2018 Free State Festival

music our ideas are two thousand feet team three state festival twenty mcintyre and today it pierre presents will preview the eighth annual free state festival going on september seventeenth into the twenty third in downtown lawrence well angel is the director and founder of the festival well it is always great to see you you to thank you for having a k we have this conversation every year i realized but for those people who haven't been to the festival before have never heard of it what's the idea behind this weeklong event and the festival is really to bring people together for shared our experiences i went to live off of the couch and as having a digital experience is watching netflix and get them together as a community so it had a brain films to the festival that engaged conversation so i did walk out of the theater and go home or not talk about it watching deeds think about it and the filmmakers behind the film protect your community neighbors and really haven't experienced that's quite different than watching something on home entertainment when you select the films with that in mind they're not just

kind of late romantic comedies the inability of that was nice and right that would have much to say about it yeah there's so many factors that go into it and i think everyone has a story that's getting these people where there's a documentary i narrative film we want people to be connected emotionally to the characters or to the subject matter of the film and then also just how sick i thought provoking part that's unexpected so you know you don't want to necessarily see where the film was going for me to see what should have unexpected and expectation you know things that are gonna turn out its head and cause you to think about it in any way nasa learns audiences are unique so what might be good for different festival doesn't work for free states and what works or face it might not work from a different fossil around the country so over the years and for now they're at or you really got to know our audience is and when speaks to ann and what kind of subject matter and just bubbles i think each man's paycheck them to come to the theater and it's not just lawrencium stay calm their people they come from out of town out of state yes yeah i'm desperate and really the

wonderful thing that happens with a fastball is to bring outside and members to the community and have them embraced by the community and and this year it's been really incredible weekend we can see lake city is from a ticket sales and we've had people from mahler were traveling to see you know what heads it's the music acts are the ideas that that they come to county and then they get engaged the other programming that we have so it's always exciting to see that happen i think particular themes that you were trying to hit on on this year's festival who met lick into effect through that intersection of art and activism so i think in today's times and one of the really cool things that i was able to do this past year for the first time is a joint an organization called folk festival alliance and so in its international group and film fest organizers they can to get their couple times here to talk about different issues presenting and in the film festival industry and so one of the things that came up this past year was the importance of shared storytelling i think especially today's times when intensely divisive we

really have a privileged possible to bring twenty members together and to provide a platform for diverse storytelling might not get big screen distribution you might not see as athletic might not even make it pretty hard so i think providing ice cream and a place where people can come together inexperienced the stories and then talk about them and have a lasting memory and what that experience was like is unique to festivals that something like just a different whether it's a film that specific to an actual activists that we have showcased as a subject matter if data entry or a character in the film who is taking an active role i think that intersection of art and activism sing that kind of and connected the programming this year let's talk about a couple of the films that you'd be featuring that there are dozens of films if you include all the little shortz well the list just pick out a couple to talk about i went to a really excited about is about the spirit of the nation this film is really

beautiful and texas and mexico and it tells the story of a couple different for a reason the county because into making tequila so it's because you're really strong emotional connection to the people as well is an understanding of the industry environmentalists and the different bases that are involved what's really special about this is that reagan have a security sting after i had a feeling there was coming he gets so that was kind of her into that are going to see this you know when i went to their father's alliance conference we talked a lot about the need to you know create experiences that are outside of just the scream it's like translated into unique and memorable my own film event is he so you know hamas and so how britain have that we've partnered with watery it downtown and they can provide some food psych chance to go along with and t's things we have a wonderful to kill a sponsor battle tv that will be preventing the tequila with crown distributors and so it'll be a wonderful event to connect what you see on the screen and into actual tactile experience afterwards and then with subaru beautiful about this night's answers the pickup night of the festival we also

helps to marin coming and the legendary comedienne actor people might not know about him is he's a prolific art collector of chicano art so i'm really excited about his talk in particular because it's all about his passion for art especially chicano art and then also his new developments like he is has a new museum that can open in twenty twenty called the cheech and for cheech marin air museum at chicano art and it really celebrates this art and so i think and its members are really be educated and entertains on monday night i think like you said a lot of people especially of my generation know him just from the cheech and chong films but there's a lot more to that man than a stoner image that some of us associate him with yes and that it's really it makes him the perfect customer guess you know we'd love to have their disciplinary earth so hard is that eric i think i was ever disciplined so he's an author as well you sent in beautiful

children's books and he has a wonderful memoir he's and amazing actor you know he even one likes liberty jeopardy he's a fascinating deep in a penny and what we try to celebrate your adjustable cyrillic said in his talk but back to that film got made to we have a clip from the media a lesson he apparently important to cement from two nations we landed from the rooms these thanks bob

we have transformed into a secret in mexico earlier what's really wonderful about that film in particular to see as the timing of it and risking this film on september seventeenth december sixteenth as mexican independence day that you're really gay great time to come and celebrate the culture and have a little tequila exactly how they don't come here to new art center event with a bruise us but you know one thing i have to say i was privileged to go to articulate sampling year to try to get this event going and i have to say i was not the biggest tequila and before that there is a huge difference between you know our college experience particular and if elevated organic tequila they'll be having it is so dramatic and here's the difference

i'm a fan of the educational component because we have josh burnett frontal to be that will come and give a presentation i each sample that your taste so it'll be kind of guiding people through what it is you should be looking for someone to a wine tasting so much of it is saying enough with the history and i think i've ever met eichmann tree which is such an amazing job of giving you the background of tequila and having our filmmakers there are we had two filmmakers from the film of the attending the screening and having that sex occurs to your actual experience of it could be unforgettable for me one of their one of the coolest things about the freeze a vessel is the fact that a lot of the directors are people that are involved in the film comic and they're not just there to watch they engage with the audience and that's been a really it's a really incredible thing to watch that this is probably the first year that we have someone from the phone when every single film screening felt there's been a half of the tiny recently

changed to september the city the film at a film festival in june and then retire decided to change the farthest to attract more for university components between house going to you in terms of students as a of professors engagement and is really interesting with this timing approaching filmmakers to attend a cairo acceptances this year where i think it might just be easier in their festival scheduled three times that's a real privilege for us this year and it's really hard to be just walking around downtown and that was a key factor as well as his view now going from one venue and the beauty the festival is being able to go from one penny to the next he didn't want to have in one location or just feels like that organization's singular event we really strive for the festival to feel like the city's signature event so you're engaging and walking down from liberty hall to the art center are going to defend the country and like having that experience that into the heat and ninety degree t and it's a lot of a feeling in the

beauty of september here in lawrence kansas let's talk about another film us senate this year to house and beautiful our documentary one fell into super excited about is now of origin story what makes a sense a special it's about it's an incredible interactive museum in santa fe new mexico is they probably need to start out explaining what meow wolf is because it's it's unlike any kind of art installation or arts at one economy is ian how would you describe meow was hard to put your finger on because there is nothing like it to compare it to you you almost the city museum in st louis has a similar fields epithets says on a whole other level there is a level of storytelling it's basically a house museum that you walk in and experience but there's a story that goes with it so you have a lot of unexpected it's the surprises that happen and everything is fabricated and there's just this beautiful vessel our component that goes into the storytelling so

these group of ardent started this museum in santa fe new mexico and was really special about it is that's a couple the founders are from lawrence kansas so we're so excited that they can join us so that for the film screening and to come back tomorrow and experience it with the community so that lindsey kennedy and katie kennedy are from lawrence and we'll be here for the film screening and katie was one of the founders of meow wolf and her husband matt king is a fabrication director there and he will be joining the screening as well as a great time for us to celebrate her hometown successes and then also get some insight into this incredible museum they've had so much commercial success out whether any riots that they've expanded to denver slogan have an installation opening up in denver very scenic and assists i think for a local artist especially to be able to see their journey the film does an incredible job of showing what that pressure can be like that when you have a statistic dream and there's a commercial success thirty minutes that it keep track of ear individual ambition for a deadly her insulin

it and then had yielded crucial aspects of making it successful and those different working pressures that come and thought that says can be an incredible film and we have a clip from the battle of them will turn the corner and open up your internet or else people need to see this this is you know you are just creating as playful we can wait for others to isis it's time for us to just do what we want to do for a real needs that needed it they knew they were doing something that was a freeze is it really seth moreland not really knowing how to describe why

meow wolf is without seeing the film i might this is anything like an insulation that was at the arts center last year the times of paradox yes it's much in line with that kind of insulation and so if you came inside you will love this documentary because when just terrible said was tell a story through the galleries and so was really cool cause you kid and turn from one part of the new york gallery as any rich take on a journey like you'd see all of the furniture and all of the night habitats of his characters and they could see a different aspects of that journey as she went on in this analysis much the same way so everything is tactile everything eating gator the site is walking a buy into seeing something he had interactive experiences with the museum said he loved that big cities to death i consider stone and if you didn't have that exhibit again it's like you're walking into someone's house and looks like a fairly normal house

at the beginning of any as you're walking through it like why we hate what do you notice there's an unexpected surprise at something that you my old band of a think is an appliance might take you somewhere else and fit into the museum was pretty incredible and what i love about those kind of installations in museums is very engaging for people of all ages so can't let it through with the kids that came into just minerals exhibit and just be you have to be about what they're seeing and then adults can see the intricacy is make the genetic connection in this thing my read of a little detail that are hanging on the wall so i really something that family is you know our generation's injury to the films that your highlighting at this year's free state festival that feature our local filmmaker who's quite well known evan almighty is in the spotlight right now with his new found the black klansmen which will be showing that ants well as his documentary about william allen white yes and what's pretty

incredible about these two films in particular is that there's some things that are connected between them and how i was able to see a sneak peek at the documentary weiner when alan lights at city two months before we close issues for the festival and i learned so much is one of those films that you know i knew about you know like i did not know everything that he accomplished and so seeing his connections of driving the klan out of kansas and then juxtaposing that with by klansmen i think there's gonna be some amazing opportunities for connections and discussion and recite the commencement that was one of the films that was on the top of my list from the very beginning i think the opportunity for lawrence audience is see you in gator kevin on a calm you know does have a different strains and maybe going to sell to him but seeing at liberty hall with six hundred other community members and yale to talk to kevin afterwards that his idea for the script talking about the themes in the movie i think that's going to be a

unique event and then just be the highlight of the festival for sure if you missed my interview with kevin well my a couple weeks ago here and keep your prisons it's archived at our website kansas public radio dot org it's really unusual for a festival like this to have a film that is showing concurrently eons so the big name theaters yet the thing that's never happened for us like we've never had that opportunity to screen something well as they have a concurrent meeting distribution and it's going to be really fun experience i think we've had many people that are going to the screening that receive it and they desperately want to see it again with kevin is desolate films that weren't seeing a couple times because it is the complexity of the storytelling just the feelings that you feel like you're watching it in such a powerful phone and i think having kevin here in town the screenwriter behind it i think you know the writing is so strong and this moment and so having to talk to him afterwards and really celebrate jennifer local talent that

has soared so high i think is to be a magical experience for once they've got a film clip from blood klansmen with the vandalism if they were trapped in the conference and he wasn't passing away from pulling the trigger and he did what he could have then i would have a debt for what i'm putting my life to someone that's from a couple succeed for this is the job of the problem that problem for you it's a crusade for me it's a job it's a personal issue today while jawad and this why should i because you're jewish brother the soul called chosen people in passing for a wasp white anglo saxon protestant cherry pie hypo quite work and so some lesson what forced to a pass for white doesn't hate you didn't hear the klan said is not to show off course there is no one liked it likely got skin in the game but my guess

