Participatory Art
Dallas museums provide one-time soapbox in solidarity for free speech
The three Dallas Arts District museums are making the lunch hour count on Monday, April 13. The Crow Collection of Asian Art, Dallas Museum of Art and Nasher Sculpture Center are joining with institutions all over the United States to re-stage Tatlin’s Whisper #6, a participatory artwork by the controversial Cuban artist Tania Bruguera.
The museums are undertaking the work in solidarity with Bruguera, who was arrested in Cuba in December 2014, when she was branded a “counter revolutionary” by the Cuban government for attempting to do a new version of her iconic 2009 artwork. She now faces Bruguera originally staged the piece to provide a temporary platform for free speech, a right that is normally denied in Cuba.
The call to action was started by Creative Time director Anne Pasternak, and many museums were quick to react, including the Museum of Modern Art, the New Museum and Queens Museum in New York, and the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. Creative Time itself will re-stage the work in Times Square’s Duffy Square.
From 12:30-2 pm, the general public can come forward and speak freely for one minute about aspirations or politics. The event takes place on Flora Street in front of the Nasher Sculpture Center.
Said Pasternak in a release, “Be a part of the event by simply agreeing to speak for up to one minute on a soapbox about your hopes and dreams for the future.”