Henry “Box” Brown: Tales of a Magical Knee Grow
- Angel Bat Dawid
Western Front is pleased to present a new performance installation by Angel Bat Dawid, developed as part of our artist-in-residence program. The work is inspired by the life of Henry “Box” Brown, who in 1849 subverted chattel slavery by mailing himself from Virginia to Philadelphia inside a three-by-two-by-two-and-a-half-foot wooden crate. This radical act of survival and self-determination launched Brown into a remarkable public life as a magician, illusionist, preacher, and performing artist. Dawid’s work reclaims his legacy and draws on the tradition of the “hush harbor"—secluded gathering spaces where enslaved people organized their own spiritual and political resistance. Live ritual, projection, sculpture, and original composition form what Dawid calls a contemporary sanctuary of emancipation.
At the centre of the installation is Magic Mythos Alter-Destiny Freedom Ark, fabricated by interdisciplinary artist Camila Vick. Built to the exact dimensions of Brown’s shipping crate, the Ark is adorned with gold, tassels, sound-responsive Tesla spheres, and an etching of Psalm 40—the song Brown sang upon emerging from the crate. Inside, mirrors create an optical illusion of infinite internal space, revealing the limitless, un-enslavable reality of Brown.
Surrounding the Ark is Song-Hymn in Five Movements, a newly commissioned composition by Dawid, performed by the Professor H. "Box” Brown Cosmic Soul Arkestra—featuring Dawid (clarinet, piano, voice, electronics), Camila Vick (vocals), Audre Steph (actor), and Feven Kidane (trumpet, bass). Together they create a sonic passage that traverses earthly and cosmic realms, echoes Brown’s journey toward freedom, and activates ancient diasporic memory.
Tho We Look Through a Mirror Darkly Electro-Biological Panoramic Film extends these explorations through moving image. Drawing on Brown’s Mirror of Slavery (1850) and referencing 1 Corinthians 13:12, the video operates as both hypnosis and Afrofuturist portal. It incorporates Brown’s practice as a mesmerist and illusionist alongside historical research and speculative storytelling to disrupt conventional narratives and cognitive perception.
Accompanying the installation is Hermeneutic of the Portal: An Afro-Asiatic Eschatological Synthesis of a MAGIcal Knee Grow, a sermonic text that reframes Brown’s escape from slavery as an act of coded spiritual, mastery—tracing a lineage from biblical arks to Black musical traditions. Reading the Bible as ancient software, it maps the hidden systems of liberation embedded in Black sacred and sonic practice, ultimately offering a blueprint for collective deliverance.
Curated by Aki Onda.
About the Artist
Angel Bat Dawid is a Black American composer, improviser, clarinetist, pianist, vocalist, educator, and DJ based in Chicago, United States. Known for her prowess as a bandleader and performer, Dawid leads the all-woman ensemble Sistazz of the Nitty Gritty, is a founding member of the performance research group Autophysiopsychic Millennium, is a clarinetist in Damon Locks’ Black Monument Ensemble, and tours globally with her ensemble Tha Brothahood. As an educator, Dawid teaches her “Great Black Music” course at Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center through Old Town School of Folk. Dawid also composes pieces for live performance, has scored television series, and hosts a monthly show on NTS Radio.
About the Performers
Feven Kidane is a Vancouver-based trumpeter, bassist, composer, and arranger whose practice explores self-knowledge, immersion, and futurity through the lens of Blackness. Drawing on a wide range of musical traditions and collaborative approaches, she has performed on stages including the 2025 Juno Awards with Snotty Nose Rez Kids and Tia Wood, African Jazz Village in Ethiopia with Girma Beyene and Mulatu Astatke, and Lincoln Center with Missy D, as well as touring internationally with Digable Planets. As a writer, arranger, and recording artist, she has collaborated with Raagaverse, Kimmortal, Francis Arevalo, Francis Baptiste, Simbo, Dutch Robinson, and Camrus Johnson, among others. Kidane is currently developing her debut album.
Audre Steph is an Afro-Latina actor whose practice is grounded in theatre and screen performance. Raised in Arizona, she began acting at a young age, participating in numerous professional theatre productions before training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles. Based between Vancouver and Los Angeles, Audre has built a career across film and television, with credits including the How She Caught a Killer, in which she starred as Crystal, as well as appearances in the Netflix series Virgin River and the FOX series Alert: Missing Persons Unit. Drawn to thriller, horror, and comedy, her work is shaped by a love of storytelling, performance, and character exploration.
Camila Vick is a vocalist, poet, performer, and visual artist born and raised on the West Side of Chicago. Her multidisciplinary practice draws on jazz, soul, and rhythms informed by her Caribbean heritage, creating work that evokes intimacy, memory, and nostalgia. Camila has performed at the Jazz Showcase and participated in the Artist Corps Series with the Hyde Park Jazz Festival. In 2025, she presented her music at Arts + Public Life as part of a celebration of the work of Elizabeth Catlett. Through both solo and collaborative projects, Camila explores the intersections of sound, language, and visual expression.
Accessibility
The Grand Luxe Hall is located on the second floor of Western Front, which is accessed by a flight of 26 stairs. While plans for a full building upgrade to facilitate access for wheelchair users are still underway, events in the Grand Luxe Hall are made available virtually via high-quality livestream (see link above).
What to expect: This performance takes place in an intimate installation environment with low and shifting light, live amplified music, and large-scale projection. Audience members will be asked to participate in a procession as part of the performance, and seating in chairs is provided. As the Grand Luxe Hall is located on the upper floor of a heritage building, the space can become warm during summer months — guests are encouraged to dress in light, comfortable layers.
Alternative formats: ASL interpretation is available upon request by emailing info@westernfront.ca.
Further details about accessibility at Western Front can be found here.
Western Front is a non-profit artist-run centre in Vancouver.
We acknowledge the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations as traditional owners of the land upon which Western Front stands.