Meeting the city halfway

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Welcome to the inaugural Northern Spark, a free, all-night festival of public art and performances taking place outdoors and indoors in both Minneapolis and Saint Paul from sundown to sunrise.

There is magic in the night, when the familiar, like the city skyline, becomes majestic, and a starry sky can transport the imagination. One’s senses are heightened, attuned to the slightest noise or even the smell of the nearby river in a way that seems not so common in daylight. One’s regular bus ride or walking over the threshold of a building visited hundreds of times before becomes exotic and otherworldly at 3 am.

Imagining Northern Spark. Maquette and photography by Rasun Mehringer. Design: Matthew Rezac

It is in this context that more than 200 artists are presenting 100 installations and performances for Northern Spark from the top of the Foshay Tower to boat rides along the Mississippi to light sculptures and projections to performances galore, including car horn and brass band fanfares, color guards, river dancing, sewer pipe organs, lullabies, and storytelling. Perusing the festival program (PDF) will introduce you to the rich variety of offerings that will bloom for one night only. It is not our goal to take over the night like some giant big top tent, but to join it. We meet the city halfway. As you walk or ride a bike or take the bus from one venue to another, see and appreciate your surroundings with new eyes and ears. Celebrate one of the great rivers of the world through two magnificent cities and enjoy the next artistic intervention you come across. It’s an adventure. You make your own journey.

Northern Spark is presented by Northern Lights.mn, but it would not be possible without the amazing work of the artists, the generous participation of more than 50 organizations, a talented staff, and the steadfast support of our sponsors, including the people of Minnesota through funding from the Legacy Amendment. Thank you.

Steve Dietz
Artistic Director, Northern Spark
President and Artistic Director, Northern Lights.mn

Northern Spark program guide

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The print Northern Spark program guide – 32 pages of not-to-be-missed projects and scheduled events along with essential “getting around” information – is hot off the presses and will be available at the following sites beginning on Saturday. Check websites for open hours.

The Soap Factory
Le Meridien Chambers Minneapolis
W Minneapolis – The Foshay
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Intermedia Arts
Franklin Art Works
Walker Art Center
Saint Paul Central LIbrary
Landmark Center
Black Dog Cafe and Wine Bar

In the meantime, download a PDF of the program and start perusing your planned peregrinations.

Programs will be available at all Northern Spark venues the day and night of the Festival.

All-night event a chance for Twin Cities artists to shine

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Amy Carlson Gustafson, via Pioneer Press
May 9, 2011

There’s nothing typical about the newest Twin Cities arts festival. From the time it takes place — sunset to sunrise — to the number of local arts organizations involved — more than 50 — Northern Spark has potential to be a monumental arts event. Inspired by the worldly ‘Nuit Blanche’ movement of nighttime arts festivals that originated in Europe, Northern Spark plans to turn the urban landscapes of St. Paul and Minneapolis into one giant art gallery early next month.

“I had always wanted to do an overnight event but had never been able to,” said Northern Spark artistic director Steve Dietz. “I think it’s an interesting way to get a different take on everything that seems normal to you. It started with an idea around the programming and, for me, it was the amazing richness of the art scene. And it was an opportunity to do something along the river corridor and with other organizations in the Twin Cities.”

Starting at 8:55 p.m. June 4 and continuing until 5:28 the following morning, the Twin Cities will be home to more than 100 public art projects, many of which are happening on or near the banks of the Mississippi River. Opportunities to check out work by more than 200 artists are seemingly endless during the event — here’s just a small sampling of what you can experience: select photographs for projection onto the Gold Medal Flour silos; singers performing lullabies if you want to snooze in a public space; ride on a houseboat and take in a dance performance; or listen to a sewer pipe organ installation that will be played back from speakers inserted at the storm drain outfalls by the Mississippi River.

“You think you know a view, a city, a building, a park — and then to see it at night, it’s a different experience,” Dietz said. “So to do that in a safe, fun, active environment where you’re more excited about what’s around the corner than nervous about it, it really changes how people can experience the city. And the flipside is our commitment to reaching a broa d audience and engaging them in really fine art. Part of the mission of the ‘Nuit Blanche’ is that it’s free culture for everyone.”

