September 26–27, 2014
www.dlectricity.com
Inspired by nighttime art and light festivals from around the world, DLECTRICITY presented by DTE Energy, Detroit’s nighttime festival of art and light, will illuminate the city this fall. This Nuit Blanche event will host 35 world-renowned and emerging artists whose leading-edge works of art will light up the iconic Midtown Detroit neighborhood during this free, outdoor arts exhibition, September 26–27, from 7pm to midnight. The schedule and list of participating artists may be found at dlectricity.com. The event is produced by Midtown Detroit, Inc.
“We are privileged to have some of city’s most remarkable cultural and architectural gems in Midtown that will serve as the backdrop for DLECTRICITY,” said Sue Mosey, president of Midtown Detroit, Inc. “This world-class event will once again showcase Midtown Detroit as an international arts destination.”
The electrifying two-day event will feature artists from Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Poland and Sweden, as well as New York and Detroit’s own art community will be well represented. Artists from 38 different countries submitted applications to DLECTRICITY, modeled after other Nuit Blanche festivals known for bringing the best of contemporary light and technology-based arts to the streets of major cities like Paris, Rome, Toronto, Minneapolis and New York.
Numerous acclaimed artists have been invited to the festival to show a range of high-quality, light-based projects and video projections, including:
Nathalie Djurberg and Hans Berg, The Black Pot: The Black Pot showcases the artists’ experimentation with newly abstracted animations and ambient electronica within a darkened, womb-like environment, in order to depict the cycle of life. Sponsored by the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA).
Sue de Beer, The Legendary Leland City Club: New York-based contemporary artist Sue de Beer has created a video to honor Detroit’s Leland City Club, a Goth club located in the Leland Hotel, and is in part sponsored by the College for Creative Studies.
Shaun Gladwell, Broken Dance (Beatboxed): Australian contemporary artist Shaun Gladwell works in video, painting, photography and sculpture, and is famous for his video works, which often feature him skateboarding and documenting a range of street sub-culture arts.
Mindfield, P.O.V.: A creative film, video and digital interactive media production house based in Detroit, Mindfield is developing a 3D mapping video experience that will fill the facades of the DIA and the Detroit Public Library.
Compagnia TPO, Kindur; The Adventurous Life of Icelandic Sheep: Under the direction of Francesco Gandi and Davide Venturini, Italy’s Compagnia T.P.O. (Teatro di Piazza o d’Occasione) is the world’s foremost pioneer in interactive performance media for all ages and melding astonishing digital imagery with multidisciplinary performance techniques.
Osman Khan, House: Osman Khan’s work plays and subverts the materiality behind themes of identity, communication, economics and public space through participatory and performative installations and site-specific interventions.
With one of the most vibrant and burgeoning art scenes in the world, installations of light, video, performance, interactive engineering and other unexpected works of art will be found throughout Midtown at venues including the DIA, Michigan Science Center, Detroit Historical Museum Plaza, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Detroit Public Library, C.H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit Symphony Orchestra and more.
“The quality of artists for this year’s DLECTRICITY is extraordinary,” said Michelle Perron, of the College for Creative Studies and head of the DLECTRICITY Curatorial Committee. “The city’s cultural center will literally light up with the creative energy that continues to put Detroit on the map with international artists and visitors.”
Additional curatorial committee members include Larry Baranski of the Detroit Institute of Arts, Marsha Miro of Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD), George N’Namdi of N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art, Frank Arvan of FX Architecture, and Marc Schwartz, co-chair of DLECTRICITY.
A listing of DLECTRICITY artists, programs and events may be found at www.dlectricity.com, Facebook, Twitter, and #DLECTRICITY.
