‘Frequency’ cycling back into the MAH in September
Quick Take
The biennial “Frequency” digital arts festival is set for a (mostly free) return engagement Sept. 21-24 in and around Abbott Square in downtown Santa Cruz, and among the highlights looks to be a high-tech public memorial to the Santa Cruz Chinatown that once thrived nearby.
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The Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History announced this week that it’s bringing back “Frequency” — that’s the digital arts festival featuring technological bleeding-edge art works in everything from augmented reality to light & sound sculptures. “Frequency” is on a biennial cycle with MAH’s other festival, “CommonGround.” The new mostly free festival will take place Sept. 21-24 at the MAH and outdoors at Abbott Square in downtown Santa Cruz.
Among the highlights is a high-tech “public memorial” on Santa Cruz’s once-thriving Chinatown (the site of which was just across the street from where the MAH is now), conceived and presented by UC Santa Cruz cinematic artist Susana Ruiz, photographer Huy Truong and writer Karen Tei Yamashita.
It’s expected to be a dazzling and absorbing experience for all involved, designed to shake up conventional expectations of museum art. I’m especially looking forward to the “silent disco,” a big dance party in which all participants will be wearing illuminated headphones.