One of the event’s most anticipated pieces is “Scattered Light,” an LED light installation by San Francisco-based artist Jim Campbell (one of only a handful of non-locals participating in the festival). Located at Upper Landing Park in St. Paul near the Science Museum of Minnesota, the luminous three-dimensional piece — which was recently on view at Madison Square Park in Manhattan — will feature hundreds of hanging light bulbs that illuminate the night sky. Unlike other Northern Spark projects, “Scattered Light” will be on display through July 24.

For Minneapolis-based and internationally known artist Andrea Stanislav, Northern Spark presented a perfect opportunity to debut her new public video work, “Nightmare,” which creates the illusion of a white horse galloping on the Mississippi River. Led by a towboat, the 17′ x 25′ video screen carried on a barge will display the image of a horse with the river playing the part of a metaphorical racetrack. Viewers will be able to spot the unexpected image that Stanislav calls “ghostlike” from the banks of the Mississippi.

“I love the concept of the festival,” said Stanislav. “It’s so elegant within its simplicity, too, that it’s illuminating the city for one night. So many points in the Cities will be have video, light and sound installations. I think it’s literally going to be an electric experience. And I think the idea of staying up throughout the night will also bring the community together.”

Joe Spencer, director of arts and culture for the city of St. Paul, says the city has been working closely with the festival on logistical issues, including permits. He says he anticipates some people will be anxious about the all-night aspect of the event, but so far things have been going smoothly. One big question — will St. Paulites stay! up all night for the festival?

“Absolutely,” he said with confidence. “I’ve always had a hard time with all-nighters, though. I’m going to pick and choose my spots and I think that’s what most folks will do. I’m thrilled for folks who have it in their constitution to stay up all night. They’ll have plenty to do and see.

“The fact is this is very much a mission-driven festival that has a strong artistic curatorial element to it,” he said. “I don’t think success will be defined by how many people show up to a festival grounds, but rather by the artistic quality.”

To make sure folks have a chance to check out events in both cities, there will be free bus rides to select locations, volunteers to help people navigate festival events and security at various locales.

“The goal is that this will attract people to places — whether it’s going into a museum or down to the river or staying out past 10 p.m. at night — to a place they might not normally gather,” Dietz says. “They’ll congregate, they’ll have social interactions and it will really change how they think about their city and the relationship to it. That would be success for me if we have a lot of people out there enjoying themselves.”

Readings, storytelling, and lullabies at Northern Spark

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Storytelling is a time-honored way to ward off the evil spirits at night – or just plain drowsiness. Laurie Hertzel has a nice blog post in On Books about the Bedtime Stories project, which is organized by the Rain Taxi Review of Books as part of the Walker Art Center’s Nightshift program for Northern Spark.

There are many other opportunities for storytelling at Northern Spark.

Piotr Szyhalski, Empty Words (so that we can do our living)

Piotr Szyhalski’s 9-hour performance is a participatory reading of John Cage’s “Empty Words” and is part of an ongoing series of works that examine the poetics and, particularly, the rhetoric of language. Empty Words attempts to “demilitarize language, by awakening its natural poetry and making it impossible for people to control one another through rhetoric. Hopefully some state government officials will be in attendance, but in any case come to Father Hennepin Bluffs Park on the east side of the Stone Arch Bridge and add your voice.

Skewed Visions, Please Remain Seated

Skewed Visions takes their storytelling on the free buses that will transport people from venue to venue in and between Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Sorry, no napping on the buses.

All My Relations Arts, Community Conversation

Hopefully no one will be sleep already at 5:30 pm – although this is Minnesota, so you never know for sure – but there will be a stimulating conversation between Rigo 23, Tom Poor Bear, Mona Smith, Bobby Wilson, Robert Two Bulls and Heid Erdrich about Rigo’s Oglala Oyate: Sister City for a Better Future, an 8-hour video, which he shot on the Pine Ridge Reservation last year.

Red76, Follow the Light, Let the Light be Your Guide.

On the steps of the Saint Paul Central Library, Red76 encourages you to bring a radical prophetic text, preferably of regional vintage, to declaim into the night. As more and more visions of the future are spoken aloud and shared, the darkened facade of the library will light, till there is a new dawn in the morning. At 5:28 am.

Works Progress, Mississippi Megalops – A Floating Chautauqua

While the free tickets are almost sold out for this river adventure orchestrated by Works Progress and Andy Sturdevant, there may be some left for the 5 am trip – the best time, in my opinion. Sparkling performances, illustrated presentations and other works of artistic and scientific expression will be presented aboard the Jonathan Padelford sternwheeler as it makes its way down the Mississippi River, illuminating the shores of Saint Paul. Featuring creative contributions from over a dozen artists, scientists and storytellers, who together will transform a common riverboat into a floating Chautauqua, a rollicking experience that will enrich the mind and delight the senses!