is this gonna get your membership card say can go the cross burning can get any deeper with these kinds of them and that was a clip from the black klansmen screenwriter for that was lawrence's only kevin will not that film will be shown as part of the free state fastball coming up september nineteenth but yes so the phone screens and wednesday the ninety eight o'clock and people were so hungry to have this experience and i tell you you know we get increase before if online app is announced had so many increase it sang by cranberries and by coincidence so we pay for tickets on a friday by that sunday it had all been sold out so it's pretty intense and telling like how hungry we are its engagement filmmakers to celebrate somebody that's close to our hearts that we've known for years kevin who's been involved with a fossil from day one in addition to being a super talented writer and director

he's also just a generous person who goes beyond you know his requirements and really seeks to engage with people for the firework humbled and honored to be able to present the screening of it is all that we will have a standby line sweden had its a free screening which we were super excited to see offer and so if people thought that if you went shopping did a standby line as possible if people are asleep he did and did not show up we will be looking for and so fingers crossed would love to see it when something caught my eye that you're showing as part of a free state film festival is mankiller the story of well mo mankiller tell me about that film yes we're sensitive especially about the appreciate history in a stalemate haskell says about wilma mankiller as soon as the first female head of the cherokee nation which was a really big deal and so she was a finance and activists and as part of our partnership with haskell they have a wonderful event going on the scene we can in the festival it's tough keeping legends alive

and spirit and then on friday honors that were over one veterans of the haskell commemorative march rates that were overwhelmed that iran's and it's been his hundredth anniversary and so it just so happens that their events are going on that seem we can sleep open the doors times and wrigley be screening mankiller for free it's a ct his documentary about feminism activists them about just person all un struggles and you know how you can overcome obstacles and really gets local that's important and sat over privilege that valerie red horse will be here the town's tractor she's quite accomplished filmmaker and she'll be here for today after the thongs are really excited about that cary let's get better within this is the story of an american hero someone who humbly defied the odds over pain insurmountable obstacles to fight injustice and gave a voice to the voiceless this is the story of their community

my own perspective is that i'm a pretty ordinary person that just happened to be given an opportunity to do extraordinary things in my life when wilma mankiller was didn't see her family relocated from turkey last of the sentence it's only once we look at the science reports of the union that was a real started returning baseballs better or for worse but that was in san francisco service or ice or that you found her voice in a belief in how the nation's history drama it's always been a struggle to maintain a fight

and she was cheating because she is in your mind and free with determined to let the troops will be on the road without fault but the bureaucracy of that i've done everything i can do that and negativity in the world that in this last four years i don't do well my life so far apart politically very conservative very label that proudly supported me he's a story of meeting adversity time after time and getting up starting over again and beginning to read bill and she ran from the street here in oakland to being a member of the ford foundation

not only the guardian of the centuries old church leaders built a broader mission there is no single word describes the activists at the need or mother wife she lived in a just country he would have been one of them mankiller what we saw is part of free state film festival two thousand eighteen as you said this film is being shown in cooperation with haskell university and that's one of the really key part of this vessel it's not just the lawrence arts center you've reached out to different organizations in the community to sort of make this a community event that's a set been so amazing over the history the

puzzle now mary each year it started out when we first began to that element of ethical it was a small and house connection flights art center an athlete ground crew really big like in twenty fourteen twenty fifteen with a huge grant from the nea iran and we were able to involve so many partners an athlete of all to see us find our focus and really enhance our mission and we found this wonderful sweet spot where we've kind of become sustainable answers and beautiful support from the city of la rams are outstanding sponsors and then also our partners in the community that have come together to either provide programming or open their doors to earth and really make this an event that speak to the heart you know we want to celebrate with their name being free state we celebrate our abolitionist history and kansas's their position and being a revolutionary and so we tried see expose separately need to offer different viewpoints and mindsets and really house them engaging thought provoking

productive content so having someone of the partners keep commons is bringing an incredible author the raven bookstore is bringing in others and so having that kind of programming michael johnson michelle t half full open the doors for a film screening to you coming onboard to support so many film screens for their moderators and presents i think it's going to be such a great ad that this year especially lest you think that all the films are heavy and have a super important message and they're all just for grownups there's a really delightful animated film that your sowing for kids not just for kids for families yes like isis that's that a big that fox another tale this with animated by the animators firm parsons lsd imagery showed a few years back the credit you descend editing saturday morning cartoon so really making the festival experience that families can gauge it so adults will love this damp that scorched the animated and they canceled it because really truthful and that is just

