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The politics of art will join the art of politics

'Dialog:City' festival will provide platform for discussing big issues

Mary Voelz Chandler

Published May 5, 2008 at 11:36 a.m.
Updated May 6, 2008 at 10:33 a.m.

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The arts event Dialog:City coinciding with the Democratic National Convention in August will include Hindsight Is Always 20/20 by New York-based artist Luke DuBois, pictured at top. Each light box in the project displays key words from presidential State of the Union addresses dating back to George Washington.

The arts event Dialog:City coinciding with the Democratic National Convention in August will include Hindsight Is Always 20/20 by New York-based artist Luke DuBois, pictured at top. Each light box in the project displays key words from presidential State of the Union addresses dating back to George Washington.

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CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misidentified DJ Spooky, who will be one of the artists involved in "Dialog:City."

The chance to get Denver talking about democracy is pulling 10 artists from around the world to "Dialog:City," a digital media festival sponsored by the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee.

"What it's really about here is to try to set a platform for dialogue on major issues of the day," said Mayor John Hickenlooper on Monday during an announcement of the lineup of artists.

"We are pairing internationally renowned artists with local organizations to create provocative works of art around what democracy means to you," he said.

Hickenlooper acknowledged "this (discussion) is the kind of stuff we do all the time," but the "lineup is remarkable. This is a citywide, metrowide arts festival."

The 10 installations will be open from Aug. 21-29 in locations throughout the metro area. The works skew toward "green" topics and make up the first major art component of a national convention.

Each installation will have its own opening. The dates are not set, nor are the locations for some. All events are open to the public, and some involve collaborations with schools and community groups.

Projects range from South Korean architect Minsuk Cho's floating Pavilion for Public Discourse in City Park to California-based artist Lynn Hershman Leeson's artificial "being" and presidential candidate DiNA taking questions at The Lab at Belmar.

New Yorker Sharon Hayes will work with volunteer performers to recite a text that addresses "queer identity" in public life and politics, and artist/musician DJ Spooky will perform a multimedia piece created from his recordings of how ice in Antarctica sounds and looks when it's breaking.

The tab for all this?

"We're trying to keep it at about $750,000," said Erin Trapp, a member of the host committee and director of the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs.

The committee has kicked in about $200,000 and is relying on numerous partners (from schools to museums) for support.

The host committee commissioned Seth Goldenberg and Liz Newton to recruit artists for the project. The couple moved here about a year ago from Rhode Island to work on the opening of MCA Denver, then began planning Dialog:City.

And Denver artists' place in this discussion?

"There are a lot of possibilities for local artists to participate," Trapp said, including another program, "Cinemocracy," where anyone can enter a short, short film for consideration for screening.

chandlerm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2677

Visiting Dialog:City

* What: A digital media festival to address democracy through the arts

* When and where: Aug. 21-29 at various metro sites, including the Denver Performing Arts Complex, Ellie Caulkins Opera House, City Park and The Lab at Belmar

* The backers: Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee

* Artists: Charlie Cannon and students from the Rhode Island School of Design's Innovation Studio (various states and countries), Minsuk Cho (South Korea), Luke DuBois (New York), Ann Hamilton (Ohio), Sharon Hayes (New York), Lynn Hershman Leeson (California), Daniel Peltz (Rhode Island), D.J. Spooky a.k.a. Paul Miller (New York), spurse collective (various states, countries), and Krzysztof Wodiczko (Poland)

* Admission: Free, open to the public

* Budget: About $750,000, including $200,000 from the host committee

* Information: dialogcity.org (developing, but includes links to artists); also, to come, on denverconven tion2008.com