After-dark art project turns Sinnissippi Park in Rockford into surreal dreamscape
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — An after-sunset art project that utilizes mediums ranging from dance to giant puppetry will turn the dark woods of Sinnissippi Park into an illuminated surrealist dreamscape.
Somnium, an award-winning annual production created and directed by Eddaviel Montero and Emily Klonicki, is now in its fourth year. This year’s production is called “Somnium: The Book of the Hollow Earth,” and it walks audiences through multiple set pieces such as a glowing portal and spinning column before concluding in the seats at the Sinnissippi Park Music Shell.
There are shows at 8 p.m. each night from Thursday through Sunday at the park, 1401 N. Second St.
“Our concept is for people to feel that they are experiencing their own dream,” Klonicki said. “They are a part of it. They interact with it. It interacts with them.”
The production is a collaborative effort of more than 20 artists and it blends projection art, theater, dance, music, film, circus arts, puppetry, murals and other disciplines into an immersive experience.
“One of the things that we love about the project is that every artist is given complete freedom to explore the theme and the idea in whatever way they want,” Klonicki said. “It’s an unusual experience for artists to be given complete freedom to do something.”
Artists take a variety of approaches to the theme, treating it as everything from mythological to psychological.
“This is a way to work with artists that don’t have any limits,” said Faith Minneyfield, a dancer who is in her fourth year with Somnium.
Minneyfield was part of the CAPA program at Auburn and then studied dance at Illinois State University, where she graduated in 2022. She said the artists continue to come up with more and more outlandish ideas for the production each year.
“The more you watch it and the closer you look at it, you will see more things unfold as you experience it,” Minneyfield said.
During the production you’ll walk under a giant glowing jellyfish, past towering puppets, through a glowing portal and alongside other surreal installations.
“Making a theater out of a forest is quite an undertaking,” Klonicki said. “It’s a lot of work when it comes time to put everything together — and we don’t do anything small.”
Emma Bruce, one of the youngest performers at age 8, said she likes how Somnium encourages you to use your imagination.
“I really like how you can tell them your ideas, and they’ll tell you to go for it,” she said.
She said there’s also a message for viewers to find, too.
“It’s also very important because, for me, it shows how you should protect the Earth,” she said. “It shows the importance of taking care of nature.”
The loose narrative follows young Guajayuna, the last traveler from a planet destroyed in the future as he arrives into a world deep within the planet and discovers what lives there.
You don’t need to have seen other versions of Somnium to follow the production, but if you have you will notice little threads that weave throughout the storyline.
“Whatever you’re into you’ll find a thread that will resonate with you and you’ll see little elements that will bring a meaning to you,” Klonicki said. “And if you’re just here to enjoy it like a movie, you’ll also enjoy it like a movie.”
If you go | Somnium: The Book of the Hollow Earth
What: Somnium is an award-winning multimedia public art project that incorporates music, story, light, dance, and extravagant and surreal visuals. It’s now in its
Artists: Somnium is a collaborative project that combines the visions of Odilius Vlak, Raymond Jáquez, Patrick Mattison, Verónica Soria-Martinez, David Stocker, Jenny Mathews, Zach Stephens, Alizé Jireh, Zheka Fedoseev and Valentina Fedoseva, Faith Minneyfield, Ella Lakey, Maggie Arango, Arjuna Klonicki, Bill Houtkamp, Andrew Ehrhardt, Prairie Smoke, Invisible Five and Chroma Club with sculptural contributions by José Santiago Román, Ben Hooker, Drew Helge and John Verl McNamara.
It is created and directed by Eddaviel Montero and Emily Klonicki.
When: 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 28-Sunday, Aug. 31
Where: Sinnissippi Park, 1401 N. Second St., Rockford
Cost: $25; $10 for children 6-12; free for children younger than 6
Tickets: experiencesomnium.com
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas
