Mario LaMothe
Fall 2021 Co-MISSION Artist-in-Residence
Mario LaMothe is a performance artist, curator and scholar. His curated events at the Haitian-American Museum of Chicago, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Duke University, among others, focused on Haitian artists’ labor to destabilize forms of anti-Haitianism, and queer artistry and social equity in Haiti and the Caribbean. His essays have appeared in numerous academic and public humanities publications. He holds a BA in Theater Arts and French from Boston College, a Certificate of Dance from the Ailey School, an MFA in Arts Management from Brooklyn College, and Ph.D. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University. Mario is also an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago.
PROJECT AT LINKS HALL
Assotto’s Child at the Altar | December 2021 and June 2022
Mobilizing Haitian Vodou’s movement vocabulary, aesthetics, and pedagogies, Assotto's Child at the Altar explores the effort a gender-fluid person undergoes to reclaim the legacy of their queer predecessor Assotto Saint (1957 – 1994). Saint, an openly gay man, a former dancer, and a self-proclaimed “low-life bitch” was born Yves François Lubin in Haiti, and gained recognition in New York Theatre at the onset of the AIDS pandemic for his sexually explicit brand of radical poetry and choreographed plays.
View the performance recording here.
Artist Credits
Choreographer & Performer: Mario LaMothe
Mentors: Roxane D'Orléans Juste, Chloe Johnston
Texts: Mario LaMothe, Assotto Saint
Music (sampled): Zao ak Djakata, Toto Bissainthe, Kerri Simpson, the Ayida Group
Lighting Design: Ricky Jay
Visual Art: Alexandra Antoine, T'yanna Moore
Costume Design: David André
Assotto’s Child at the Altar (June 2022). Photos by Zach Caddy.
