Complex Movements' Beware of the Dandelions Opens in Seattle at On The Boards

Posted on April 01, 2015

Complex Movements' Beware of The Dandelions is a performance based architectural installation that incorporates music, animation, gaming, projection, science fiction, community stories, workshops, and social justice organizing.

After five years of development we are excited to open this work to our communities. We have been working with On the Boards as well as many brilliant artists, activists, and community members to make this happen. Our community coordinators and Seattle local cohort partners have been instrumental in helping shape this process.

Tickets for our feature performances are going fast! You can purchase them here.

Beware of the Dandelions will be in Seattle for a four week engagement. The schedule includes 22 performances and 14 community events (10 of which are free and open to the public).

Read on for the listing of Beware of The Dandelions feature performances, special events, plus a list of related social justice events in Seattle.

Accessibility information for Complex Movements-organized events is here.

Beware of the Dandelions: Performance & Installation

Beware of The Dandelions Feature Performances

April 16 (7:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m.)
April 17 (7:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m.)
April 18 (1:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m.)
April 19 (1:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.)
May 7 (7:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m.)
May 8 (7:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m.)
May 9 (1:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m.)

May 10 (1:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.)

Tickets $23/$12.50 under 25.

purchase tickets

All performances will take place at On the Boards, 100 W Roy St, Seattle, Washington 98119

Beware of the Dandelions is a mobile art installation that functions as a performance, workshop space, and visual arts exhibition. The piece is created from the intersection of disciplines including: community organizing, design, hip-hop and electronic music, architecture, and theater. The experience occurs inside a 400 square foot polyhedron dome-like pod structure. The audience plays the role of post-apocalyptic survivors and unlocks the story of a community working to transform their external conditions and internal methods.

More info on Facebook.

Beware of the Dandelions Installation Schedule

April 25 (1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.; community dialogue at 2:00 p.m.)
April 30 (6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.; community dialogue at 7:00 p.m.)
May 2 (1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.; community dialogue at 2:00 p.m.)
May 3 (1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.; community dialogue at 2:00 p.m.)

Each of these events is an opportunity to view the installation and engage in community dialogue.

The Beware of the Dandelions installation maps community stories of resilience and resistance. Attendees are invited to view any or all portions of the installation. During each viewing we will host a facilitated dialogue on complex science principles, and how these relate to community-led social justice strategies.

Special Events, presented by Complex Movements

Complex Movements: connecting social movements, creative expression, and science

Saturday April 11, 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. at Hillman City Collaboratory, 5623 Rainier Avenue South Seattle, WA 98118. More info on Facebook.

This is an interactive workshop and dialogue about the connections between complex science and social movements. We will give particular focus on the application of these ideas in Detroit-based local community organizing efforts and how these concepts may also be applicable to other communities. The presenters will share insights into their collaborative creative project: Complex Movements' Beware of the Dandelions, and how the creative process and organizing process expresses these ideas through the hip-hop and multimedia installation-based performance. Participants will be invited to explore how concepts of complex science in the natural world such as bird flocking, ant societies, and emergence theory can be applied to the practice of counteracting racism, injustice, and all forms of oppression, and building visionary community-led movements.

Presenters:

Rashuad Johnson and James Williams, Ending the Prison Industrial Complex

Stephany K. Hazelrigg, Social HeARTistry Educators

Inye Wokoma, Ijo Arts Media Group

Lulu Carpenter, Uzuri* Consulting & Productions and Wonderlab

Laila Suidan, educator and nature-worker, Down to Earth Landscapes

Seatroit Solidarity: An exchange of strategies between Seattle and Detroit addressing the intersections of state violence, criminalization, and ecological justice

Sunday April 12, 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. at Got Green at the South Side Commons

3518 S. Edmunds St. Seattle WA 98118. More info on Facebook.

Join us for a dialogue and workshop exploring the path away from false solutions to climate catastrophe and criminalization, and toward a just transition for our communities.

Featuring:
Complex Movements

Got Green

Northwest Detention Center Resistance

Will Copeland, East Michigan Environmental Action Council

Africatown

Nikitta Oliver and Afam Ayika of Ending the Prison Industrial Complex

Complex Movements on the #LuluNation + #SadBoisHypeClub Talk Show

Tuesday April 14, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Tune in at www.hollowearth.org and listen to past shows here. More info on Facebook.

The #LuluNation + #SadBoisHypeClub Talk Show is a queer, trans people of color talk show that airs every Tuesday. Talk about what's complicated, what's complex, what's community. Be angry. Eat Snacks. Have Fun. Talk mess and goodness. Complex Movements will be the featured guests on this episode.

Cross Pollinating Seattle Youth Movements

Tuesday, April 21, 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center 4408 Delridge Way SW. More info on Facebook.

