What is The UnConventional Gathering Place?
In August and September 2008, Intermedia Arts, the lead partner in The UnConvention, will become The UnConventional Gathering Place. Our building will be transformed into a round-the-clock gathering place for artists, educators, alternative journalists and the general public to interact around issues related to participatory democracy. It will also be the hub for UnConvention partners to convene throughout the convention days to interact with visiting artists, journalists, activists who have come to witness the political conventions. Our goal is to create a safe, respectful and positive experience for our communities as we anticipate the flow of nominees, journalists, politicians, protesters, and curious crowds into our cities.

Galleries
Our Gallery spaces will be transformed into a digital agora of electronic images created for, by and about local and national artists and community members around the themes of participatory democracy. The space will be equipped with video monitors, computers, projectors showcasing media and new media art, highlight stories, v-logs, blogs, forums, YouTube and other digital social network uploads.

Multiple screens populating the gallery walls will show video loops, featured websites, artist photographs and videos, music and other audio/visual art. Computers will be available for people to engage in digital interactive content created by artists worldwide who are responding to issues around participatory democracy. We plan to install a large screen monitor, visible from the streetfront, which will broadcast and/or stream various UnConvention events as well as vox pop perspectives around and about the National Convention/s.

Digital Media Lab and Editing Room
Our Digital Media Lab is a mini-CTC where community members can participate in artist-led workshops (OSS, citizen journalism, digital storytelling, youth media workshops), discussions (around themes of participatory democracy), as well as edit and/or upload their works on YouTube, Flickr and other venues. Through a grant from PACER/Paul Adelman Tech Connect Initiative program, we will have new visual assistive technology installed (details about this to follow).

Theater, Poetry Library, Surrounding Outdoor Spaces
We are inviting our diverse community partners to assist us in programming readings, spoken word performances, short performances to be presented in our Theater, Carolyn Holbrook Poetry Collection Library as well as outside spaces (parking lot, sidewalk, building walls).

We will engage our surrounding neighborhood of small businesses, non-profit groups and other interested parties as partners, co-presenters and art participants.

More details on how to be a part of Intermedia Arts’s UnConventional Gatherings will be announced soon.