you know entertaining and soft an increasing and i think it's just a great opportunity to come together as a community i think one thing i am you know we do want to make sure feels days by prayer for all generations served always talk about like how do we get it and people to share the love or cinema like we do in our older generations and really providing something that's unique here there's no experience like sitting in a theater and going from adult ends with three hundred people that's so unique to cinema and just being able to experience the art form and a compressed timeline and that laugh with your neighbors and then cry sometimes in the middle of the year that's so special and so i think like you know that's a letter that the family programming is this really you know spreading that love of felt throughout generations well you're not just the director of the free state festival and its founder you are yourself a filmmaker and you bring some of that your own creative genius

into a part of the festival this educational in nature and that's nurturing the young most storytellers yes oh my gosh that's always the heart of the festival for me and seeing young people be in power for him you know i think sometimes we just feel like consumers that are just getting so much information and digesting information and sorting for information but they did become a creator of the contents i think it's empowering so and we had a great opportunity this year for migrant funding for the nea to teach filmmaking organizations and hand out one was such a span out and there was such an incredible experience you worked with an amazing group of middle schoolers and they did digital storytelling they're able to tell their own individual stories through auditory almost like spoken word poetry and slows fishel and then we worked on a greek narrative project together which will screen at the festival were really excited about that we also work of a goat's heart of tango many years and they are just an incredible organization that really puts job training skills as well

as arts and into their programming and films that showed that perfect example of that with a hard skill that you have to really be treated the technical aspects of filmmaking but others are just excited i am which is harder to you identify the herd scalp it's more of like getting your story told so they eat certain number that we tied at ten go to their own business or time project which will screen the first off that's always the heart of the vessel for me is our rich culture case well we focused on the films that we haven't really talked much about the panels and how the ideas portions have of the festival one panel that i'm super excited about that fake news and says is incredible journalists and panel which has from us from all around that area the more strain or else the icann says dreier the capital journal and peaceful journalism and it talks about like how we're experiencing you know fake news and how do the importance of trusted news sources sitting committee members are we lee can ensure that and a three

panel for everyone to attend some incredible arc iris scanning to possess this era of the key comments spring and michelle t and she is a wonderful are there were excited about her one of her books was confluence here and it was just recently made into a foam with just twenty different vignettes from her bike which was a series of vignettes kind of called an anti memoirist because she does all the essays their personal in nature but not identified as memoir and she's super fun a super engaging the lgbt q community i think it's really a circle around us this event let's talk about one last long island found that were excited to highlight is a film called cd and this is a beautifully directed narrative someday making griffiths and it stars if you need to stop psy was a young talented actress and in her teens and we show one of her films last year that she starred in as comely nineteen seventy four isn't easy mac hisey get to see her

and i really incredible role that it's really a trip for us and the answer is along with her single mom and her dad is the way it ends the military service and keeps reappearing his service commitment and so she's dealing with coming of age you know in her own identity and then having to maybe except that he's not coming back and it's not the injury but just you know his commitment and you know it may be like what her future is going to entail so it has an incredible job of character development she is such a strong character there's humor there is empathy there's so many wonderful emotions of people are taking all and in this film and shall be here for this thing and we're so excited to talk to about it and islam either masculine about lee noted that before and i think yours is really get into the story let's listen

this is the piece by playwright says the trailer forests at one of the many films featured at this year's free state festival at the lawrence arts center the festival kicks off monday september seventeenth and goes through sunday september twenty third with film music art and ideas i'm visiting with marlow angel she's the director and founder of the free state festival now in its eighth year we're looking you walk us through some of the logistics their how to use of going to the festival yes you can if we think the salon dot org you can see a falling out of

