In response to the continuing U.S. led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, choreographer Miguel Gutierrez has invited artists from across the country to perform freedom of information 2008: a 24 hour performance/protest/ritual of continuous movement improvisation performed while blindfolded and ear-plugged, which is intended as a contemplative act of solidarity with those displaced by the wars.

This action will take place on December 31, 2008, beginning at midnight of the 30/31 and ending at the ringing in of the New Year. At present, there are 29 artists participating in freedom of information 2008. Each artist will perform the action in her/his respective state.

Miguel Gutierrez originally performed freedom of information alone on December 31, 2001, in response to the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. This time, he has invited artists from across the country to create a nationwide, synchronous event.

In North Carolina, Janice Lancaster will perform freedom of information 2008 at The Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center in Asheville. Janice Lancaster is a dance artist native to NC and currently residing in Brooklyn, NY. She holds a BFA in Dance from the NC School of the Arts, and has had the pleasure of dancing with Shen Wei Dance Arts, Aynsley Vandenbrouke Movement Group, and VIA Dance Collaborative - of which she is a founding member. Her recent commissions include the prestigious 2007 Bessie Schönberg Choreographic Residency on the Yard in Martha’s Vineyard and two works for the Hubbard Street 2 Dance Company of Chicago.

freedom of information 2008 involves staying in one room for the duration of the event. By moving continuously for 24 hours throughout the space of their choosing in a sensory deprived state, the action is meant to symbolize the dislocation and disorientation of those who do not have the basic right of being safe for the duration of a single day, who instead must be continuously on the move because of the threat of violence.

freedom of information 2008 is free and open to the public in each of the venues that the artists have selected. Throughout the 24 hours, people are invited to come and go as they please, watching the participating artist as they attempt to fulfill the simple but rigorous demands of this action.

For more information on the preparations and locations for this event go to: freedomofinformation2008.blogspot.com