NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2 July 2008

PORT HURON PROJECT COMES TO OAKLAND AUGUST 2
Reenactment of historic 1969 speech by Angela Davis

Creative Time (NY) and the Oakland Museum of California present Mark Tribe’s Port Huron Project 5: The Liberation of Our People, a reenactment of a landmark 1969 speech by legendary activist Angela Davis, on Saturday, August 2, 2008 at 6 p.m. The restaging takes place at DeFremery Park in West Oakland, the original site. The event is free and open to all.

DeFremery Park (formerly Bobby Hutton Park, after the martyred Black Panther) is in West Oakland, at 1651 Adeline St., between 16th and 17th streets. For a map and directions, please visit museumca.org/calendar.

Mark Tribe’s Port Huron Project is a series of reenactments of key New Left speeches from the 1960s and 70s, presented to examine American democracy by considering today’s political situation in context to that of the 1960s and 70s. Tribe’s intent is to examine and inspire civic dialogue about political and social concerns of our times as we approach the culmination of the presidential election cycle.

Angela Davis’s 1969 speech passionately advocated combining anti-Vietnam War sentiments with social justice causes, emphasizing her points with illustrations of government treatment of the Black Panther Party and the controversial trial of the Chicago 7, which occurred only weeks before.

Creative Time (CT) and the Oakland Museum of California set the stage for the Saturday reenactment with a talk with Tribe and senior curator of art René de Guzman, on Friday, August 1, 7:30 p.m. (part of the museum’s First Fridays After Five).

In conjunction with Tribe’s talk, the museum presents a 6:30 p.m. screening of CHICAGO 10, an experimental documentary that combines animation, archival film footage, and audio recordings. Directed by Academy Award-nominated producer and director Brett Morgen, the film recounts the buildup to and unraveling of the Chicago conspiracy trial after the 1968 Democratic National Convention. CHICAGO 10 is presented courtesy of ITVS Community Cinema. The film and the artist talk are both free. Please visit www.museumca.org for more information.

Currently on the faculty of Brown University as assistant professor of modern culture and media studies, Tribe is a renowned artist and curator concerned with art, media and politics, and a cofounder of Rhizome.org, an online resource supporting art and technology.

The Port Huron Project is a part of Creative Time’s summer-long public art initiative, Democracy in America: The National Campaign, which includes art commissions around the country and an exhibition and event space in New York (September 21–27, 2008) that explore the state of democracy and civic participation. CT will present Port Huron Project 4: We Are Also Responsible with Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE), in LA on July 19, and Port Huron Project 6: Let Another World Be Born in New York City in early September

After 35 years of New York–based projects, Creative Time launched Democracy in America last year. By bringing Democracy in America to communities around the nation, CT deepens its commitment to artists working outside New York City, sharing its belief in the transformative power of public art with the broadest possible audience. Media contact for Creative Time is Nicholas Weist, nickw@creativetime.org, 212/206-6674 x205.

The Port Huron Project was created with initial funding from Creative Capital and further support from Creative Time, as a project within Democracy in America. For more information on past and future Port Huron Project reenactments, please visit http://nothing.org/porthuronproject/.

DIRECTIONS to deFremery Park
Directions from Oakland Museum of California:
1. Start out going North East on Oak St. toward 11th St.
2. Turn left onto 14th St./ International Dr.
3. Turn right onto Adeline St.
4. End at 1651 Adeline St. Oakland, CA 94607 (deFremery Park)

Directions coming from San Francisco:
1. Take I-880 south exits toward Alameda/Airport/San Jose
2. Merge onto W Grand Ave toward Maritime St.
3. Turn right onto Adeline St.
4. End at 1651 Adeline St., Oakland (deFremery Park)

Or visit visit Google Maps.

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The Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak @ 10th Street, in Oakland, is one block from the Lake Merritt BART. Museum hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 10 to 5; Sunday, 12 to 5 p.m.; first Friday of the month, 10 to 9. Admission is $8 for adults, $5 seniors and students with ID, free for members, City of Oakland employees, and kids five and under.Wells Fargo Second Sundays are free. For more information, call 510/238-2200 or visit .www.museumca.org.