In a stunning use of taxpayer funds, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis recently opened its doors to families for a ritual of an unconventional sort—a “playful ceremony to summon and befriend their demon.” The event took place on August 5, 2021, at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The center, which according to Alpha News has benefited from Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, listed the event with the curious notation, “Demons have a bad reputation, but maybe we’re just not very good at getting to know them.”
The artist behind this eyebrow-raising endeavor is Tamar Ettun, who identifies as a sexual plurality and terms herself a performance artist. Ettun aims to resurrect the tale of an “aerial spirit demon, Lilit (Lilith),” tracing her origins to ancient Sumerian, Akkadian, and Judaic mythology. Ettun describes her effort as a “multidisciplinary project” intended to bring the ancient demon into the contemporary fold.
On her website, Ettun writes, “In the 2nd-7th centuries, artist-healers created spells, drawings, and talismanic objects to trap demons like Lilit, who was characterized as a dangerously sexual female entity.” She also notes that her rituals “were often performed by womxn concerned [sic] with medical issues like pregnancy and birth.” She further claims to “revive these practices through a feminist lens.”
In a society where traditional values are often set aside for edgy art, Ettun’s project has involved taking on the “persona of Lilit” and regularly interacting with hundreds of people through text messages, offering a digital companionship with the demon she personifies. Ettun also guides these texters to “offline actions,” like exercises that involve drawing on their bodies with objects found in their homes.
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While Minneapolis residents may be left wondering about the wisdom of such taxpayer-funded artistic ventures, this isn’t the first occasion the Walker Art Center has championed fringe causes. The art center’s concluding instructions for attendees at the demon-summoning event detailed how “Lilit the Empathic Demon will come from the dark side of the moon to lead you in locating your feelings using ancient Babylonian techniques.”
This kind of programming raises questions not just about cultural priorities but also about the use of taxpayer dollars. Alpha News reports that as of 2021, Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund spent over $630 million on projects that could be viewed as ideologically skewed. Among the supported projects were an adaptation of “Sleeping Beauty” reimagined “through a queer lens,” an anti-police documentary, “Drag Story Hour in Minneapolis,” and a production called “Queertopia.”
What’s clear is that taxpayer money is going toward projects that seem far removed from the traditional values many Americans hold dear. The use of public funds for such activities appears to be a stark reminder that the arts, which once aimed to uplift and enlighten, are increasingly seen through the lens of ideological activism.