lollipop invited us to participate in Lolli Pop-Pop’s One-Star Quiz Show! She read out a series of one-star Yelp reviews, and participants were invited to guess which business or cultural event the reviews corresponded to. The first review began, “One star: Don’t know, didn’t go.”

Matthew Waddell read Spray On! a bidet manifesto. At the end of the reading, he sang us a little song, featuring Wayne Garrett as back-up on the guitar.

“Dear Friends,

Together, we managed to win enough points to obtain the coveted Super Friends Badge, drawn immediately by Eric!

Lane Shordee taught us all how to make a fire, with specific materials from old college art history booklets. The roaring flames warmed us up, even from a distance.

Wayne Garrett made dinner, and collaborated with Caitlind Brown on interactive activity, Snow Angels IRL. Anyone willing and able was invited to put on a winter coat, and run outside to make a snow angel.

After activities, everyone was invited to watch a curated package of animated short films at the same time. You can watch them here: https://vimeo.com/showcase/6864487

After films, anyone still awake was invited to video chat, have a night-cap, and say goodnight!

MEGA UBER SUPER THANKS to everyone who joined the Digital Dinner Party, all the artists that adapted ideas on the double, and the sweets that stuck around to the bitter post-animation ending when things got real weird.

🍗🍕🍝🍷🥗🍰

As a side note, what is The Hibernation Project if not a talisman against aloneness, in times of cold and isolation? We’ll take togetherness in whatever form we can get it, and we hope y’all spend a few extra minutes reaching out to each other. We encourage others to have Digital Dinner Parties or other gatherings in abstract space! ❤️ Keep each other safe, physically and emotionally. This might be a lonely time, and we need to remember each other. We’re in this together.

Sending wishes for good health + safe hibernating.

xoxo,
Caitlind & Wayne

 Update: 

For The Hibernation Project on March 21, in light of ongoing “social distancing,” we are hosting our second non-physical Hibernation – in real time, with real people, and unreal artworks – on The Hibernation Station. 

Check our our instagram or facebook for details.