UDC Plenary: Steve Kurtz

Union for Democratic Communications International Conference at Buffalo State College. May 2009.

Steve Kurtz is tactical media artist and co-founder of Critical Arts Ensemble (CAE). CAEs projects focus on the intersection of art, technology, political activism and critical theory. The collectives work has been featured in The Whitney (NY), The New Museum (NY), The ICA (London), The Corcoran Museum (DC), The MCA (Chicago), Schirn Kunsthalle (Frankfurt), Musée dArt Moderne de la Ville de Paris and The London Museum of Natural History. CAE has also collectively authored six books. From 2004 through 2008, Kurtz was the victim of a George W. Bush era Justice Department politically motivated prosecution for his work exposing the dangers of Genetically Modified Organisms. Though eventually declared baseless (insufficient on its face) in Federal Court, the relentless persecution of Kurtz and his codefendant, Dr. Robert Ferrell, at the hands of an overzealous federal prosecutor, became an international humans rights story portrayed in the film, Strange Culture.