A Centennial Arts Experience

1988 features four site-specific dance performances by the award-winning Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre, centering on six featured artworks from Culver Citys public art collection, with the final performance taking place on Saturday, September 9 at 5 or 7 pm at Culver City CityHall Courtyard.The 1988 series is named for the year Culver City adopted the Art in Public Places Program Ordinance, which is responsible for more than 100 permanent works of art dotted amongst our Citys landmarks and buildings, and plays an integral part in creating important funding for the Performing Arts Grant Program providing dance, theatre and musical performances throughout the year.

Each performance is named after the featured artwork; Cloud by merge conceptual design; Punctuation Station by Jeff Kopp; Technicolor Drip by Jen Stark and Hanging Garden, Quotation Courtyard & Panoramic and La Ballona by Ed Carpenter, Barbara McCarren and May Sun. After completing my two-term tenure on the Culver City Cultural Affairs Commission and hearing the ongoing requests for the community to serve, participate or contribute in some way honoring Culver City's Centennial I wanted to create an event that acknowledges our Citys rich history through the arts.

As a 26-year resident, a longtime champion of the arts, it was time for me to think long and hard about what my contribution would be and how best to respond. I took the rest of 2015 and part of 2016 to coalesce my ideas and concepts down to the 1988 event series we experienced in April, May and August 2017, with the finale performance on September 9th. Several key components were of personal importance in creating the series; that the Culver City community learn about Culver City's permanent public art collection; that the public spend time engaged with the artwork, coming away with a deeper connection to it; that the public artwork chosen for the series reflect the Centennial theme – Culver City – A Century of Change; and that an educational component involving the artist (whose artwork we would be highlighting) would take place via an informal Q & A at the conclusion of each performance.

To further public participation, a film will be created documenting the 1988 series for the Centennial, which will become an archival document for the City's Centennial. My choice of Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre to participate in the 1988 series began while on the commission. I watched her companys performance of Space Opera, as a recipient of the Culver City Performing Arts Grant Program and learned of a previous HDDT performance created involving public artworks and conceptualized that this would be something truly special for Culver City's Centennial. Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre was selected for the 1988 series to combine site specific choreographed dance in and around the chosen public artworks.

The 1988 event series is my gift to the City of Culver City during this Centennial year. The series finale takes place on Saturday, September 9 at 5 or 7 pm at Culver City CityHall Courtyard! Seating is limited,

RSVP required. For tickets go to Eventbrite.com and search: The 1988 Series: Hanging Garden. Event is FREE for Culver City residents, enter code:CCResident. See you there!