Bi-Coastal Collaboration Brings Sound, Poetry and Performance Installation To Georgia’s Pasaquan

Staff Report

Columbus State University's Pasaquan will host "The Quieting World," an immersive soundscape installation by artist Joshua-Michéle Ross, opening on April 25, 2025.

The installation, which explores humanity’s connection to dawn, features 16 recordings captured at both Pasaquan in Georgia and the Headlands Center for the Arts in California during the autumnal equinox.

Following its premiere at the Headlands Center for the Arts in Sausalito, California, the exhibition will open at Pasaquan with a public event from 2 to 8 p.m. The event will include a levitation ceremony created by CSU students, a performance by Travis Dodd, and additional artistic contributions from Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Forrest Gander and Oakland-based vocal ensemble Kitka.

"The Quieting World asks visitors to reckon with two seemingly contradictory messages," Ross said. "The world is growing quieter as it recedes under modernity, yet each dawn still provides a moment of exquisite beauty and jubilation."

The exhibition, made possible through support from the Ruth Foundation for the Arts, establishes a bi-coastal dialogue on art, ecology and place.

Pasaquan director Michael McFalls emphasized the significance of this collaboration, stating: "This partnership with one of the nation’s most renowned artist residencies represents a pivotal moment for Pasaquan—bringing together extraordinary artists and expanding the boundaries of contemporary art."

Ross, who previously contributed to Kate Capshaw’s "Unaccompanied" exhibition at the Bo Bartlett Center, has continued to integrate audio elements into immersive artistic experiences. His recordings for "The Quieting World" were taken during a moment of balance between light and darkness, aligning with the themes of renewal and transformation that define the installation.

Pasaquan, a visionary art site founded by Eddie Owens Martin (St. EOM) in the 1950s, remains a landmark of creative expression and preservation.

CSU has stewarded the site since 2014, working with the Pasaquan Preservation Society to restore its vibrant murals and maintain its status as a National Register of Historic Places site.

"The Quieting World" will be on view at Pasaquan through July 20, 2025.

For more information, contact Pasquan Program Coordinator Charles Fowler at fowler_charles@columbusstate.edu or Headlands Center for the Arts Director of Development MJ Brown at mjbrown@headlands.org