Leading up to the approaching election next week. OA JET Productions was asked to bring our creative input to a project that has generated many learning opportunities for the Creative Workforce Innovation interns.
American Aria is a 6 hour and 11 minute durational video project that highlights the delicate nature of our democratic systems via a reflection of the events that took place at our nation's capital on January 6th, 2023. This installation was created by artists Kal Spelletich and Seamus Davis.
Poster provided by Camille Jones, OA Fall Semester Intern.
Pictured here are the Creative Workforce Innovation Interns and OA JET Coordinator, Jasmine Elmore, participating in a meeting with James Davis and Jenniffer Rissler.
Oakwood Arts' interns and OA JET members had the opportunity to contribute to this project in various capacities, including video editing, creating 3D mock-ups for proposed installations, developing trailers, designing marketing graphics, and crafting a marketing plan for both in-person events and the online exhibition rollout. Through this work, we gained valuable insights into copyright laws and best practices for ethically sourcing clips while managing licensed content. It was also an enriching experience to collaborate with established creative professionals who shared an overarching vision while encouraging interns to bring their perspectives and make creative contributions to the final project.
Thanks to the generous support we received for this project, the artists, journalists who captured much of the footage, and all interns involved will be receiving a stipends for their time and contributions to the work.
Poster designed by Coby Flanagan, OA Registered Apprentice.
The digital mock-ups above were created by OA Intern Yuna Lee. Poster Designs by OA Apprentice Coby Flanagan, and OA Interns Camille Jones, & Joseph Walker. Video Edits and trailers created by OA Photo Film Interns Jacob Simmons, Zach Kongolo, and Antonio Smith .
In addition to all of their marketing graphics, the interns also created a website for the project at americanaria.com. Here the full durational video will be screened twice a day from Nov. 1st - Nov. 6th, starting daily from 12:00 - 6:11 PM and again from 7:00 PM - 1:11 AM.
Meet our Collaborators
Kal Spelletich is a pioneer of San Francisco's machine and art and technology movement. Through a collaboration with audience members who volunteer to control or operate his sculptures, Spelletich's work explores the interface of robots and humans. By the late 1990s Spelletich started incorporating sensors in his sculptures to engage with questions about technology, spirituality, and play.
Seamus Davisis a filmmaker and writer from Ireland who lives in Berkeley. He has made documentary work for broadcasters and festival in the US and Europe, written a prize winning screenplay, published journalism in Le Monde Diplomatique and numerous other publications, co written Catastrophism, made films for the NYT, BBC, and Channel 4, and before that he ran away with the circus (seriously).