Performance
Putting It Together - One
Butterfly Williams is a multimedia performance artist. Iruke Institute International was previously known as The Iruke Project, a theater and video production company devoted to exploring social justice and sustainable communities.
Below is a retrospective of both The Iruke Project’s work and Dr. Butterfly’s independent work in performance and theater, including a series of performances devoted to the writer James Baldwin.
THE IRUKE PROJECT
Shafted @ The Iruke Project @ National Queer Arts Festival (photos by Robbie Sweeny)
2019
The Alchemy of Manhood: A Celebration of Healthy Masculinity for Same-Gender Loving Black Men Arts-Based Alchemy Workshop Urban Healers Oakland LGBTQ Community Center
2018
“The Beat” (feat. OLOKUN) Music Video Premiere 50th Anniversary Conference of the Association of Black Psychologists
2017
“Crossing to Safety” (feat. OLOKUN) Music Video Premiere Siren: Call from the Blackest Part of the Ocean Video Installation Call for Beauty Exhibition The 3.9 Art Collective Root Division
2015 - 2016
Our Stories, Our Freedom: Black Voices Transforming Stigma and Shame I & II Curriculum Designer + Instructor Black Brothers Esteem San Francisco AIDS Foundation Luggage Store Gallery
2015
Ritual 4 Re-Entry: Hope, Faith & Healing for the Formerly Incarcerated Interactive Group Performance Ritual (Creator) Golden Inmate (Performer) Pacific Felt Factory
Ritual 4 Re-Entry @ The Iruke Project @ Pacific Felt Factory
2014
“Total Action: A Voice Orchestra in Four Movements” (Creator + Director + Performer) 50th Anniversary Celebration of “Take This Hammer” KQED Documentary Center for Political Education Bayview Opera House
2013
Shafted: The Blaqxsploitation Project Multimedia Group Variety Show (Director) Pimp (Performer) National Queer Arts Festival African-American Art & Culture Complex
2011
Blood Is Mere Decoration: A Ritual for Liberation Multimedia Solo Performance (Creator) Prisoner (Performer) Intersection for the Arts
Blood Is Mere Decoration @ The Iruke Project @ Intersection for the Arts
JAMES BALDWIN
Generations 2014: Black LGBT History Experiences @ African American Art & Culture Complex
2015
A Posthumous Interview with James Baldwin Spirit of James Baldwin (Performer) Gay Ancestors Project
2014
Nigger, Queer, Cunt: An Exhibition About Difficult Words James Baldwin in “Take This Hammer” (Performer) A Simple Collective
Generations 2014: Black LGBT History Experiences James Baldwin in “Take This Hammer” (Performer) African-American Art & Culture Complex
50th Anniversary Celebration of “Take This Hammer” KQED Documentary “Total Action: A Voice Orchestra in Four Movements”* (Creator + Director + Performer) Center for Political Education Bayview Opera House
2011
James Baldwin in Paris Reperformance of Paris Review Article (Performer) Poet’s Tree House
OTHER PERFORMANCES
Fire House / Waters’ Edge @ Hatch Performance Collective @ San Francisco International Arts Festival (photo by Serena Morelli)
2016
Fire House / Waters’ Edge Drill Sergeant (Performer) Hatch Performance Collective San Francisco International Arts Festival
2012
Reviving Spirits Carnival Barker, Osiris (Creator + Performer) Progressive Grounds
2011
Chaplin on Hill & Garden Crucifix Creator + Dancer inkGround
2010
Common Ground Site-Specific Performance (Instigator) JFKU Arts + Consciousness Program Jack London Square
After All @ Erika Chong Shuch Performance @ Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
2008
After All The Clock (Performer) Erika Chong Shuch Performance Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
2007
EPIcenter Performance Festival “Possessions” (Creator + Performer) Experimental Performance Institute New College of California
THEATER
Where Do You Belong? @ Outlook Theater @ Red Poppy Art House
2014
Where Do You Belong? Human Discoball (Creator + Performer) Outlook Theater Red Poppy Art House
The Ages Miz Cocoa Chanel, “It Gets Worse” (Creator + Performer) Outlook Theater SOMArts Cultural Center
2013
The Witch House Director The Garage
The Witch House @ The Garage (photos by Robbie Sweeny)
2009
#5 Angry Red Drum Goram (Actor) Asian-American Theater Company
This Many People Workshop Edwin/Edwina (Actor) Outlook Theater The Garage
The Model Apartment Neil (Actor) Traveling Jewish Theater
Crystal Christian Chorus A (Actor) The Magic Theater
#5 Angry Red Drum @ Asian-American Theater Company @ The Thick House