Pain, Passion, and the Divine: The Shape of the Human Spirit
Overview
This project explores a set of experiences that bind us as humans: suffering and joy, isolation and connection, fragility and resilience — and, at rare moments, an encounter with something larger than ourselves, often described as the divine.
Rather than approaching these themes through narrative or doctrine, the work is grounded in the body. We chose modern dancers because movement carries meaning before it is named. The dancers were asked to develop a shared physical vocabulary — a language of gesture, tension, release, repetition, and stillness — capable of expressing emotional states that words often fail to hold. Their responses were intuitive, personal, and deeply human.
Our role as filmmakers and artists is not to illustrate meaning, but to listen carefully to what emerged and shape it into a visual experience. The result is a single-channel moving-image work, intentionally restrained and focused, designed to allow viewers to feel rather than interpret.
Grace Cathedral is not merely a site for this piece; it is a collaborator. Its scale, light, acoustics, and history extend the work beyond human proportion and daily emotion. The architecture does not contain the work — it amplifies it. Sound, image, and space work together to alter the viewer’s emotional and physical experience, allowing the cathedral itself to become part of the piece.
The Experience
The Installation
The work will be presented as a single-channel video installation with sound, designed to sit within the cathedral while remaining adaptable to the needs of the space. This technical simplicity allows the installation to move if necessary and to respond sensitively to the rhythms of the cathedral’s daily life.
The installation will be on view at Grace Cathedral from September 1 through October 31, 2026, inviting repeated encounters rather than a single moment of consumption.
Visitors are not asked to understand the work, only to be present with it.
Opening Performance
The opening of the installation will be marked by a live performance by Margaret Jenkins Dance Company, extending the embodied language of the project into the cathedral itself. This event will be ticketed, consistent with Grace Cathedral’s performance model, with proceeds supporting Margaret Jenkins Dance Company. The installation itself will remain non-ticketed during its run.
The live opening performance by Margaret Jenkins Dance Company will be supported through ticketed attendance.
Music
Music plays a central role in shaping the work. Rather than functioning as accompaniment, the sound is conceived as a parallel presence — one that engages the architecture of the cathedral and allows space, resonance, and duration to carry meaning.
The project envisions a vocal component, with lyrics that reflect shared human experience — suffering and joy, vulnerability and connection — and that resonate with the spiritual and emotional register of the space. Sound is intended to expand the work beyond the image, altering how the viewer experiences time, scale, and presence within the cathedral.
Support & Budget
This project is fiscally sponsored by SOMArts Cultural Center, making all contributions tax-deductible. Please download the attached PDF for full instructions on how to make a donation through our fiscal sponsor.
Grace Cathedral is generously donating the use of the space for two months as an in-kind contribution, allowing resources to be directed toward artists and production.
Current fundraising goal: $30,000
Funds raised will support:
Modest honoraria for the 17 dancers whose work forms the heart of the piece
Original music composition
Technical programming, installation and equipment
Partial support for artistic direction, editing, and installation development
If you would like to donate via Zelle or Venmo, please send your donation to 415 370 2550. Please include “Pain, Passion, and the Divine” in the memo line so we can acknowledge your contribution.
Thank you so much for your support!
work in progress reels with placeholder soundtracks by Carla Kihlstedt and Matthias Bossi
Performance artists and Dancers
Rikako Shibamoto
Samira Bethke
Giulia Tornarolli
Margaret Jenkins
Corey Brady
Lincoln Sharp
Lisa Moresco
Nicole Hultvi
Arthur Erlanson
Private Brandon Freeman
Denise Holland Bethke
Rachel Furst
Shinichi Iova-Koga
Carolina Czechowska
Katja Björner
Yukie Fujimoto
KT Nelson