Springboard for the Arts, Two Story Love Story

Springboard presents a program of dialogue between staff, in their offices on the 2nd floor above Prince St., and visitors, on
street below.

Marcus Young and Grace Minnesota, The Lullaby Experiment

Ok, so you still can’t quite stay awake. Come back to the Walker and let Marcus Young and Grace Minnesota sing you gently to sleep.

Artists of Northern Spark

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Ai Minnesota Students, Artifact Shore, Luke Axelson, Leslie Ball, Bridget Beck, Christopher Baker, Robert Bauer, Amelia Biewald, Philip Blackburn, The BodyCartography Project, Bart Buch, Jill Burchill, Calamity and the Owl, Charles Campbell, Chris Campbell, Jim Campbell, Jaime Carrera, Genevieve Chamberland, Christopher Charbonneau, Melinda Childs, Bryan Clendenen, Barbara Claussen, Como Avenue Jug Band, Corbian Visual Arts and Dance, Grant Cutler, Emily Darnell, Mike Davis, Daniel Dean, Dirty Talk, Dan Dressler, Pete Driessen, John Driscoll, Alex Dyba, Aaron Dysart, Terese Elhard, Heid Erdrich, Jan Estep, Chris Farstad, Sam Fuentes, Ben Garthus, Jonathan Gering, Charles Gillett, Grace Minnesota, Will Grant, Solange Guillaume, Mike Haeg, Mike Hallenbeck, Malena Handeen, Lara Hanson, Nathan Hanson, Katie Hargrave, Todd Harper, Peter Henning, Alexa Horochowski, Wing Young Huie, Carrie Jennings, Mary Johnson, Peter L. Johnson, JoJo of Murals by Eros, Joe Kaercher, Gulgin Kayim, Chris Kallmyer, John Kamp, Mero Cocinero Karimi, Kalen Rainbow Keir, Sean Kelly-Pegg, Leslie Kelman, Layne Kennedy, John Kannenberg, Julie Kesti, Scott Kesti, Osman Khan, John Kim, Rachel Knoll, Suzanne Kosmalski, Bethany Lacktorin, Landland, Mina Leierwood, Amanda Lovelee, Emily Lynch, Dana Maiden, Meena Mangalvedhekar, Aaron Marx, Megan Mayer, MCAD Students, Peter McLarnan, Caly McMorrow, Megan Mertaugh, Debora Miller, MAW, Ali Momeni, Ben Moren, Michael Murnane, Levi Murphy, Joe Nagel, Christy Newell, Kaara Nilsson, The Notion Collective, Nostalgia, Pat Nunnelly, Mark O’Brien, Ryan Olcott (Food Team), Angela Olson, Erik Ostrom, Panelectric Cinema, Jack FX Pavlik, Chris Pennington, Ilana Percher, Peyton of House of Daskarone, Wang Ping, Bonnie J. Ploger, Liseli Polivka, Tom Poor Bear, Prairie Fire Lady Choir, Scott Puhl, Janaki Ranpura, Red76, Rigo 23, Brian Roessler, James Rojas, ROLU, Molly Roth, Andrew Saboe, Kate Saturday, Carissa Samaniego, Jenny Schmid, Davu Seru, Skewed Visions, Mona Smith, Angela Sprunger, Andrea Stanislav, Chris Strouth (Paris-1919), Andy Sturdevant, Piotr Szyhalski, Lauren Thorson, Amy Toscani, Anthony Tran, Trash Film Debauchery, Vasily Trubetskoy, Robert Two Bulls, U of M BFA Group, Eric Veldey, Vong Vang, Roman Verostko, Vortex Navigation Company, Anthony Warnick, David Wiggins, Diane Willow, Bobby Wilson, Sarah Wolbert, Jim Woodring, Works Progress, Liu Xuguang, Marcus Young, Chester Yourczek, Brad Zellar

Partners in Northern Spark

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With over 100 projects and performances to be presented as part of Northern Spark, we want to thank all our partners and sponsors who are doing so much to make this possible by thoughtfully adding to the rich array of offerings from sunset to sunrise on June 4-5. Thank you!

