FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
March 1, 2008
CONTACT:
Gigi Otalvaro-Hormillosa
The
National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (NALAC) has selected Gigi
Otalvaro-Hormillosa to receive a grant for
the 2007-2008 cycle of the NALAC Fund for the Arts (NFA). This award
supports the final phase of “Dimension of IS: A Spectacular
Future,” created in collaboration with Heather Cox Carducci.
The final phase
of “Dimension of IS” will entail the completion of the video
portion of the piece which was initially presented as an interactive video /
performance, and which incorporates performance, science fiction, sound design,
and video. “Dimension of IS”
is inspired by the history of world’s fairs which many have interpreted
as being explicitly racist in their display of non-Western people as specimens.
“We are
happy to support Gigi Otalvaro-Hormillosa through an
NFA award and look forward to strengthening our support of the Latino arts
community in
Funding for
this grant award of the NALAC Fund for the Arts is made possible thanks to the
generous support of the Ford Foundation, the JPMorgan Chase Foundation and
Southwest Airlines. NALAC is also proud to welcome new NFA partners the Andy
Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and Heineken
Through the
NALAC Fund for the Arts, NALAC has provided 128 grants totaling more than
$379,000 to Latino artists, ensembles and small and mid-size Latino arts and
culture organizations throughout the
Abel López,
Chair of the NALAC Board said, “NALAC’s support of Latino artists
and organizations ensures that the nation’s cultural life is enriched and
made vital through the diverse artistic and cultural expressions of our
artists. We are pleased to support the creative process of Latino artists and
organizations across the country that engage communities, stimulate ideas and
local economies, and build audiences for all of the nation’s arts.”
The first phase of “Dimension
of IS” was funded by the Astraea Foundation, the Horizons Foundation, the
San Francisco Art Commission, the Zellerbach Family Fund, and individual
donors.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT
DIMENSION OF IS
(a)eromestiza (the
arts organization for which Devil Bunny acts as Artistic Director) presented
the video of “Dimension of IS” at the 6th Annual
Encuentro of the Hemispheric Institute on Performance and Politics (Body Politics
in the Americas: Formations of Race, Class and Gender) that took place in
Buenos Aires, Argentina last June at the Centro Cultural Recoleta. In addition, Devil Bunny and co-creator,
Heather Cox-Carducci, spoke on a round table discussion entitled “Utopic
Bodies,” along with other performance artists and academics from the
In 2006, Devil Bunny and Heather premiered
“Dimension of IS: A Spectacular Future” as part of their residency
at the Lab, in
Heather and Devil Bunny collaborated with
artists Elise Baldwin, and Eliza Barrios to create this historical and science
fiction based work in progress. Elise
Baldwin has been active in the Bay Area experimental music scene as a sound
designer, recording engineer and composer for theater, film, live performance,
and audio installations. Eliza Barrios
is one of the founders of the Mail Order Brides (MOB), whose work ranges from
performance, to installation, and video/film.
Heather is a designer and performer who is currently establishing SpaceSuperStar,
a company that creates art and clothing for individuals and their
journeys. Other collaborators include
Valentin Aguirre, Alan Chun, emael, Gary Gregerson, Kendall Li, Al Lujan, Tony
Otalvaro, S. Trotter, Jenifer K. Wofford, Marilyn Yu, and Soo Yuan.
(a)eromestiza’s
funders for this project included: San Francisco Art Commission, Horizons
Foundation, Astraea Foundation, Zellerbach Family Fund, and individual
donors. Founded in 2001 by Devil Bunny,
(a)eromestiza creates dynamic live performances that incorporate complex sound,
movement and video components. Devil
Bunny is currently seeking funds to complete the final phase of the project so
that the work can exist as a video in its final form.
In June of 2006, Devil Bunny performed an excerpt
from the past/present segment of “Dimension of IS” at “The
Next Big Bang Conference,” at the Aratani/Japan America Theatre in
Downtown Los Angeles. She was also a
featured panelist on the “Dynamism of Aesthetics in Asian American
Theatre” panel, along with Alice Tuan, Mia Katigbak, and Esther Lee. From August through October of 2006, the
video of the future segment of “Dimension of IS” was exhibited at
MACLA in
In July of 2007, Devil Bunny and Heather
participated in “The Last American Icon: Under House Arrest,” a
week-long performance installation by San Francisco-based artist, emael. As part of emael's retrospective, Devil Bunny
and Heather appeared as the “elders” from the Dimension of IS to
visit with the artist, who was also an elder from the Dimension of IS in a
previous incarnation. They sat and vibed with each other, engaged in
minor calisthenics, and joined in communicine - a remnant ritual from MUVE, another previous
work in which emael so beautifully collaborated with (a)eromestiza and
SpaceSuperStar.
From November of 2006 through 2008, the video of
the future of segment of “Dimension of IS” will be on exhibit in
venues throughout