TITLE: InLight 2021: Great Shiplock Park
ARTISTS: Adama Delphine Fawundu, Antoine Williams, Ash Arder, Benjamin Kidder Hodges, Eric Millikin, Free Bangura, Isabella Whitfield, Mary Stuart Hall with the Virginia Union University Marching Band, Rachele Riley + Matt Hedt, Rashaun Rucker, and Senghor Reid x Hope Ginsburg + Nitika Achalam
LOCATION: Great Shiplock Park, Chapel Island, Virginia Capital Trail, Low Line in Richmond, Va, produced by 1708 Gallery
DATE: 11.12.2021 - 11.13.2021
*co-curated with Tiffany E. Barber and Wesley Taylor

  • Ash Arder, “w@rship” 2021. Speakers, lights, steel chains, steel hardware, ratchet straps, artist’s grandfather’s sailing garments, digital soundscape, solar powered generator, dimensions variable (detail). Photo: David Hale.

  • Mary Stuart Hall with the The Ambassadors of Sound from the Virginia Union University Marching Band, “Taking Place” 2021. Performance, musical arrangement by Daniel Solammon. Photo: David Hale.

  • Senghor Reid x Hope Ginsburg + Nitika Achalam, “Air Patterns” 2021. LED lights, scuba equipment, microphones, speaker amplifier. Interactive performance, dimensions variable. Photo: David Hale.

  • Isabella Whitfield, “Ascension” 2021. Solar powered LED lamps, text on paper. Dimensions variable. Photo: David Hale.

  • Rashaun Rucker, “The Convening” 2021. drawing printed on vinyl banner. 84 in x 126 in (1 of 3 unique drawings). Photo: David Hale.

  • Adama Delphine Fawundu, “Deep Inside I’m Blue” 2021. HD video, fabric installation. Dimensions variable (detail). Special Thanks to Haley Clouser. Photo: David Hale.

1708 Gallery’s 14th annual InLight took place November 12-13, 2021 at Great Shiplock Park, Chapel Island, and nearby sites along the Virginia Capital Trail and Low Line in Richmond. This outdoor, two-night exhibition featured artwork that embraces light and sound through sculpture, installation, and performance. Great Shiplock Park is located at a former shiplock constructed as part of the James River and Kanawha Canal system. Projects engaged with and expanded upon the multiple themes and histories that can be found at these sites such as: trade and labor of then-enslaved peoples of African and Indigenous descent during and following the industrial revolution; the environmental impact—especially concerning water resources—of commerce and infrastructure; and the cultivation of spaces for alternative forms of historical preservation.

InLight 2021 was co-curated by Tiffany E. Barber, Wesley Taylor, and Park C. Myers.