All My Relations Arts, American Composer’s Forum, American Swedish Institute, Art Department at the University of Minnesota, Art Institutes International Minnesota, Art Shanty Projects, Beijing Film Academy, Black Dog Cafe + Wine Bar, Burnet Gallery at Le Meridien Chambers Minneapolis, City of Minneapolis, City of Saint Paul, CITYDESKSTUDIO, College of Visual Arts, Covanta Energy, Flint Hills International Children’s Festival, Forecast Public Art, Franklin Art Works, The Friends of Saint Paul Public Library, Great Water Brewing Company, Hennepin Energy Recovery Center, Highpoint Center for Printmaking, Intermedia Arts, Keys 4/4 Kids, Landmark Center, Le Meridien Chambers Minneapolis, Lorenz Bus Service, Macalester College, McNally Smith College of Music, McSweeney’s, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis Parks + Recreation, Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minnesota Historical Society, Minnesota Museum of American Art, Minnesota State Arts Board, mnartists.org, Mpls Photo Center, Nice Ride Minnesota, Nomad World Pub, Northern Lights.mn, Northrop Concerts and Lectures, Public Art Saint Paul, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, Rain Taxi Review of Books, Red Stag Supperclub, Regis Center for Art, St. Anthony Falls Laboratory at the University of Minnesota College of Science & Engineering, Saint Paul Central Libary, Saint Paul Cultural STAR Program, Schubert Club, The Saint Paul Hotel, Saint Paul River Centre, Science Museum of Minnesota, The Soap Factory, Soo Visual Arts Center, Springboard for the Arts, The UpTake, US Army Corps of Engineers, W Minneapolis-The Foshay, Walker Art Center

Call for Brass, Percussion, and Piccolo

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Trumpet, Trombone/Baritone/Tuba, Percussion, and Piccolo

Performance opportunity on the Stone Arch Bridge

for dawn or dusk // homeward is a 10-15 minute sound work  for 100+ local musicians playing brass, percussion, piccolos and tiny whistles. The site specific performance will take place on the Stone Arch Bridge, stretching across the Mississippi playing overlapping melodies derived from the route of the river. The piece follows the route of the river south past St. Louis, Memphis, New Orleans and into the Gulf of Mexico. The piece is written by Los Angeles based composer Chris Kallmyer who will come out to work with the group on June 3 + 4.

Participating Musicians

We are looking for musicians age 10 – 110 (amateur and professional) who love playing their instrument, are not afraid to play loud, and have an interest in engaging with their community via music. Folks need to be willing to participate in three rehearsals prior to the performance at the Northern Spark Festival on June 4 at 9:05. Participants will need to provide their own instruments, and percussionists are encouraged to bring two instruments from this list: marching snare drum, marching bass drum, glockenspiel, metal junk, and bells.

Time Commitment

Two rehearsals with your section leader prior to the June 4 concert.

  • Friday, June 3. 6:00 – 8:00 pm // rehearsal at the Stone Arch Bridge
  • Saturday, June 4. 9:05- 9:20 pm // Walk-through at 7pm // Performance at the Stone Arch Bridge

If you would like to participate, please contact the event coordinator, Phil Snyder.

Provisions for an All-Night Journey

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Public Address asked Northern Spark food curator Sarah Peters to write about the culinary art of the Festival.

Mobile Food at Northern Spark

Trolling the Twin Cities all night long to experience a spectacular array of artist projects requires some stamina. You can always stop into your favorite neighborhood joint to grab a bite, but we’ve rounded up some of the best food trucks in the Twin Cities to provide sustenance along the way. Stationed in each Zone, these mobile chefs will keep you happily fed, caffeinated and recharged. Eat your way through the festival starting with a sunset dinner and ending with breakfast at dawn!

Border Tacos truck - Photo by Aaron Fenster

Border Tacos truck. Photo by Aaron Fenster

In St. Paul Border Tacos will be planted in front of the St. Paul Central Library where you can take a break from watching films of light and darkness, or a “campfire” reading to load up on tasty Mexican fare. Border’s acclaimed tacos, burritos, tamales and quesadillas are piled with perfectly seasoned chicken, pork or steak and covered in fresh cilantro and onions.

Anna Dien's family is working the stand and crafting bubble tea pearl recipes.

