The Wishing Tree

Allumer Natchez, Mississippi's first annual light based art exhibition and festival, brilliantly lit up the grounds of Dunleith Historic Inn November 19th-21st in Natchez, Mississippi. The event was free and open to the public, purposefully removing economic barriers to attendance.

Allumer Natchez is meant to provide a path, through art, for the community to come together, outdoors, post pandemic, while helping establish Natchez as a center of innovation in the state of Mississippi and the Southeast.

One of the featured installations, "The Wishing Tree", conceptualized by Stacy Conde, co founder of Allumer Natchez, and executed by arts collaborative Arts Danu, was an immersive experience, situated under a 260 year old Magnolia tree. Participants were beckoned to come in and place a wish within the cave of the ancient magnolia which glowed with green light, and asked to explore the mystical and sacred space within the tree boughs while sorting through a shimmering passageway of secret hopes shared within the environment.

"The color green is important to the installation as it's both symbolic of nature and the heart center. Even the soundscape we played was a specific frequency...", said Conde, "...theoretically, it's supposed to clear energy blockages of the heart...whether it does or not, I have no idea, but it certainly set the perfect tone."

A group of girls dressed as fairies, organized by Nicole Harris in association with Natchez Little Theatre, aided festival goers in pinning their wishes to long green ribbons hanging from the Magnolia's branches. Some of the paper wishes were rolled or folded very carefully while others were pinned open for all to see.

Click here to view the individual wishes of our community, Natchez, Mississippi.

"The experience of walking under the boughs of the tree, and passing through hundreds of wishes fluttering the wind, was uplifting and heart breaking at once. When it was time to uninstall, I couldn't just throw away the hopes of our community, it felt disrespectful. Instead, each and every wish will be listed on allumernatchez.com and condecontemporary.com, omitting names where they are mentioned in order to respect everyone's privacy. The project will culminate on January 2nd, when we will burn the wishes and send them out into the world", said Conde.

Click here to view the individual wishes of our community, Natchez, Mississippi.