other events and you could buy individual tickets we also have a number of wonderful free events including intel en un and by klansmen which are now able to offer for free have some incredible panel sever author talks every and any other option of buying a pass and with the past you can literally got everything people to buy their past barely this is maybe the first year we might sell out of passes never been a problem for us before that they are going like hotcakes letting people love the opportunity to be able to experience the journey of the festival at once we really tried nazi over program what we believe at whether any funding choices and our survey results we found out they did not want to make sure i was really hard i know i looked at the schedule and thought well there's three things going on right now i can't even narrow it down to two exactly in much things he bathroom of a large variety of audiences so we really decided not ever program to make it so you can pretty much go to everything

so yeah that's really the best experience the best path and you can also relaxed a little bit between events isn't it was like ok this one's gonna fight there yet i run down the street i could make it to the next one can provide some time your experience is this year like particular tasting rancid happy hours and that can answer that you can be nice and it's really great sunset fine fine week yes we're excited about it will see their thank you so much will have more about this year's free state festival coming up right after this we're previewing the two thousand eighteen free state festival going on september seventeenth through the twenty third in downtown lawrence and albers is the exhibit's program director at the lawrence arts center and along with marlow angel artistic director of the free state festival ben it is always great to see you would be here we've talked to marlow abboud some of the fellows that will be saying at the festival and some of the ideas portion of the festival but the festival more than just that

music from the beginning has been a really key component to me what we can expect for the festival this year yeah for sure it's it's always been committed anchor in the in the festival's of the past and i'm different iterations of this year's no different and a couple of really great bands one band playing on saturday the twenty second is a fantastically prieto and this band is sort of this funk folk and the kind of eccentric presentation of the very politically charged and very very early i'm timely and that they're actually they won an award that won the first tiny desk in pr that's a competition but it's not that distinction they were the very very first ones to to get that southern of playing in the theatre saturday night of the first one i think that's going to be a stunner either i've never seen them live this kind of follow them around through the computers and through the music

so that they're going to be there and then the following night at the bottleneck which is just down the street from us juicy brooks is gonna play and a kind of a throwback r and b outfit that serves contemporary but a debt to announce that that the passwords and again i've never seen them play as claire why does well but i think they're i'm the devil will quickly put on a really great show should be a lot of fun problem of dancing it's about the league the closing debts and terms of the festival check the website for the star times on that but i am yeah should be a blast what is it you look for bennet in invoking those acts in whatever musical or whatever five are you looking for from the scripts for question i think this year especially with fantastic and agreed to i think the crossover between

different ideas are movements that are socially and culturally pressing they're there they're around us in an all sorts of ways i think our us that serve go after that full force in and directly i think that's something that's of interest and i think it echoed through the films that marlo you know puts into the festival i think there's definitely that kind of attitude the world who were looking at i think is present it's not just interesting it's time is important and necessary and i think given lawrence kansas music roots musical roots i think it's a strong music community here and i think it's also very socially engaged community here i think when those those two things can can combine i think it makes for a really

interesting opportunity for people to experience something that's not going to happen otherwise anti art that's in the protest will share which already have a show up now that i think we haven't seen a showdown by benjamin rosenthal that's a small time media experience it isn't expanded media professor here at the university of kansas and i am that show i think will be one of the one of the features of the festival an artist and look to bar was coming in and luke has been alarms before and he comes out of new york city is a professor at new york university and i he's doing several projects here he came here two or three years ago and worked at the airport the large public library with their analog synthesizer that they have which is totally unique i would that and others not an elaborate another letter that has one of these things found but he went out and he recorded all this music so this year he's going to perform live with it and i don't think that that synthesizer has come up out of their studio in in the

basement of the library sat in a come out on saturday at two o'clock and then a live performance with this synthesizer that has not seen one of these instruments used it's totally bizarre it's this weird cross section of analog in and digital in and i have no idea how it works but luke that looks like a mere into that we also have some sort of guerrilla style projections it'll be happening around moritz downtown more specifically that are connected to some langston hughes works that work by reinterpreting that were sort of visualizing them will be projected on buildings in various places in lawrence undone says no there's nothing that you can read about that it's just going to happen and you just have to have to be paying attention so that something would not try before have others an artist her and claudia heart and she is what i would consider to be a pioneer and now a