Anna Dien's family is working the stand and crafting bubble tea pearl recipes. Photo Michelle Bruch

If cantaloupe is more your style than carnitas, head over to the Science Museum of Minnesota for a smoothie from Sophea Fresh Fruits. Choose from a long menu of fresh fruits such as avocado, watermelon, banana, papaya, and yes, cantaloupe, or recharge with a bubble tea. Sip your sweet treats while listening to Mike Hallenbeck’s Sound Spandrel or tricking out your bike with the Bicycle Synthesizer Ride.

If a caffeinated pick-up is what you need before or after getting down on the dance floor at McNally Smith College of Music, stop off at the Black Dog Café. Their doors and kitchen will be open all night, where you can order from a special “menu of dreams” constructed by the café and artist Peter McLarnan based on research into the effects that late-night cheese consumption has on our unconscious imaginations. And did we mention FREE COFFEE? Yes!

In Minneapolis four mobile vendors are reason enough to stay up all night. At the Soap Factory, Dandelion Kitchen serves up their fresh fare from a bright yellow truck. Locally-sourced meats and produce join forces in sandwiches like roast chicken with whole grain mustard, blue cheese and greens. Homemade sodas—lemon ginger! basil lime!—wash it all down.

Over at the Walker Art Center, where the festival’s eight hours are packed with activities under the moniker Nightshift, the Garden Grill by D’Amico serves snacks, light fare and local beer ‘til 1 am when the Barrio Truck rolls up to take us through until morning. Stop by for a Latin-inspired  boost of Compart Family Farms Pork Carnitas, Soft Shell Crab, and Meyers Natural Beef Barbacoa and a bottle of Jarritos.

She Royal Deli

On the campus of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, stationed somewhere between the Three-Story Drawing Machine and The Battle of Everyouth at the Minneapolis Institute of Art is the place to go for Ethiopian food. She Royal Coffee Company will be there to serve chicken curry, spicy gyros, veggie platters (lentils, collards, cabbage) and the ever-necessary cup of coffee.

At the south end of the Stone Arch bridge in the upper parking lot Cruzn Café will keep you on your toes with espresso drinks, pulled pork and chicken sandwiches, hot dogs, nachos and smoothies. Make it a plan to end your night on the bridge with one of Cruzn’s breakfast tacos and the sunrise.

Mero Cocinero Karimi - Photo courtesy of the artist.

Mero Cocinero Karimi - Photo courtesy of the artist.

And finally, when your night is complete and you’re still hungry, stop at a 24 hour grocery store and bring an ingredient to cook at Mero Cocinero Karimi’s Power of the People Community Breakfast at Intermedia Arts. The meal will be as good as YOU make it!

We hope your journey through Northern Spark is as delicious as it is awe-inspiring!

A whiskey-jonesing-bar-hopper for art

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“IN 2006, NORTHERN LIGHTS.MN founder, president, and artistic director, Steve Dietz, helped organize the first Zer01 SJ biennial, a seven day festival of art highlighting the theme of “the interactive city,” which took place in San Jose, California. The event was a huge success, featuring the work of more than 250 artists representing over 40 different countries and drawing in excess of $9 million dollars in revenue for the city. The problem?  The activities ended at 2 a.m. every night, and like a whiskey-jonesing bar-goer just diving into his second wind, Dietz wanted still more.

“Four years of idea-percolating and 18 months of practical planning later, Dietz has turned his a.m. arts bender dream into reality. On June 4 and 5, Northern Lights.mn, a “roving, collaborative, interactive media” nonprofit art agency, will host Northern Spark: A Nuit Blanche, the Twin Cities’ first ever all-night outdoor art festival.“

Read the rest of Regan Smith’s preview of Northern Lights’ all-night arts festival, Northern Spark: Nuit Blanche, featuring dusk-to-dawn interactive art happenings throughout the Twin Cities, with work by more than 100 artists and organizations, on June 4 & 5.

via mnartists.org

Win big – volunteer for Northern Spark

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Be part of an amazing team; make the very first Northern Spark nuit blanche a success by volunteering. Every volunteer who commits to a three-hour shift will receive a t-shirt designed by Matthew Rezac, will have their name listed on the website, and will gain a unique and invaluable experience. Northern Spark appreciates its volunteers. Everyone who successfully checks in and out of their shift on Festival night will be entered in a drawing for great prizes including MIA, Walker and Nice Ride annual memberships, a $50 Best Buy gift card and more!

If you know others who would be interested in volunteering for Northern Spark, please spread the word!!!