An opportunity to connect, share, create, and build cooperation and unity among young people working for a more just world. We aim to convene youth and youth organizations across sector and neighborhoods in Seattle/occupied Duwamish land. Includes dialogue, hands on creative activities, and food! Facilitated by Complex Movements and Henry Luke (Anakbayan Seattle and Wonderlab). Co-hosted by Youth Speaks Seattle and FEEST.

Movement Memory Mapping: conversation and installation launch

Wednesday, April 22, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. at On The Boards, 100 W Roy St, Seattle, Washington 98119. More info on Facebook.

Opening of the Complex Movements video installation mode, which features Movement Memory Maps collected through Story Seed Saving circles in Detroit, Dallas, and Seattle. Followed by a facilitated conversation with Seattle-based projects for community social justice story collecting and archiving. Co-Sponsored by the City of Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs.

Presenters:
Emily Porcincula Lawsin, Trustee, Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS); Co-author, Filipino Women in Detroit: 1945-1955, Oral Histories from the Filipino American Oral History Project of Michigan.

Michelle Habell-Pallan, Sonnet Retman, and Angelica Macklin of Women Who Rock: Making Scenes, Building Community, Oral History Archive

Inye Wokoma, Ijo Arts Media Group

Lulu Carpenter, Uzuri* Consulting & Productions and Wonderlab

Process, Principles and Practice: A discussion on interdisciplinary art-making and social justice

Wednesday May 6, 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. at On the Boards, 100 W Roy St, Seattle, Washington 98119. More info on Facebook.

Complex Movements will be joined by Seattle based artists Cristina Orbe, Davida Ingram, Ijeoma Oluo, and others, to exchange insights about the relationship between art-making practices, community, and social justice. Co-Sponsored by the City of Seattle Office of Arts and Culture.

Accessibility Information

For all events organized by Complex Movements:

The venues are wheelchair accessible, as is the Beware of the Dandelions installation.
All gender restroom(s) are available.
Attendees are asked to please avoid wearing scents in consideration of other attendees with chemical sensitivity. Scent free soap will be provided.
During the Beware of the Dandelions performance, a limited number of chairs are available upon request for people with physical/medical disabilities. The performance includes 3-D elements and strobe lighting effects which can cause seizures in persons with photosensitive epilepsy or other medical conditions. Beware of the Dandelions is not recommended for people with photosensitive medical conditions.
Close captions are available for the performance upon request.

Social Justice Events in Seattle

In addition to events featuring and organized by Complex Movements, we have been working with our community coordinators and cohort to identify Seattle social justice and culture rooted events taking place while we are in town. These are not events that we have organized, but are included as we intend to support and uplift this powerful local work. Your attendance is encouraged!

Youth Speaks Grand Slam. April 10. More info.

The 44th Annual First Nations at University of Washington Spring Powwow. April 10 - Sunday April 12. More info.

Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha "Bodymap" Launch Party and Celebration. April 15. More info.

Seattle Central Spring Poetry Night. April 16. Featuring Amir Sulaiman, One Be Lo, Hamda Yusuf, Troy Osaki, Gabriel Teodros + more. More info.

#Caravana43 in Seattle. April 16 - April 18. More info.

Langston Hughes Film Festival. April 17- April 20. More info.

Youth Speaks #BlackLivesMatter Open Mic ft. Acacia Salisbury & Nikkita Oliver. April 19.
More info.

Longhouse Media and Northwest Film Forum screen "Maria Tallchief." April 17. More info.

Rogue Pinay Celebration & Dance Party. April 18. More info.

All on the same ocean - EXPO reportback. April 19. More info.

Anniversary of the Rana Plaza Factory Collapse in Bangladesh. April 24. It is, to date, the deadliest disaster in the history of the garment industry worldwide. Grassroots Global Justice Alliance members from around the country will take part in a global 24-hour action by the World March of Women that will highlight this incident and the struggles of women around the world. Got Green is gathering folks together to have a community dinner, movie, and discussion about workers struggles and to remember the workers who have passed away because of unjust conditions. Sign the Petition. More info.

Got Green? Green-A-Thon. April 25. More info.

Marcha Y Manifestacion Anual del 1o de Mayo 2015 - 2015 May Day March & Rally. May 1. More info.

Northwest Folklife PreFest Party. May 1. Featuring Porter Ray, Gabriel Teodros & Industrial Revelation. More info.

"Black Lives Matter: Humanity is Not Negotiable." A visual arts exhibit curated by Naomi Ishisaka. April 11 - May 17. More info.

Terrance Guardipee Art Exhibit @ Day Break Star. Ongoing through April 30. More info.

Eyes to Dream: a Project Room by C. Davida Ingram. April 4 - July 5. More info.