tonic media terms of art is using maps to create work than she is and this is close to me given my ceramics background she has this piece that i think is sixty plates ceramic plates the imagery the patterns that are on the surfaces of these pieces are act is a qr code so it's not really a qr code but it's it functions in a similar way so chris this surge of new reality of what these plates these decorative things are and so or install those in the arts center lobby and only from floor to ceiling will be these plates little should be pretty cool to see that inexperience so you hear you can look at it with your eyes that you can also reinterpreted it with your phone through this up you know they're in in person so that should be that should be a cool project and then lastly i think that echoes through the green space

is a project thats up by local artist named nick carr's well who works just next door to a less than ideal of course yeah he's ian anne and a group of cohorts have the pressure crowdsourcing right now imagery this is all about says the history of south park and the different events planned come the things that have happened in that space since its inception and so he's working at the watsons museum an analyst historical information and imagery but there's also a lot of bridges edition that users like you and i have been to self park and we can we probably have a picture on our phone or enter a camera or something that happened in south park and so they're they're collecting all these things and ended the bee project the present haitian of that will manifest at night on the sunday night of the festival throughout the park in a kind of centered around the dizzy both sides there

really talks about the nature that talks about the history and it talks about how the future of it and so the live performances albee projections turn out to be a sort of activities are things that especially kids could could get into but really it's it's a habit it's a it's a fascinating project i think yeah he's i just met with him last week and there's so much material to work with that they're still looking for more so anybody that is interesting for dissipating little more than a website and and i always that people can participate in the content of what will take place there and this is the eighth year for the free state festival from your perspective how is the festival evolved over it the years in terms of your portion of it i am and for me personally the idea of temporary public art is not something that i was well versed in

time and i didn't know many people that had had been banned self from the beginning a day really went into a wide eyed and just exploring an accident it was exciting it is exciting and you know what i've learned along the way as has been pretty significant and just in terms of how it actually works and how do you get something from idea to to manifest you know on the street or hanging something off the side of the weavers and go like what is that actually take how many of those outlets on massachusetts tree actually work you know all of these things you learn is by doing it but i think i think what i have what i continue to do to draw on or look out i think is that you know there's so many different ways that

art can be engaged in the public in the public sphere you know everything from a mural to the sculpture that anchored to a sidewalk or a patio somewhere to a projection on the side of the building to you know the clouds culture we i was just thinking about that actually i have said to have such a vivid memory of standing underneath this crowd's culture outside the lawrence arts center and polling on the strings that turned the lights on inside the clout it was it was such an arresting image and it was so engaging to people whether they were pouring out of the art center and already sort of knew what was going on with the festival or if they just happen to be walking by and thought what the heck is that and i think something like well it's a good example of something that can really function on multiple levels with multiple generations and people from any kind of background can take something away from it i can engage and get something back so i think the the

interactive nature of of some of these projects has been really motivating from ian and it's not something in my training your background that i was always thinking about and so the festival for me interested working with artists and artists and that's been something thats whats resonating and i think is is really the future animates the future of a public art in a lot ways i think the traditional methods of of public order our standards and elmo always be there you're murals are near your sculptures but i do think i'm thinking about the way we navigate through a space whether it's down the street in a building r has a role to play and i think there's there's lots and lots of ways to approach that and so what i like doing is is working with artists who are thinking about those things to them and bringing that kind of thinking here and how open how we you know words as fiercely independent and i think some of these projects

have been stronger than others and that's that's the way it should be done but i think that we have things to learn to from others coming in and showing us what they've put they born in other places so yeah that's i guess that candidate with with your part of this thing then earlier this hour marlon i talked about one of the films that will be part of the free state festival i want to get your take on it as an artist tell me about meow wolf you know if it's all the rage all the kids love it i was up there earlier this year for the first time and then a fight here is an offense it's a bizarre kind of you know charlie and the chocolate factory on lsd this room after room layer after layer of micro macro like everything and visual and audio and textures and smells and

