Performing freedom

[Note: The following information contains an updated list of participating artists, current as of December 24.]

On December 31, artists across the nation will perform freedom of information 2008: a 24-hour performance/protest/ritual, initiated by choreographer Miguel Gutierrez in response to the U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Participants will engage in continuous movement improvisation performed while blindfolded and ear-plugged, which is intended as a contemplative act of solidarity with those displaced by the wars.

This action takes place over the last 24 hours of 2008, from midnight to midnight of December 31st. It ends with the ringing in of the New Year. At present, there are 29 artists participating in freedom of information 2008. Each artist will perform the action in her/his respective state and during the 24 hours that correspond to December 31st in his or her time zone. Miguel Gutierrez originally performed freedom of information alone on December 31, 2001, in response to the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. This time, inviting artists from across the country creates a nationwide, synchronous event.

freedom of information 2008 involves staying in one room for the duration of the event. Moving continuously for 24 hours throughout the space of her/his choosing in a sensory-deprived state, the performer meditates on the dislocation and disorientation of those who do not have the basic right of being safe for the duration of a single day, who instead must be continuously on the move because of the threat of violence.

freedom of information 2008 is free and open to the public in each of the venues that the artists have selected. Throughout the 24 hours, people are invited to come and go as they please, watching the participating artist as they attempt to fulfill the simple but rigorous demands of this action.

For more information on the preparations and locations for this event, click here.

The event has been initiated by Miguel Gutierrez, a choreographer/performer based in Brooklyn, NY. Gutierrez is an award-winning artist whose evening-length pieces tour internationally. For more information on his work, click here.

Gutierrez will continue to identify artists to participate in this action throughout the month of December. As of December 24, here are the participating artists for freedom of information 2008:

Alabama – Rhea Speights
Alaska – Kyli Kleven
Arizona – Aileen Mapes
Arkansas--Malinda Allen
California – Jesse Hewit
Colorado – Lily Brown-Johnson
Connecticut – David Dorfman
Florida – Heather Maloney
Georgia – Diana Crum
Hawaii – Brianna Skellie
Illinois – Marissa Perel
Iowa – Amanda Hamp
Kentucky – Ben Asriel
Maryland – Sharon Mansur
Massachusetts – Jesse Zaritt
Michigan – Marlee Cook-Parrott
Minnesota – Morgan Thorson
Montana – Harmony Wolfe
New Hampshire – Gregory Holt
New Jersey – Joshua Bisset
New York – Miguel Gutierrez
North Carolina – Janice Lancaster
Ohio – Lena Lauer
Oregon – Tahni Holt
Pennsylvania – Jung-Eun Kim
Tennessee – Layard Thompson
Texas--Daniel Adame
Vermont – Selene Colburn
Virginia – Zap McConnell
Washington – Tonya Lockyer
Washington, D.C. – Maida Withers
West Virginia – Katherine Ferrier

In New York, Miguel Gutierrez will perform freedom of information 2008 at The Barn, an independently run dance studio in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. (ilovebarn.com)

In New York, Miguel Gutierrez will perform freedom of information 2008 at The Barn, an independently run dance studio in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.