Returning November 5-6, 2021
Presented by The Englert Theatre and Little Village Magazine, Witching Hour is a festival dedicated to exploring the unknown, discussing the creative process, and presenting new work.
Each year, we welcome the brightest artists and thinkers pushing the boundaries of their respective crafts. Through performances, readings, discussions, workshops, and screenings, we engage in what it means to be human in today’s world.
Witching Hour 2021
We’re excited to share that the focal point of this playground will be Tim Story’s audio installation Moebius Strips – an interactive, sonic sculpture. The Englert stage will act as the premiere for the installation’s exhibit, putting Iowa City on a world stage for electronic arts. Now, this isn’t any old art exhibit – in this exhibit YOU create the music by walking, skipping, scooting, and leaping across the stage… Curious? Stay tuned for more information. We’ll be dropping the entire festival lineup and information about how you can attend soon.
Most importantly – mark your calendars for November 5 & 6.
About Moebius Strips
Honoring Story’s collaborator and dear friend Dieter “Moebi” Moebius (Cluster, Harmonia, Brian Eno, Conny Plank), Moebius Strips is a multichannel audio installation for museums, festivals, galleries, and other public spaces. Working with Moebius’ widow Irene, Story has collected thousands of his sounds, noises, samples, and loops, and reimagined/recomposed these in patterned ‘strips’ which, out of the context of their original settings, combine in new and ever-evolving layers on the installation’s soundstage.
Moebius’ music continues to inspire a generation of sound explorers and composers, and we have honored those connections by inviting a distinguished group of artists who have been influenced by his work as well as former collaborators, to add their voice to the Strips – to interact in their own unique ways with the constructions – including contributions from Geoff Barrow (Portishead, Beak), Sarah Davachi, Jean-Benoît Dunckel (Air), Eve Maret, Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo), Phew, Hans-Joachim Roedelius (Cluster, Harmonia), Michael Rother (Harmonia, NEU!) and Yuri Suzuki.
Past Events
Pussy Riot
Puddles Pity Party
Bogeymen: A Year with the Alt-Right
DJ Spooky's world premiere of Explorer I Remix
An Evening with Cey Adams: Def Jam and Beyond
Hari Kondabolu
Julie Byrne
Wu Fei
Richard Hell
The Witchdoctor Sheriff Will See You Now
Giving Out Superpowers: A Discussion of Ethics, Cognitive Processes, and the Future of Interactive Technology with Juan Pablo Hourcade
Do You Want to Play? with Natalie Benway-Correll
Here Lies Man
The Burrowers
The Art of Doing Nothing
Hip-Hop Kitchen
You Ain't Getting No Cookies for Doing What is (Racially) Just