it's a it's a it's a cannes to the city museum in st louis the earth i think of with this in it and again it's it's how are people interact with these places these and these these things and it's very exciting it's it was so crowded with kids but i think you know it it's an interesting example of if you give artists a space and a little bit of resources they can make make some things that could have never been formulated you know in any other way i think they just they were they had the passion and they have the ideas and they found a way to make this thing work and then it's to survive ballooned into this thing that now is being replicated in and morphing in different towns different you know las vegas in denver in you know it's it's a

big deal most of the artists that you bring in for the free state festival you're bringing in from elsewhere and to what extent are you trying to engage it with the arts community here in lawrence now become a variety of ways and sometimes that's predicated upon having funding to do that our one year you know with the funding that we've we had in place which has put out a call for entries than anybody in the county i think was the parameter that could submit in a proposal for an id and we would help facilitate those projects we've done that before i don't know nick are shoals project is certainly homegrown and he was working on that independently but that had approached us about the interim bridging that with the festival have made perfect sense we've done in a variety of ways and i think each year it last year there was virtually no visual art in the festival and that was for a variety of reasons and i am we want that we want dr component to be one of the

anchors that within the first four think film certainly has been driving in from day one an amateur that's now marlowe has a great vision but i think we we engage teenagers to have great ideas and then hope to work with them to make it work with if you know from here from somewhere else and i don't get too caught up in that then what else would you like us to know about the arts and music portion of the three safest will that either i think we're spending the time i think sometimes with visual art there is there's a tendency that it's kind of drive by it's very if it doesn't hit you within five seconds you're going to move on in it i think and there are many great things that we experience and lived to take longer than a few seconds to to get so serious ailment my batters i think we'll begin to sound like your father's at some point that's happening there

but i think that you know with some of these products you know even the the synthesizer i mean it's just it's a it looks like a dishwasher from mars you know but it is just chords are being plugged in and out of holes but i am and it's fascinating and it's fascinating to me to create something that has not existed before with a tool that that's available and i think that's really a basic the basic element that i think all artists were sort of interested in the waste item and all there is is one of the artistic directors of the free state must walk along with marlow angel find out more about the face a festival that free state festival dot org then thank you so much for coming in today that you lose this year's festival will feature music by fantastic

negri go on september twenty seconds his style has a plan for everyone for the rest of this hour we'll hear a conversation with fantastically credo and kyle meredith from the speed of sound this comes to us through pr as the public radio exchange several lives already he's gone to the rigors of being signed child and dropped from a major label survived a horrible car accident that left him in a coma having to re learn to use one of his hands that led to a new style of guitar playing around a lot on his mind a lot on his mind and it all comes out on his new record all my favorite of the year the last days of oakland kyle meredith is in these last days

it was like you know going to la reading david gilbert who really helped in guiding interested personally was like hey give this guy now so i was phase one and have accidents in the house bill and the common no one shows up except david gilbert say stay where i just was so startled enough to leave a nightclub plan incarnation set off a butterfly blood sugar any means japanese guy salgado became all these different people and write music a lot of music and so i was part two and then says after that i just kind of losses and i want to try something else so it was like to be married that's just one of these human subject to see what it's like to have when i want to drive an awesome families had nothing to say and so that was you know ended the second time and then but there are major

differences as the south well it was one of two in those sentiments like it's america's canals and for ordinary and out that would never be and suddenly could lose your connection to isis in the connection that was not thinking yeah recently a disability this is amazing and is is that he is he went to europe and i thought i was done in europe wasn't like this talk about summoning say you went to the states and say this could have a note for senate and so it was against this amazing animal so great talent it says no education market

it seems very fitting to enter his album is called higher truth and i get a lot of that from your album the last is why do we know that that's the place that is the root of everything went wrong and he did it doing something for them for five years businessweek

writer we get together we invested in egypt since then one of the many attractions of this year's free state festival september seventeenth twenty third this interview with fantastic new breed out comes to us through pr at the public radio exchange and find out more about the festival's events at freese date festival dot com i'm kenny macintyre katie are present because of protection kansas public radio that the university can you you lose