The Upgrade! Montreal :: fundraiser for the Critical Art Ensemble (CAE)

7pm
– $5 minimum donation at the door

A
$4000 Armand Vaillancourt painting will be auctioned off to support artist Steve
Kurtz of the Critical Art Ensemble (CAE) and scientist Robert
Ferrell on September 22nd at SAT.

Under
the U.S. Patriot Act, Kurtz has been the subject of a U.S. Grand Jury and FBI
investigation for artistic practices in bio-art. Kurtz, a Professor of Art at
the University of Buffalo, has been charged with mail fraud for requesting harmless
bacteria samples for his artwork from Ferrell, Professor at Human Genetics at
the University of Pittsburgh.

Artists, educators and curators worldwide have condemned the investigation,
which is now in pretrial, likening it to the McCarthy-era of government witch-hunts.
Kurtz’s artistic projects routinely question government and corporate
control of biogenetics and genetic engineering, calling for more open and democratic
processes and public consultation.

The
benefit, with proceeds going to the CAE Legal Defense Fund, will take place
at SAT as part of The Upgrade!, a monthly gathering of new media and digital
culture organised by local curator and artist tobias c. van Veen. The event
is being co-produced by the Artivistic conference, which launches its 3-day
program of art and activism with the benefit, and the [ctrl] collective, a McGill-based
academic organisation.

The
benefit for Kurtz and Ferrell follows a major auction held in New York city
in April, 2005, which featured internationally renowned artists Carl Andre,
Sol LeWitt, Carolee Schneemann, Richard Serra, Cindy Sherman, Hans Haacke and
Acconci Studio among several dozen others.

Canadian
and international artists participating by donating work or performances for
the evening include Bioteknica, George Gessert,
Kathy Kennedy, Art-Act, Guy Ben-Ary
of MEART, Ted Hierbert and Jackson
2Bears, Adad Hannah, Freda Guttmann,
Johnny Ranger, the Elektra festival, Constellation
Records, C0C0S0L1DC1T1, and writers Brian
Massumi, Erin Manning and Arthur and Marilouise
Kroker. Film director Magnus Isacsson will be donating
the Armand Vaillancourt painting.

Cost
is a minimum $5 donation, with all proceeds going to the CAE Legal Defense Fund.
The evening will feature music, performances and a silent auction.

Upgrade
Director tobias c. van Veen and Artivistic Director Sophie
Le-Phat Ho are available for commentary and interviews.

More
information can be found at :
The Upgrade! Montréal < http://theupgrade.sat.qc.ca
>
Artivistic Conference <
http://artivistic.omweb.org >.

More
information on Kurtz, Ferrell and the case, including U.S. and international
press, can be found at :
CAE Legal Defense Fund < http://www.caedefensefund.org
>.