Creativity Festival 08

So I'm finally getting home tomorrow after a solid week and a half of conferencing. I'll be glad to return, especially since I'll arrive just in time for the Bemis Creativity Festival, which begins this weekend. It's by far the largest event the Bemis has ever done in its nearly 30 year history, so I'm glad I'll be in town to attend. I wrote a story about it this week for the Reader, but there are literally too many events happening at Bemis for me to have mentioned in the paper. I'm devoting this post to some of the events I'm most looking forward to checking out.


The Midwestern Voices & Visions show in Gallery 2 is a show made of artists who completed stints in residency programs during the past year. The Nest Egg, curated by Bryce Speed and Eric Lopez, opens in the Bemis Underground and somehow involves creative use of a wire fence. Both sound great and open Thursday night.

If you haven't seen a performace piece by Omaha artist Doug Hayko, well, you're in for...something. I don't know if I can call it a "treat," but it'll definitely be worth your time. He's doing a performance Friday night starting at 6 p.m. called Petition. He describes it as a piece that blurs the lines between theater, socio-political commentary and street-level happenings. This is his third collaboration with Bemis. Doug is one of the most unassuming artists I've ever met, so seeing his thought provoking, limit pushing performance pieces somehow becomes even more of a thrill.

Recent Bemis music resident David Matysiak, of the Omaha band Coyote Bones, will give a video screening in the Bemis Undergound Friday night at 7. The screening -- sure to be accompanied by sound -- gives us a taste of the ubiquitous nature of the Internet. He's also behind a super cool project called Telphono, to be featured in the Reader next week.

Finally, I'll be going to the big "grand finale" concert on Saturday night, featuring three groups (of four total) that I've never heard perform. That of course makes it a much more exciting show. The lineup: Shiver Shiver, Bear Country, Columbia vs. Challenger and Capgun Coup. The show starts at 7:30.

Best of all: every event is free. You have no excuse not to be there.

photo courtesy Bemis Center.