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When the spotlight shines on St. Paul for the Republican National
Convention, there will be more than politicians, protesters and journalists
talking. The Twin Cities arts community is using the convention as a way to
come together to talk about democracy.
Lead partner Intermedia Arts is working with the Walker
Art Center,
the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, the University
of Minnesota's Institute for New Media
Studies, Carleton
College and
The Uptake on "The
UnConvention." Their hope is to expand the view of the convention
outside the traditional walls of a convention.
"The idea has always been more to take a look at the scripted nature of
the convention and find a way to get involved, to broaden that conversation, to
talk about what is democracy," said the Walker's Sarah Peters. "It is
voting, it is about being a superdelegate, it is about running for office, but
it's also about putting an art sign in your yard or making a video with your
message to the delegates on YouTube. All of those things are democracy."
Among the some of the projects:
I Approve This Message: It encourages people to create
their own videos about democracy and post them on YouTube. Intermedia Arts
and the Walker, in conjunction with the Uptake, will host seminars to teach
people how to be videographers.
My Yard, Our
Message: Three hundred yard signs make up the My Yard, Our Message
Web site. Starting July 1, people can vote for their favorites.
Ultimately, 50 signs will be chosen and then placed into neighborhoods
throughout the Twin Cities.
Unconventional Gathering
Place: Starting Aug. 30,
Intermedia Arts will host an "Unconventional
Gathering Place" for artists to come together
to discuss and work on projects about participatory democracy. They will
continue this event through the November election.
Art on Wheels: These are bikes built by University of Minnesota
students that have the capacity to broadcast videos wherever they go.
"How do we give the average person on the street a voice in this
incredibly focused global media situation that frankly very scripted?"
said Steve Dietz, one of the founders of the UnConvention. "This is like a
do-it-yourself media campaign."
Projects through the UnConvention are not directed at one political party or
candidate. There is a similar undertaking at the Democratic National
Convention.
"The idea is not anti-Republican as much as it is expanding the
conversation about what happens around a political party convention," said
Peters. "Make a video, vote for a yard sign. And don't feel as though you
have to stay at home and watch it on the news."
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