Sign-up now: volunteer.northernspark.org, or email robin@northern.lights.mn

Your Northern Spark back up plan

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It’s unlikely that with all the excitement of Northern Spark you won’t be able to stay up all night, but just in case, Le Meridien Chambers Minneapolis is offering a special Northern Spark rate for the evening, where you can crash for a power nap, if you want to.

As an added bonus, you’ll be able to go directly downstairs to the Burnet Gallery and experience Alexa Horochowski’s, Cloud Cave at any point during the night or listen to the world premiere of Artifact Shore’s Living Cloud Cave at 5 am with no problem. And nearby is The Notion Collective’s Station Identification for a bracing, seldom-seen, wee hours view of the city from the top of the Foshay Tower.

Your call whether PJs are appropriate Festival attire.

Art X Detroit – New Works in the Public Realm

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Public Address invited Cezanne Charles to guest blog about Art X Detroit. See also her earlier post on Transitions, Transformations, and Traditions – Artist’s Role in the De-industrial City.

Art X Detroit was a five-day multidisciplinary celebration that exclusively presented newly commissioned works created by the 2008-2010 Kresge Eminent Artists and Artists Fellows, from April 6-10, 2011 with an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit ( MOCAD) and public art continuing to April 24, 2011. An exciting program of dance and musical performances, literary readings, workshops, panel discussions, public art and special exhibitions, Art X Detroit was hosted at more than a dozen venues located throughout Midtown Detroit’s Cultural Center and was free to the public. Art X Detroit is supported by the Kresge Foundation.

For this first outing audiences were given the opportunity to cloud spot and shoe gaze. They could make and march wire cars in an inspired dream cruise. They could brixelate their city online and see their brixelations on buildings throughout midtown. They could view a new permanent work of public art from one of Detroit’s legendary artists and for 5 days they could pound the pavement of Detroit’s cultural corridor that encompasses Cass, Woodward and John R from Hendrie to Harper. Just the pedestrian activity that these 5 days generated made this car town feel like a different city. The festival attracted standing room only crowds for the majority of the events and a packed to capacity opening at MOCAD with live performances ensured a highly charged start to it all. While April 6 – 7 at Rust Belt to Artist Belt were devoted to discussing and showing the way that artists and creative practitioners can transform a region through a hybrid and socially engaged practice, Art X Detroit presented how artists can transform a region through – art.

This was ecstatic practice from the Kresge Eminent Artists and Artist Fellows. The public art included what will be a new permanent work by Charles McGee, Spirit Renewal.

Cloudspotting and Detroit Weather: 365 days video projection © Susan Goethel Campbell. Photo Cezanne Charles

Artist Susan Goethel Campbell offers us a guide to Cloudspotting Detroit, which focuses on the unique atmosphere of Detroit. The accordion-style brochure includes a key to identify cloud types and a map showing a bike route to interesting cloud spots in the city. Clouds in this case are manmade and often the result of industry, but there are also natural cloud formations included. Wheelhouse Detroit will be arranging guided tours of the suggested route later this season. This is a different point of view of Detroit – science meets art, meets phenomena and eventually meets bikes.

Wire Car Cruise, Video Projection: a Dance for Diego; Sculptural Object: me me me © Chido Johnson. Photo Cezanne Charles

Chido Johnson’s Wire Car Cruise is a public performance/action – a wire-car cruise on the historical Woodward Avenue was performed to the formation of Detroit’s version of Soul Train, The Scene. The participants made their dream car and chose their favorite cruising song for the performance. The cruising music and wire-cars made by diverse communities within Detroit, its vicinity and others as far as Zimbabwe, was exhibited in the lobby of the old Dalgleish Cadillac Dealership, now TechTown and a video, titled a Dance for Diego documenting the performance was shown at MOCAD. Chido, a native Zimbabwean, creates cross-cultural transpositions and transformations in his work making links between Detroit, the US and Africa. In this case the making of wire cars pushed with sticks is a cultural practice popular in the southern and central regions of Africa and Woodward Avenue is where the Highland Park Ford Plant became the first automobile production facility in the world to implement the assembly line. Woodward Avenue for years served as the home of the US auto industry and in the 50s spawned woodwarding or crusing the boulevard.

Brixels © Cedric Tai. Photo Cezanne Charles

Cedric Tai created the project Brixels, a web-based and physical mural project for midtown Detroit. Tai’s Brixel project is designed as a “generative piece of art, that evokes textiles and Razzle Dazzle Battleships from WWI by drawing parallels between the camouflaged ships that eluded their enemies and a city that avoids being reduced to an essentialized narrative.” Visitors were asked to join the process through creating their own tessellations at www.makebrixels.com.

