#guerrilla performance

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Pussy Riot - Motion, Bristol 18th November 2017

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Beth Heinly Postmodern Miming 2017

North Park Blocks, Portland, OR video by Chris Freeman

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Carla Mielnik 2017

Using the vernacular of nature park signage, my plan is to create garden plaques, brochures and an informational kiosk to inform the public about pollinator-friendly native plants and their importance to the local ecosystem and community. This project takes inspiration from the Los Angeles Urban Rangers collective and current projects like the Seattle Pollinator Pathway and Portland’s City Repair. They serve their communities by encouraging city-dwellers to look at their urban landscape as part of the larger ecosystem. I’m also informed by the work of the Olmstead Brothers, whose involvement in the development of the Portland Parks system at the turn of the 20th century influenced the feel of the city that we still enjoy today. The Park Blocks already existed at that time, but the Olmsteads made recommendations that the city reunite the North and South blocks, as well as create green promenades connecting all their proposed nature parks together. They strongly believed that a connection to nature was essential to the health of any city. North Park Block, Portland, OR

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Lizzie Hull & Aurora Wade & Corri Chavez BeetleGANG 2017

I’m working with a group of friends to bring awareness to to the community about this harmful species of insect called the Elm Bark Beetle. The beetle can spread the Dutch Elm Disease via the spores on its back from tree to tree, this is a thing that happens a lot in Portland’s parks, though it also happens to trees all over the world. The illness causes the trees to stop transporting water up the vascular tissue to the top of the tree, causing some of the leaves to start changing color in the summer. We will be dressed up as “punk beetles” and pretend to kick trees while handing out information about Dutch Elm Disease. The flyers will look like the fungus that beetles spread on their backs.

Almost no one is aware other than those involved with the preservation of Portland’s parks, or the occasional wandering botanist, that these tree’s are even at such a great risk. We hope by being able to spread enough information, those unfamiliar with Dutch Elm's disease can spot trees that are infected around Portland and notify our Parks and Recreation so they can inoculate our trees before it’s too late.

North Park and South Park Blocks, Portland, OR

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Nicholas Pennell Portraits of Other People That Can Be Worn as Masks 2017

My performance will consist of making paper masks portraits of ordinary people in the city. While I am not skilled in the tradition of caricature art, my masks nonetheless bare stylized and often humorous likeness to my subjects, due to the intrinsically fun spirit of caricatures and plein air park portraiture. The masks are free and will be encouraged to be photographed and worn throughout the festival. I will set my station up on a simple box on a park bench, giving myself a flat surface and allowing room for a sitter. South Park Blocks, Portland, OR

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Lane Speidel Stealing from Others 2016

I will watch people and take notes of their movements with my body. At Rittenhouse a wide variety of people performing their personally designed movements will be on display and I will be an audience, witness, and observer to as many as I can. This may go completely unnoticed but it will ideally expand my movement vocabulary. Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia, PA

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Beth Heinly Peace Chant 2017

Guerrilla Performance for OCGOPF in reaction to public sculpture. Outdoor sculpture by Steve Gillman entitled "Peace Chant". South Park Block, Portland, OR

Video by Chris Freeman

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OPEN CALL OCGOPF: PORTLAND

OCGOPF is an initialism for Open Call Guerilla Outdoor Performance Festival. OCGOPF is a festival for performance art in conversation with public spaces. The performances challenge the use of public space by performing without permission. This will be the fourth iteration of OCGOPF happening within the North & South Park Blocks of Portland, Monday through Wednesday, April 17th, 18th (TAX DAY) & 19th 2017 during park hours 5AM to 9PM. This event is part of the Costumes, Reverence, & Forms A Portland/Philadelphia Mixer, co-organized by Vox Populi and Center for Contemporary Art & Culture at PNCA. The North & South Park Blocks are home to many cultural and educational institutions in Portland. As a result there is a rich cultural history which has taken place on the grounds of the narrow urban parks. The parks are often referenced as the stem or the artery of the city of Portland identifying them as a vital part of living in the city. Bordering the South Park Block end is Portland State University, home to historic moments in protest. In 1970 there was the infamous Park Block Riots. Students protested there for a number of countrywide concerns following Kent State, the anti-war movement, police brutality and civil rights. The Park Block Riots of 1970 took place when students built barricades to block traffic erecting many forts along the park. It unfortunately ended in violence when Portland police officers used excessive force to clear out the barricades and persons who were occupying them. The barricades all had names representing forms of protest from Bobby Seale to the Pentagon/Wipe Out Alley. The largest barricade fort was named ironically after President Nixon’s daughter Tricia Nixon, Fort Tricia, after she was recorded saying she had no idea why all the students across the U.S. were so upset with her father. The Block Parks are used continuously to the present day as a place to peacefully come together in protest. Like in many city parks across the United States the park is “the living room” to every citizen in Portland from the wealthy to the homeless. Residents surrounding The North Block Parks have had countless demonstrations and conversations fighting for and against the homeless population who use the park for sanctuary. The parkwide curfew was placed in 1996 to help prevent camping in the park. A part of the North Block Parks were set aside for playgrounds in 1906 and recently the Pacific Northwest College of Art has developed part of its’ campus to the North Park Block. Throughout both Park Blocks there are numerous public sculptures, namely William Wegmen’s giant dog bowl, along tree lined walkways providing respite for residents and visitors alike. These park embellishments in conjunction with the political history of the parks presents a location as one ripe for public performance in political activism, art practice, theater or play. So, what will you propose? Please send me your submissions! This is an open call meaning no submissions will be turned down for inclusion with the exception of a performance that is violent in nature, promotes hate speech, harmful to animals or damages public property. We at OCGOPF go by the scout rule of what you carry in, you must carry out - do not pick the flowers. In addition to the description of your performance I need to know where approximately in the park you will be performing including the day and time of your performance. All performances will be listed on an online map at ocgopf.tumblr.com. There will also be maps available in print the days of performances for park goers. Send your submissions to [email protected] by March 16th, 2017. For inspiration please read about the parks’ history, go visit the parks or go to ocgopf.tumblr.com (you’re here) to see past performances. There will be a meet-up prior to the festival in front of the Da Tung and Xi’an Bao Bao sculpture in the North Block Park on Sunday, April 16th at 3PM. Performers are required to attend.

Please reblog, tell your friends.

Image: Portland State University Students protesting at Fort Tricia, 1970