Aurora Light Of Convergence 18.10.2013 / Dallas / USA
The Aurora Project is a free contemporary art exhibition centered in the rapidly developing Dallas Arts District. The project presents interactive new media artworks such as light , video, performance, and sound in exciting and unexpected public spaces. For on unforgettable evening, the sunset signals the transformation of the 68-acres of downtown Dallas into one of the nations largest outdoor exhibitions of this cutting-edge medium. The Aurora Project offers a valuable opportunity for collaboration between hundreds of local, national, and international artists, alongside the Dallas Arts District, for an inclusive artistic experience and community engagement.
A free district-wide art event featuring nearly 90 site-specific light, sound and visual installations across 19 square blocks of downtown Dallas.
Location: Dallas, Texas – In the streets and on the grounds of The Dallas Arts District Date: Friday, October 18, 2013; 7 p.m. – 12 a.m.
On October 18, Aurora 2013 is set to illuminate the public and hidden spaces of the Dallas Arts District with nearly 90 contemporary works of light, sound, performance, and projection art for a free evening of discovery and engagement.
Buildings will become projection screens; streets and courtyards will morph into art installations; and steel, glass, and concrete will pulse and reverberate, transforming The Dallas Arts District’s 19 square blocks into an expansive new media art exhibition. The evening will showcase some of the most innovative and creative contemporary artists from North Texas, alongside national and international talent. Visitors are given free access to explore, discover and participate in this celebration of contemporary art.
As visitors journey through the immersive art display, there will be live music and entertainment, a variety of food trucks and pop-up bars, Aurora lounges where you can sit and take a break, and 1050 lanterns to light your way; created by children from the Big Thought community program.
Highlights of this year’s program include 3_Search, a collaboration between curator Leo Kuelbs, artist John Ensor Parker and the working group Glowing Bulbs, which will bring the exterior architecture of the Wyly Theater to life. Max Dean will present “The Robotic Chair” (1985-2006) in Hamon Hall at the AT&T Performing Arts Center. Dean’s generic wooden chair falls apart and magically reassembles itself, facilitated by a custom-made robot. Overlooking the AT&T Performing Arts Center Reflective Pond, artistic team Audiopixel will create a “forest of light” from a three-dimensional grid of illuminated LED spheres. Choreographer and video artist Jeffrey Curtis will show a video projection work called “CONNECTIVITY” upon the North Meyerson Symphony Center Wall that will explore and subvert the ability of new media to connect people. The massive LED light installation “Points of Life” by Aurora co- founder Shane Pennington, a specially designed stage-curtain created for the Dallas City Performance Hall, will also be on view on the eve of TEDxSMU. Jazz vocalist Kally Price will perform live behind the curtain, along with accordionist Dan Cantrell and double bassist Daniel Fabricant. The shifting futuristic light-curtain and the haunting early jazz and blues sang by Price will combine to create a surreal sensory experience.
Spearheaded by Pennington and co-founders Joshua King and Veletta Forsythe Lill, with support from The Dallas Morning News, The Dallas Art District, the Dallas Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, and AT&T Performing Arts Center, Aurora is modeled after all-night events known as “Nuit Blanche” (French for “White Night” or “Sleepless Night”) that take place annually in some of the world’s greatest cities, and are renowned for their innovative interpretations of the art festival.
This year’s theme, “Light of Convergence,” illuminates the dichotomy between awareness of the individual and the greater whole. Massive and accelerating changes in technology have impacted the way individuals approach their various disciplines. “Light of Convergence” seeks to reveal how communal consciousness, enabled by technology, increases creativity and social awareness but may also have a darker side.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Aurora 2013 Format
The entire Dallas Arts District—home to AT&T Performing Arts Center, One Arts Plaza, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Meyerson Symphony Center, Klyde Warren Park and more — will be open for selected artists to use as canvases to showcase their works. Featured pieces will also be exhibited at AT&T Performing Arts Center (the Wyly Theatre, Winspear Opera House, Sammons Park and Annette Strauss Square); Betty B. Marcus Park and the Meyerson Symphony Center; Cathedral of Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe; Light Café; and Dallas City Performance Hall, among others.
In addition to the key sites noted above, attendees will discover art in unexpected places. there will be dozens of multi-sensory and participatory experiences as the public explores the Dallas Arts District in a new and unexpected way. Visit www.dallasaurora.com to learn more and plan your visit.
SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITES:
6:00 p.m. – 12 a.m. 6:00 p.m. – 12 a.m. 6:00 p.m. – 12 a.m. 6:00 p.m. – 12 a.m. 6:00 p.m. – 12 a.m.
7:00 p.m. – 12 a.m.
8:00 p.m. – 10 p.m. 8:00 p.m. – 10 p.m.
The Dallas Arts District’s Fall Block Party begins (FREE) Fall Block Party starts (FREE) Nasher Ten Year Anniversary Kick-Off (FREE) The Crow Collection of Asian Art (FREE)
The Dallas Museum of Art Late Night (FREE) Aurora 2013; The Dallas Arts District (FREE)
Meyerson Symphony Center: Firebird AT&T Performing Arts Center: A Raisin in the Sun
Parking and Exploring the Exhibit
For the evening of October 18, 2013, Flora will become a pedestrian walkway of art, live entertainment and hosted lounges and spaces, so Flora Street will be closed to traffic between Crockett and Routh; between Olive and Pearl; and Harwood between Woodall Rogers and Ross. Attendees will be able to enter the event from any point in the District and chart their own path as they wander, explore and experience the art throughout the District. Public lots and garages are available for parking in and near the District. Visit http://www.thedallasartsdistrict.org/visit/directions for options.
DART is the Dallas Arts District’s transportation provider of choice; for more information about accessing downtown via McKinney Avenue Trolley, light rail or bus, visit www.dart.org.
Hospitality
An array of appetizing food and beverage offerings will be available for purchase from a variety of food trucks placed in several locations along Harwood Street between Ross Avenue and Woodall Rogers.
Cocktails, lite bites and live entertainment can also be found nestled among the exhibition at the Aurora lounges, created for attendees to sit and take a break during their artistic exploration.
One Arts Parking will be open to the public and valet will be open from the north entrance Routh Street.
Participating Institutions
Big Thought, TEDxSMU, Booker T Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, and The University of Texas at Brownsville.
Partners and Sponsors
Aurora partners and sponsors include The Dallas Morning News, Dallas Convention Center and Tourism Bureau, AT&T Performing Arts Center, The Dallas Arts District, Downtown Dallas Inc., BUYLEDS, InLight Gobos, TEDxSMU, Paperlyte Films, Awkward Robot, BenQ Projectors, Syncolite, Dallas Art Dealer Associations, Big Thought, Dallas Office of Culture Affairs, Gemini, Berlin Art Link, and Oliver France Gallery, For more information about the Dallas Arts District, please visit www.thedallasartsdistrict.org. For more information about Downtown Dallas, Inc., please visit www.downtowndallas.org.
DART is the Dallas Arts District’s transportation provider of choice; for more information about accessing downtown via public transportation visit www.dart.org. Download DART’s free GoPass app in order to purchase, store, and activate passes in advance. Avoid standing in line or pulling out cash at vending machines and use the app Trip Planner to know how to navigate downtown via DART.