Street Folk © Tyree Guyton. Photo Cezanne Charles

Finally, inestimable and inimitable Tyree Guyton created the public installation Street Folk, formed from 10,000 paired and unpaired discarded and donated shoes. This piece highlighted the plight of the homeless in Detroit and once again sees him using his abilities to engage critically into the social and environmental fabric of the city.

The public art that was part of Art X Detroit really didn’t deal with a broken city or its broken buildings, which perhaps is both compliment and critique in general to the public art that largely is created by artists that are located here. Much of the public depictions that come by way of the New York Times and recent photo books of the city follow the formula of ruin porn – and while some of the photography is beautiful, haunting and yes filled with promise and opportunity – it is harder perhaps to depict the illusive, ephemeral and transient. This is exactly what these artists have tried to capture. As exciting as these projects were, for me it was the public coming out in droves for a series of art events that will stay with me now that Art X Detroit has come to a close.

Cezanne Charles is an artist and curator who co-founded the hybrid art & design practice rootoftwo. She is Director of Creative Industries at ArtServe Michigan and directs the professional development program from the Kresge Artist Fellows.

Photo credits: Cezanne Charles

Making the Band: Chris Kallmyer composes music for the opening of the Northern Spark

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Reblogged from Walker Art Center.

Chris Kallmyer testing the sound properties of the site.

Chris Kallmyer testing the sound properties of the site.

Los Angeles based composer Chris Kallmyer has spent the last two days walking the Stone Arch bridge, testing survival whistles and sketching plans for new piece as part of the Northern Spark Festival on June 4th and 5th.  for dawn or dusk // homeward is a 10-15 minute sound work for 100+ local musicians playing brass, percussion, piccolos and tiny whistles.  The site specific performance will take place on the Stone Arch Bridge, stretching across the Mississippi playing overlapping melodies derived from the route of the river.  The score is based the route of the river south past St. Louis, Memphis, New Orleans and into the Gulf of Mexico.


Map of Mississippi River over-layed as a guide for the composition.

Community involvement is integral to the piece.

In this spirit, amateurs will work side by side with professionals, as well as community leaders who will run rehearsals. Chris states “The intent of this project is to host a range of musicians involved, and create a unique opportunity for younger musicians to pair with more experienced performers outside of a classroom or traditional band setting.”  The score is written considering players of all levels and experience and will give the performers the unique experience of debuting an original piece created specifically for them.”

If you are curious if this project is right for you, please check out this PDF of the working score!

We are still seeking musicians for the piece.  What would that mean for you…

Participating musicians

Trumpet, Trombone/Baritone/Tuba/Sousaphone, Piccolo, Percussion.

We are looking for musicians age 10 – 110 (amateur and professional) who love playing their instrument, are not afraid to play loud, and have an interest in engaging with their community via music. Folks need to be willing to participate in three rehearsal prior to the performance at the Northern Spark Festival on June 4 at 9:05.  Participants will need to provide their own instruments, and percussionists are encouraged to bring two instruments from this list: marching snare drum, marching bass drum, glockenspiel, metal junk, and bells.

Time Commitment

two rehearsals with your section leader prior to the June 4 concert.

  • Friday, June 3. 6:00 – 8:00 pm //  rehearsal at the Stone Arch Bridge.
  • Saturday, June 4. 9:05- 9:20 pm // Walk-through at 7pm // Performance at the Stone Arch Bridge.

Section Leaders

We are looking for trumpet, trombone, and piccolo leaders who can organize and run two rehearsals with your section prior to June 3.  I’d like you to work on the piece but also general fundamentals and pedagogy.  Starting with a warm-up, playing some chorales, and finishing with the piece at hand.  We are able to have one leader for each section.  We are looking for candidates who have an interest in working with their community, pedagogy, new music, and a sense of humor.

Time Commitment

  • phone meeting with Chris Kallmyer (artist) and Northern Spark on May 20 to look over score and parts.
  • arrange two rehearsals with your section prior to the June 3.
  • Friday, June 3. 6:00 – 8:00 pm //  rehearsal at the Stone Arch Bridge.
  • Saturday, June 4. 8:55 – 9:15 pm // Call time at 6pm // Performance at the Stone Arch Bridge.

