Participate in activities surrounding this year’s Republican National Convention (RNC) and voice your opinion about today’s democratic process by submitting a video for I Approve this Message, (theunconvention.com/iapprove) a project of The UnConvention produced by the Walker Art Center (walkerart.org) and The UpTake (theuptake.org). Participants are invited to create short videos (maximum length two minutes) in response to the scripted nature of presidential nominations, political party conventions, and democracy in general. Entries ranging in opinion and vision, humor and insight are encouraged. Tag entries “iapprovethismessage2008” on YouTube and be a part of citizen-driven journalism. Workshops to learn videography, editing, and uploading will take place Thursdays, July 10 and August 7, and Saturday, August 16 (details follow).
Partners and Community Involvement
I Approve this Message is a project of The UnConvention and is produced by the Walker Art Center (walkerart.org), a multidisciplinary contemporary arts center in Minneapolis, and The UpTake (theuptake.org), a media and technology services organization dedicated to advancing democracy through citizen journalism. Partnering organizations include mnartists.org, The Twin Cities Media Alliance, Minnesota Television Network (MTN), Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and St. Paul Neighborhood Network.
Workshops
Thursday, July 10, 6–9 pm
Star Tribune Foundation Art Lab
Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis
Free, but registration is required. Call 612.375.7600.
Thursday, August 7, 6–9 pm
Star Tribune Foundation Art Lab
Walker Art Center
Free, but registration is required. Call 612.375.7600.
Saturday, August 16, 10 am
Minnesota Television Network
125 SE Main St. #244, Minneapolis, MN 55414
Contact: John Akre, 612.331.8575
Submission Process
Post entries on YouTube tagged with “iapprovethismessage2008.”
Walker Art Center and The UpTake volunteers and staff will screen submissions for quality and adherence to guidelines. A selection will be featured on The UnConvention Web site (theunconvention.com), and selected videos will be screened at the Walker Art Center and other Twin Cities venues.
Guidelines/Disclaimer
Length: Maximum 2 minutes.
Videos should be thoughtful, creative, and family-friendly and avoid hateful and defamatory language or images. Videos may address political issues and candidates, but cannot explicitly endorse or support a specific candidate or political party. The review panel values non-partisan participation and reserves the right to reject entries that are unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortuous, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another’s privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically, or otherwise objectionable. The panel reserves the right to reject videos that don’t meet these qualifications.
The UnConvention
The UnConvention is a non-partisan collective of citizens and cultural institutions assembled to create a forum in which to promote the democratic and free exchange of ideas during and after the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, from September 1–4, 2008.
It exists as a counterpoint to the highly scripted and predetermined nature of the contemporary presidential nomination process and convention. The mission of The UnConvention (theunconvention.com) is:
• To umbrella the myriad artistic and educational activities (exhibitions, lectures, performances, etc.) that will take place in the Twin Cities during the lead-up and staging of the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota.
• To host the alternative media that will converge on the Twin Cities during the Republican National Convention.
For more information on I Approve this Message, go to (theunconvention.com/iapprove) or contact Allison Herrera, 612.375.7548