My Daily Constitution Brings Dialogue About U.S. Constitution to Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS – Indianapolis area residents can step up to the microphone and help read the U.S. Constitution on Sunday, September 17th, launching a week-long city-wide public art project dedicated to the exploration and interpretation of the United States Constitution.

The project, My Daily Constitution-Indianapolis, is a public dialogue about the U.S. Constitution and issues that face an open society. Using discussion, art and the printed word, My Daily Constitution will engage residents in creative reflection about constitutional democracy from many perspectives.

September 17 marks the signing of the U.S. Constitution on September 17 in 1787.

All My Daily Constitution events are free and open to the public. Complimentary copies of the constitution, designed specially for My Daily Constitution - Indianapolis by students of the Herron School of Art & Design, will be available at all event locations.

At the core of My Daily Constitution are "Constitution Cafés," community discussions that take place in different venues around the city. “The idea” says My Daily Constitution founder, Los Angeles artist Linda Pollack, “is to break away from the dynamics of the large lecture hall and create a space where individuals and communities can become active participants in a dialogue about our democracy. Our Constitution, our democracy, is about interpretation-- and interpretation means a collective, active dialogue, not just passive consumers and lawmaking producers. The U.S. Constitution is a living document, part of our everyday life, influencing us in both large and small ways daily."

Pollack has partnered with more that two dozen Indiana community leaders from various fields, among them :

• Andy Jacobs, 15-term Indianapolis Representative, who will discuss the war clause with John Clark, Senior Research Fellow of the Sagamore Institute. Forty years ago Jacobs was one of the first and most thoughtful critics of the Vietnam War in Congress, and at the Indiana Historical Society will share his views of the Constitution in a time of war and terrorism (Indiana Historical Society) Indianapolis Law Professor Sheila Kennedy, and Andrea Price of Public Access of Indianapolis, who will explore the First Amendment’s importance in today’s news media industry (Indiana Repertory Theatre)
• Michael Sutherlin, Hoosier Environmental Council President, and Richard Van Frank, President of Improving Kid's Environment, who will disucss public participation and environmental regulation. This follows a case-study bus tour of an east side neighborhood (Christian Park Family Center)
• Jacquelyn Bowie-Suess of the ACLU-Indiana, and Warren Watson, Director of J-Ideas at Ball State University, who will discuss the constitutional rights of students and young people. Y-PRESS, the Indianapolis student press corps, has compiled a collection of relevant news articles for this discussion (Glendale Library)
• Amos Brown, WTLA-AM radio host, and Roderick Bohannan of Indiana Legal Services, who will discuss the right to vote and constitutional democracy (First Bethel A.M.E. Church)

Other components of My Daily Constitution include:

• A collaborative public project with Indianapolis-based Theater of Inclusion (Marsh Gallery, Herron School of Art and Design)
• An exhibition of an original 1787 Dunlap & Claypoole copy of the U.S. Constitution (Oldfields-Lilly House, Indianapolis Museum of Art)
• A Constitution Debate with the Arsenal Tech High School Constitution Team (Spades Park Library)
• A Hip Hop Poetry Slam and Open Mic with DJ Dicky Fox (Glendale Shopping Center)
• A Sunday morning film screening featuring: Control Room (2004), Persons of Interest (2004), Our Brand is Crisis (2005) (Indianapolis Museum of Art)

My Daily Constitution-Indianapolis is made possible in part with generous support from: Arts Council of Indianapolis & the Indianapolis Cultural Development Commission, Indianapolis Bar Foundation, Indianapolis Museum of Art, American Democracy Project at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), Indiana University Herron School of Art & Design Department of Visual Communication Design (IUPUI).

For a complete listing of My Daily Constitution – Indianapolis events, September 17-24: visit: www.mydailyconstitution.org.

During the early 1990s, while working in Europe, Linda Pollack witnessed both the brutal collapse of democracy during the civil war in former Yugoslavia and the work of NGOs such as the European Cultural Foundation to strengthen civil processes. She saw both democracy’s fragility and its less newsworthy day-to-day effectiveness. Back in the U.S., as she watched the rapid changes in American law and culture post 9/11, Pollack became convinced that dialogue and citizen engagement are requirements for a vital, high-functioning democratic society. Soon after she founded My Daily Constitution as part of a group art show at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions. My Daily Constitution continues Pollack's investigation into the cultural and visual signifiers and practices of democracy, following public art projects completed in Pasadena California as well as Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium.