Sheryl Oring returns to University of Michigan for virtual performances of “I Wish to Say” from September 29-November 1, 2020 as part of the university’s Democracy & Debate Theme Semester in collaboration with Stamps Gallery and Wayne State University.

In this project, Oring invites participants to dictate a message to the next president of the United States of America. Oring was last on the Ann Arbor campus in 2017 as part of the Stamps Gallery exhibition Vital Signs for a New America, curated by Srimoyee Mitra. For the 2020 iteration of the project, Oring collaborates with students at Wayne State University and the University of Michigan, who will meet with members of the general public via Zoom to take dictation of the public’s messages to the next president. Students will type these messages on mid-century manual typewriters on the Zoom call in a performative fashion. The typed postcards will be mailed directly to the White House on the participant’s behalf after the inauguration.

Voters Broadcast

Selected messages will be set in Voters’ Broadcast, a new musical work conceived and composed by Lisa Bielawa, which will bring together choirs from the University of Michigan and Wayne State University. The 15-minute musical work will be released in three parts over the course of the fall semester as part of the Democracy & Debate Theme Semester programming.

Premiered in three virtual events online:
Wednesday, September 30, 3 pm
Wednesday, October 14, 3 pm
Wednesday, October 28, 3 pm

Watch the performances here: http://www.lisabielawa.net/voters-broadcast