As the site of the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Denver will be in the national and international spotlight for several days at the end of August. Thousands of delegates, journalists and visitors are expected to converge on the city, and a delegation from RISD will be among them — contributing to the public experience of the convention with Partly Sunny: Designs to Change the Forecast, a design showcase and supporting projects and events. In keeping with the green theme of this year’s DNC, the RISD projects are focused on demonstrating “what we can do now to address the challenges posed by climate change,” explains Design Critic Charlie Cannon, who’s coordinating RISD’s participation in the events surrounding the convention. The project is one component of Dialog:City, a citywide arts program sponsored by the Denver 2008 Host Committee and curated by Seth Goldenberg ’03 PT. The design showcase opens on August 24 at the Denver Pavilions. (See the event schedule at the bottom of the page for more information.)
The central element of Partly Sunny is an exhibition highlighting initiatives, policies and products that have the potential for immediate and significant environmental benefit. Identified by Cannon’s students in a multidisciplinary research seminar, the programs and products fall into six categories: transportation, food, buildings, energy, landscape and water; they range in scale from individual lifestyle choices to national policies, giving everyone — average citizens as well as politicians in town for the convention — concrete examples of action that can be taken at every level. At the policy level, for instance, a display explaining the London congestion pricing program illustrates how a toll for driving in central zones has reduced traffic and emissions while raising revenue to improve public transportation. Food-related initiatives include the Chicago Urban Farm, a nonprofit venture that raises produce on vacant lots around the city; building projects highlighted include the Burnside Office Building in Portland, OR — a platinum LEED-certified facility built at remarkably low cost.
By the time the design showcase has been installed in Denver, more than 100 RISD students will have contributed to it and related projects. Students in instructor Ootje Oxenaar’s Graphic Design studio are working on a visual identity scheme for the exhibition, while sophomores in Industrial Design are developing collateral items (including water bottle labels and bike flags) for potential production and distribution during the convention. Furniture Design senior Kallie Weinkle ’08 FD is using the event as the focus for her degree project: she’s reclaiming wood from used shipping pallets to create a table that will serve as a central meeting and activity point. Consisting of six separate trapezoidal units, the table can be configured into a variety of shapes and can accommodate more than 40 people. “I wanted to highlight the beauty of what we think of as waste,” Weinkle explains; her table will provide a spot for letter-writing campaigns, school-group projects and other activities supporting the project’s environmental objectives.
Partly Sunny is the only project developed by an educational institution for Dialog:City, which features a total of 10 individuals and groups of artists and designers. RISD is working with a number of contributing partners in Denver, including the University of Colorado and the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design (RMCAD), which is helping to select projects for the design showcase and has offered to do a green materials assessment of the exhibition to share with visitors.
Presented concurrently at different locations throughout the city, the exhibitions and installations in Dialog:City are intended to encourage creative interaction and discourse on a number of timely topics. DJ Spooky (a.k.a. Paul Miller), for example, is also focusing on environmental issues: his multimedia piece Terra Nova: The Antarctic Suite is assembled from images and sounds of ice breaking and melting in Antarctica. Daniel Peltz, an assistant professor of Film/Animation/Video at RISD, takes political rhetoric into an unexpected context in his new work Participatory Democracy and the future of Karaoke. Performance artist Ann Hamilton, the spurse collective and architect Minsuk Cho are among the other featured artists and designers. Dialog:City runs from August 21-29.
“If we are to avert the most significant effects of climate change,” Cannon says, “we can’t just talk about the weather — we have to act.” RISD’s exhibition promises to convey two important points to convention visitors: that responsibility lies with both individuals and governments, and that procrastinating is not an option. As the programs and policies collected in Partly Sunny indicate, forward-thinking designers, scientists and engineers are providing the tools needed to address climate change; part of the goal in Denver is to convince people to commit to adopting them.
EVENT SCHEDULE FOR PARTLY SUNNY AND DIALOG:CITY
· August 21:Dialog:City begins with an opening at the Robischon Gallery. Limited-edition works by Partly Sunny and Dialog:City artists will be available for sale.
· August 24:Partly Sunny opens at the Denver Pavilions in conjunction with the City of DenverŐs green programming, including the Green Frontier Fest.
· August 25:Partly Sunny co-hosts a panel discussion with the Presidential Climate Action Project at the Temple Hoyne Buell Hall, Denver Performing Arts Center. Tentatively titled “The Green Constitutional Congress,” the panel will discuss how to develop broad public demand for bold action on climate change. Confirmed participants include:
David Orr, Senator Gary Hart, Bruce Mau, Charlie Cannon and more TBA.
· [date TBD]: Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design hosts a conversation/dinner with Denver-based activists in the RMCAD rotunda