Chris is also the music curator for Machine Project, a LA based collective who will be in residence on the Walker Open Field this July.Check out video from their brief visit this winter, including Chris’s Tea Pot Igloo performances.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k87-fFnl1fM&feature=player_embedded

When Eliza met HAL

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Pretty funny.

via Near Future Laboratory

Transitions, Transformations, and Traditions – Artist’s Role in the De-industrial City

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Public Address invited Cezanne Charles to guest blog about the conference Rust Belt to Artist Belt. Here is her report. Thanks Cezanne.

From April 6 – 7, Rust Belt to Artist Belt explored how artists and creative practitioners are transforming the landscape in Detroit and in other de-industrialized cities. Topics explored DIY culture, social justice, land use, prosperity and neighborhood and community development. Opening Keynotes from Maria Rosario Jackson of The Urban Institute and Judilee Reed, Executive Director of Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC) set the stage for the conference, providing significant national analytics about the position and role of artists in society.

The context for the conference was Detroit and not just the urban center or the image of an American city in decline, which is the popular way this region is depicted. Instead this conference looked at the ways that artists and designers are rethinking and reimagining what is possible for a socially-engaged practice, especially practices that are situated in and suited particularly to the post-industrial context of the multi-centered city/region. The conference also added voices both national and international to the mix.

Creatives Making Their Mark – from left to right Karl Daubmann, Ply Architecture; MonicaBlaire, singer/songwiter; Osman Khan, interactive artist; Lynn Crawford, Author Literary Fiction; (not pictured) Natalie Jeremenjenko, environmental artist. Photo: Cezanne Charles

Detroit has artist community decided micro-funding project grants through Detroit Soup that both weirdly complements and contrasts to The Kresge Artist Fellowship program. The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD) and the Heidelberg Project have been awarded funding through LINC’s Space for Change program, while the region also has artists Sarah Wagner and Jon Brumit of DFlux refurbishing their house and offering DIY artist residencies making a different kind of space for creativity. Detroit has an artist run fake guerilla branding agency Hygienic Dress League, the work of Steve and Dorota Coy and top-flight corporate creative agencies such as Skidmore Studios using guerilla tactics. Somewhere in this mix of top down and bottom up approaches artist-led initiatives have found a way to make the region fertile for themselves and other artists and share a connection to artists and creative entrepreneurs in other cities. Detroit has artists and curators working in the public realm making work that moves beyond beautification and cookie-cutter approaches to public art as a hallmark of gentrification and instead illuminates history and traditions such as the Black History 101 Mobile Museum founded by curator Khalid el-Hakim.

Artists in the region like many others have also stepped in to fill needs in the areas of agriculture and urban farming and design as a form of social and economic justice like Margarita Barry and Veronika Scott. They have embraced hacker and media fab labs, like OminiCorp Detroit as a means of addressing digital divide issues; and they are proposing ways to turn homes into environmental assets when property values will likely never provide a return on investment like PowerHouse Productions from Design 99 duo Gina Reichert & Mitch Cope. These were some of the artists’ projects and work that was presented at Rust Belt to Artist Belt as part of a larger context for understanding the full ecosystem or creative supply chain at work in post-industrial or de-industrialized cities.

Rust Belt also attempted to shed some light on what happens when a city becomes the next target for the “Berlin” effect. There are all new issues presented when the superstar curious, the recent transplant, and the native denizens from the core and the suburbs all want to have a say and a stake at the table when promoting or deciding about the future of places like Detroit as an artist/creative city. There are inevitable conflicts of opinions and interests – the panels included a mix of these to offer a portrait of what is happening now.

Foundations and other funders, advocacy and capacity building organizations and those providing professional development, artist space development and entrepreneurship training have forged partnerships to help support and in some cases intervene lightly in this ecosystem – their work was also highlighted as part of the conference.

The Closing Keynotes by Allee Willis, a one woman creative think tank, and Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates left attendees with a clear call to action. Both concurred that artists do have a role in the transformation of the city, and moreover it is their boundless agency that should be supported and encouraged. Over the two days, Rust Belt to Artist Belt started a dialogue about the creative industries, the post-industrial economy of cities and artists value in society.

Cezanne Charles is an artist and curator who co-founded the hybrid art & design practice rootoftwo. She is Director of Creative Industries at ArtServe Michigan and was the lead curriculum partner on the 2010 Rust Belt to Artist Belt.