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Glow Is Returning in 2010:

Downtown Santa Monica underwent a magical transformation when the Pier, beaches, and Palisades Park glowed with the sights and sounds of original contemporary art all night for the first Glow event in the United States in 2008. Now, planning for the 2010 Glow is in the works.

Paris’ Nuit Blanche which in English means white night or all nighter helped inspire Santa Monica’s first Glow, and its spirit comes from the grunion that come ashore a few times a year to spawn on Santa Monica’s beaches.

Glow 2010 will feature the commissioned original work of approximately 25 international, national, and local artists. Glow’s Curatorial Committee has already chosen five internationally known artists to participate, according to the Glow website. They are Céleste Boursier-Mougenot (Séte, France), Lee Boroson (Brooklyn NY), Rafael Lozano-Hemmer (Montreal, Canada), Steve Roden (Los Angeles), and Jennifer Steinkamp (Los Angeles). In addition, up to an additional fifteen artists will be selected through an open-call to artists in Los Angeles County. This year Glow is partnering with Santa Monica’s 18th Street Art Center, Freewaves, LAND, and Machine Project to jointly curate and commission projects.

Santa Monica’s Cultural Affairs Manager Jessica Cusick told the Mirror that the event would once again be funded by the City of Santa Monica, and private and corporate donations. A new website, glowsantamonica.org, was launched for Glow 2010 last week and it includes an area where donors can pledge support for the participating artists. Cusick explained that their goal is to raise funds for one project at a time using Kickstarter. Right now, they are seeking pledges that will add up to $2,500 per project. If the $2,500 goal for each project is not reached in a certain time frame no one will be charged for his or her pledge.

The website also contains an archive of images of the artists who participated in Glow 2008 and an area where artists who are interested in participating can download an application. Artist proposals are due by April 12 for the September 25 event.

The City of Santa Monica, the Santa Monica Arts Foundation, and their partners, the Bayside District Corporation, the Pier Restoration Corporation, and the Santa Monica Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), are doing the planning for the event. Cusick also mentioned that the City is working “very hard with the Pier and Downtown Santa Monica restaurants to develop specials for the evening of the event. They are also working with the CVB to develop local hotel packages so visitors can plan coming to the area during Glow.”

Cusick noted that Glow gives an audience the “cutting edge art they want to see by making social use of public space.” The 2008 event attracted more than 200,000 people. Santa Monica hopes to make it a biannual event.


HANNAH HEINEMAN

Mirror Contributing Writerhannah@smmirror.com

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