SANCTUARY is an immersive installation series by Bellamy Brewster, made for all five senses. Each edition turns a place of worship into a gallery for his work and asks the people inside to redefine spirituality for themselves.

The 2023 New York edition took two floors of Synagogue for the Arts, between TriBeCa and SoHo, on June 3 and 4. In the sanctuary, MEDITATIONS showed photographs of natural rock formations from deserts across California, Mexico and Saudi Arabia. Harpists played through the afternoon and evening, TALIA performed poems from the Commit to Memory Vol. 1 chapbook to open each day and again each evening, and The Late Show’s Gospel Choir sang on Saturday night.

Below it, the ground floor became a dance hall. TRANCE, a series of self-portraits and video, was projected onto a ten-foot screen as the only light in the room. On Saturday, Princess Lockerooo & Troupe opened the night with a dance performance and DJs played until the early morning: a place of worship and a place of dance, one above the other.

Edition

New York, 2023

Run

June 3, 4 PM–4 AM

June 4, 12 PM–12 AM

Venue

Synagogue for the Arts

49 White St., New York

Floors

The sanctuary

The dance hall

Works

MEDITATIONS

TRANCE

Commit to Memory Vol. 1

Sponsored by Rémy Martin and Misguided Spirits Distillery.