The Walker Art Center held a pagan ritual geared toward families last weekend, with a performance called “Lilit the Empathic Demon.”
“Demons have a bad reputation, but maybe we’re just not very good at getting to know them,” an event description reads.
The event, which took place at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, was part of the Walker’s Free First Saturdays program and featured artist Tamar Ettun who creates “demon traps.”
“Families are invited to create a vessel to trap the demon that knows them best — perhaps the ‘demon of overthinking’ — and then participate in a playful ceremony to summon and befriend their demon,” the website explains.
The event was designed for families, and finished with a “playful demon summoning session.”
“After designing your trap, Lilit the Empathic Demon will come from the dark side of the moon to lead you in locating your feelings using ancient Babylonian techniques,” the website explains. “This collective and playful demon summoning session will conclude with a somatic movement meditation, designed to help you befriend your shadows.”
Other Walker Art Center Free First Saturdays were 10,000 lakes and ’90s themed.
Ettun previously had her artwork, “How to Trap a Demon,” on display in New York at the Richard and Dolly Maass Gallery.
“The exhibition parts with the historical gender binarism that associates Lilith’s archetype with unchecked violence and manipulation; here, Lilit mediates the inner demons and renegade instincts that are deliberately silenced,” the exhibition details read. One image shows Ettun washing what appears to be a placenta with a watering can.
Ettun also has “Texts from Lilith” available for sale on her website. “31 cards to connect you to your demon,” it says.
Ettun encourages people to communicate with Lilit by texting “SUMMON” to 833-575-1049, according to an article on the Walker Art Center’s website. According to the article, the demon sends monthly messages with “demon drawings and somatic instructions.”
The article posted on the Walker’s website also explains how Ettun came up with this art project. “Lilit came to [Ettun] when she was at a residency, spending her days and nights in a haunted firehouse-turned-museum making knots and having just found out she was pregnant.”
The Walker Art Center has received millions of dollars in taxpayer funds through Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, which routinely funds projects with a left-wing agenda.
Hayley Feland
Hayley Feland previously worked as a journalist with The Minnesota Sun, The Wisconsin Daily Star, and The College Fix. She is a Minnesota native with a passion for politics and journalism.