THE LIBERTY FAIR
Topic(s): Outdoor | Comments Off on THE LIBERTY FAIRDate/Time: 12/09/2004 12:00 am
Sunday, September 12, 2004,
over forty contemporary artists and Downtown for Democracy will transform 22nd Street into:
THE LIBERTY FAIR
The Liberty Fair is the latest in a series of events produced by D4D to tap
into the political, creative and economic clout of the nation’s cultural
community and this time it’s a party. A decade ago, the western edge of Chelsea was a rundown warehouse district. Today, galvanized by museums, independent bookstores, performance spaces, and restaurants, as well as the largest concentration of galleries and studios anywhere, the neighborhood has become the center of New York’s thriving arts scene. Now, for one day only, D4D reinvents the space yet again, creating a carnival atmosphere where serious political aspirations find expression in music, games, food and exhibitions both serious and silly.
The Fair’s booths, stalls, performances and entertainment put an
avant-garde spin on New York City’s famed street festivals, with shades of Ye Olde Village Fayre, and will appeal to both art connoisseurs and their kids. There will be cookie decorating and face painting with some of America’s top artists; t-shirts and tattoos specially created for the event by more contemporary art stars; Donkey riding and a kissing booth; a freak show, a confessional, an enormous decadent all-day feast; special cocktails, dancing, tarot cards, palm reading, makeovers and much more, all presented by your favorite visual artists, writers, performers, designers and dealers. Participants include:
Ricci Albenda, Aaron/aNYthing, AS FOUR, Andisheh Avini, Ross Bleckner,
Cecily Brown, Larry Clark, Chivas Clem, Chuck Close, The Condo Family, Will
Cotton, Jessica Craig-Martin, Clarissa Dalrymple, Tara De Long, Mark Dion, Mary Farley, Yvonne Force, Andrea Fraser, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Rachel Harrison, Mary Heilman, Dave Hill, Jacqueline Humphries, Gary Indiana, Ryan Johnson, Tony Just, Jane Kaplowitz, Steve Keene, Knight Landesman, Sean Landers, Julian Lethbridge, Brice & Helen Marden, Malerie Marder, Adam McEwen, Joe McGinty and Friends, Sophy Naess, Camilla Nickerson, Erik Parker, Laura Parnes, Dale Peck, Elizabeth Peyton, Paul Pfeiffer, Richard Phillips, Steve Powers (aka ESPO), Rob Pruitt, Laura Owens, Blake Rayne, Matthew Ritchie, Alexis Rockman, Ed Ruscha, Amy Sillman, Dana Schutz, Guy Richards Smit, Andrew Smith, Zak Smith, Philip Taaffe, Kara Walker, Lawrence Weiner, Terry Winters, and many more.
Friedrich Petzel Gallery, at 535 West 22nd Street, will house The Kid
Convention, which will feature entertainment, crafts, and games–in a space
festooned with balloons, flags, pins and banners–by and for kids.
Downtown for Democracy is a political action committee founded by
practitioners and professionals in all the creative media: the arts, music, theater, film, publishing, fashion, and advertising. D4D taps the connection between progressive politics and cultural production, reminding us that political action requires more than manipulating statistics and playing the demographics. It requires an inventive, progressive vision that, instead of playing on the electorate’s fears, taps into its many and varied strengths. As our city and nation enter the fourth year since the terrorist attacks of 2001, the Liberty Fair serves as yet another reminder of the positive values on which America was founded, and of the generosity and conviviality that form the heart of its character.
The organizing committee for the LIBERTY FAIR is: Bronwyn Keenan, Cecily
Brown, Tanya Bonakdar, Jessica Craig-Martin, Corinna Durland, Jessie
Washburne-Harris, Mirabelle Marden, Melissa Bent.
For further information go to _www.downtownfordemocracy.org_
(http://www.downtownfordemocracy.org/) .