Arts Agenda - Art during wartime

When video artist Franklin Lopez and his experimental film group subMedia threw the first LuminaCity event, they invited only 50 friends, giving them each a map to a secret location. About 150 people turned out for the multimedia art party, and each subsequent LuminaCity production has escalated in size.

For its fifth incarnation, LuminaCity returns to the idea of secrecy, thematically if not literally. The concept-driven ¡Viva la Cabaret! imagines a futuristic, war-torn society where art is contraband and artists must gather covertly. The collaboration between subMedia and Red Branch Productions blends an underground arts show with live theatrical performance and video exhibition that comments on timely topics like warfare and propaganda.

“There’s definitely a political theme attached to it,” says Lopez. “We’ve been dabbling with the idea of making the parties theme-based, and this is the first time it’s fully come together.”

It’s also the first time a LuminaCity event has featured theatrical performance. Lopez teamed up with Chelsea McKinnon of Red Branch once the duo figured out they shared a similar vision of the art party as political statement.

“We were very inspired by current events, and we felt like there were a lot of artists who had a lot to say about them but we weren’t able to see that in galleries,” McKinnon says.

The visual arts on display each touch upon the wartime theme. An installation by Palestinian artist Rana Bishara channels the brutality of warfare via a room filled with balloons and images of Middle Eastern violence. The show features works from 10 other artists as well, including works by Tyson McAdoo of DC Comics fame, and several short films.

On stage, McKinnon and the women of Red Branch have created a series of performance vignettes inspired by cabaret artist Bertolt Brecht that will be paired with pre-recorded video.

“It’s definitely cabaret-themed,” McKinnon says, “so the live performers will be interacting with the audience a lot.”

¡Viva la Cabaret! will be held May 31-June 1 from 8:30 p.m.-2 a.m. at The B Complex, 1272 Murphy Ave. $12. submediatv.com.??