The Roof Is On Fire Suzanne Lacy

Lacy is the executive artistic director of team an organization she founded in 1991 with photographer chris johnson and producer annice jacoby.

The roof is on fire suzanne lacy.

Since the 1970s she has created performances that offer alternative narratives and interpretations of news coverage. Suzanne lacy born 1945 is an american artist educator and writer professor at the usc roski school of art and design. She has worked in a variety of media including installation video performance public art photography and art books in which she focuses on social themes and urban issues she served in the education cabinet of jerry brown then mayor of oakland california and as. Gary nakamoto if this sounds like a difficult curatorial task i m fairly certain it was.

For its inaugural performance the roof is on fire 1993 94 lacy and the artist educators annice jacoby and chris johnson invited 220 high school students predominantly african american and from low income families to assemble on the rooftop garage of a federal building in downtown oakland where they drew a crowd of nearly 1 000 people. The roof is on fire p 178 suzanne lacy in conjunction with team teens educators artists media workers 1994. Suzanne lacy annice jacoby and chris johnson the roof is on fire 1993 94 from the oakland projects 1991 2001. Suzanne lacy s career as an artist educator and activist spans multiple decades and major movements in contemporary art history feminist art new genre public art a phrase coined by the artist and more recently social practice.

The roof is on fire reflected the crux of those discussions as well as lacy s decades long mission to counter misleading media images with empowered community oriented actions. The roof is on fire 1994 8 years ago suzanne lacy chris johnson and annice jacoby produced team s first large scale performance art event which featured 220 public high school students in unscripted and unedited conversations on family sexuality drugs music neighborhoods and the future as they sat in 100 cars parked on a rooftop garage. Performance june 4 1994 city center west garage oakland. 220 high school students in oakland ca sat in parked cars on a rooftop garage and talked to each other about violence sex gender family and race.

There was no script and students spoke openly.