Through a magical and profound combination of sound, color, light, and movement, artists including Associate Professor of Art Dannielle Tegeder and Professor of Dance Amy Larimer—along with 19 of Larimer's current and former students—created a sacred space within the iconic Guggenheim Museum rotunda in a special performance on February 19.

Larimer and Hilma's Ghost, a two-person art collective comprised of Tegeder and Sharmistha Ray, collaborated on "Chromatic Altar" as a way to honor women who shaped the museum's history while reimagining the building as a site of mystical and spiritual transcendence.

"It was an incredible night," Tegeder said.

"We wanted to create a space of spiritual upliftment and a moment of solidarity and reflection in challenging times," Hilma's Ghost told Art Currently. "This activation was not just about abstraction but about connection, intersectionality, and collective energy, a reminder of the power of art to hold and support vulnerable communities when they need it most."

The dancers performed with long, brightly colored scarves, which they dropped from the highest balconies of the rotunda at the performance's culmination, "transforming the atrium into a living, abstract painting," in the words of a Hilma's Ghost press release.

A view of the rotunda from the floor replicates the geometry of early abstract painting.

Museumgoers also participated through a collective meditation at the event's close.

"It was really exciting to be able to work on this project with Dannielle and to have such a strong Lehman presence in the cast," said Larimer.  "The dancers were amazing, and I felt really proud to see their professionalism and talent on display in such an iconic location." 

"We have so many talented faculty and students at Lehman and it's inspiring to be able to collaborate on projects like this one," she added.