Ingenuity 2007
Four more spectacular days of intersecting Art and Technology

The thunder of 1,000 drums. A four-day schedule jam-packed with contemporary dance, opera, ballet, theater, step dancing, breakdancing, and wild amounts of live music from every genre. Visual arts exhibits, poetry slams, parades and family-friendly activities, all “transformed by technology.” Of course, we’re talking about the third annual Ingenuity Festival of Art and Technology. This year’s run of the fest is cued up at Playhouse Square, home to some of the most stunning and celebrated performance venues in the entire Midwest.

Ingenuity begins with an extra special premiere on Wednesday, July 18 starting at 5:30PM at the Idea Center at Playhouse Square. Ideastream’s Dee Perry will host the preview event, which highlights some of the supporting cast involved. You’ll have opportunities to witness incredible talent from around town and around the globe during the next several days – the event formally launches Thursday, July 19 at 5PM and will run through the weekend.

Many artistic premieres will take place in the context of the schedule, as well as some of the brightest acolytes in art, dance, music, theater, technology and family fun. You can check out a complete list of the events here, though we here at Cool Cleveland thought we'd share a few personal selections we're looking forward to.

For Technology, we’re intrigued by the OSTN/Internet2 Film Festival at Monte Ahuja Tech Hall at Cleveland State University and Mindball, a bio-sensory, brain-active game that pits machine against human and eludes to what the future of video games will be like in very short order. Mindball hits the State Theater Lobby.

In Theater, the big one comes in the form of a World Premiere of The Fire Inside, which depicts the life of poet Nikki Giovanni, as written by Susan Watson Turner and directed by Terrence Spivey, the AD over at Karamu House.

In Visual Arts, there is a plethora of styles, ideas and thoughts to choose and absorb – though we’re intrigued by the “hacking” of the scrolling signs above Starbucks that Germaine Koh’s Journal proposes. Taking the subconscious and laying it bare for the world through technology… sounds like blogging on, well, on caffeine. Go figure.

In Dance, Die Audio Gruppe and the intriguing Lisa K. Lock’s Gravity Well Movement embrace the outlandish and blur the edges between fantasy, reality and the future with extraordinary vision and panache.

And really you can’t go wrong with just about any of the musical acts or family exhibitions and events. There’s Laser Harps, progressive rock, “afro-electronique,” jazz and the incomparable Grandmaster Flash in the former category and more fun than a barrel of monkeys in the latter-mentioned category. All are poised to leave a mark on your consciousness.

But don’t take our word for it. Experience the festival for yourself. You already know that “You Gotta See This!” Now you should carve out the time and do it. For a complete list of venues, showtimes, exhibits and admission rates, visit http://www.ingenuitycleveland.com.

From Cool Cleveland Managing Editor Peter Chakerian peterATcoolcleveland.com
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