The Making of @Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz ~ KQED Arts

 

The Miners Foundry, DANK, and Community Asian Theatre of the Sierras are delighted to present an exclusive trip to San Francisco to tour @Large:  Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz on Saturday, March 21, 2015.

Join us for an afternoon on Alcatraz, a fitting home for Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei’s latest project @Large.

Working from his studio in Beijing and with part time Nevada City resident Cheryl Haines, Ai created the series of site-specific installations using sculpture, sound, and mixed media.

The exhibition occupies three buildings on the campus normally restricted to the public.

 

 

The day will begin at 7:30 a.m. in Grass Valley, where guests will board a luxury bus and be transported to Pier 33 in San Francisco.  During the ride, guests will be treated to a film about the exhibition.  After the ferry ride to Alcatraz Island, guests will be given three hours to explore the exhibit and the island.

During the return trip, the bus will stop at Tokyo Buffet in Citrus Heights for a no-host dinner. If you feel the trip would be appropriate for your family, closely supervised children are welcome.

 

Tickets are available online, by phone, or in person at the Miners Foundry, or in person at Briar Patch Co-Op.

Additional details and information will be provided upon ticket purchase.

Tickets

 

Know & Go

WHO:  Presented by Miners Foundry, DANK, and CATS.  Tickets available to the public February 2, 2015.
WHAT:  @Large:  Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz
WHEN:  Saturday, March 21, 2015, 7:30 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.
WHERE:  The bus will depart from and return to Grass Valley.
TICKETS:  $79.00 – $94.00.  Ticketing fees may apply.
INFO:  Miners Foundry, [email protected], (530) 265-5040

 

@Large:  Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz will feature a series of seven site-specific installations by Ai Weiwei in four location on Alcatraz Island, offering a new cultural lens through which to experience the notorious military and federal penitentiary turned national park.

The exhibition explores urgent questions about human rights and freedom of expression, and responds to the potent and layered history of Alcatraz as a place of detainment and protest.  On view through April 26, 2015, @Large:  Ai Weiwei will provoke visitors to consider the broader social implications of incarceration and the possibilities of art as an act of conscience.

 

 

Ai Weiwei is a Chinese contemporary artist and activist.  Ai collaborated with Herzog & de Meuron as the artistic consultant on the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Olympics.

As a political activist, he has been highly and openly critical of the Chinese government’s stance on democracy and human rights.

He has investigated government corruption and cover-ups, particularly the scandal following the collapse of tofu-dreg schools during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

In 2011, Ai Weiwei was arrested and held for 81 days without official charges being filed.

 

 

Alcatraz Island offers a close-up look at the site of the first lighthouse and US built fort on the West Coast, the infamous federal penitentiary long off-limits to the public, and the 18 month occupation by Indians of All Tribes which saved the tribes.

Rich in history, there is also a natural side to the Rock—gardens, tide pools, bird colonies, and bay views beyond compare.

 

 

DANK is an artists’ collective in Nevada City, California.

It was founded in 2013 by ten artists interested in post-Great Recession social issues, the rural ideal, and an anti-urban aesthetic grounded in the legacy of the California Gold Rush.

The name DANK comes from the wet wood smell that permeates Nevada City, a town situated on the banks of Deer Creek.  It’s also a nod to one of the area’s premier exports, cannabis.

And it’s an acronym; Do Art Now Kids.

 

 

 

CATS (Community Asian Theatre of the Sierra) uses multicultural theater, events, and workshops to achieve its mission of promoting cultural diversity.

Through these avenues, CATS has enriched the area’s cultural and artistic climate with works on Asian-based themes.  Its mission is educational and artistic.

CATS has, through the years, partnered with local schools to expand the study of multiculturalism by providing affordable student matinees to our annual productions and to be a resource on Asian culture and history.

 

 

 

The Mission of the Miners Foundry Cultural Center is to preserve, enhance and utilize the historic Miners Foundry for cultural, educational and social activities.

The Foundry is a non profit organization, pleased to support the Nevada County theatre community.

To support cultural programming and the preservation of the historic Miners Foundry, please become a member or make a donation today.