I’ll be a typist for Sheryl Oring’s performance art project, I Wish to Say. I’m excited to be part of a project that activates democracy for everyday citizens AND allows me to do some of favorite activities: perform and type on a manual typewriter!

About I Wish to Say
We want to hear you voice your wishes, concerns and dreams for a continued democracy this election cycle. 

Please join us for a socially-distanced public engagement on the plaza of Central Library on October 17th, where you are invited to dictate messages to the next US President. Typists will use old-fashioned typewriters to transcribe your words onto postcards which will be sent to the White House after the 2020 Presidential election. 

Each time slot to meet with a typist lasts 5-10 minutes and will be done on a first-come-first-served basis from 1-3 and 4-6pm. All are welcome. We ask that you register online so that we can estimate attendance and for communication purposes.

1-3pm Meet with a Typist for an individual slot of 5-10 minutes

3-4 pm Musical Performance of Voters' Broadcast

4-6pm Meet with Typist for an individual slot of 5-10 minutes

I Wish to Say is an ongoing project by artist, journalist, and educator Sheryl Oring, staged by BPL Presents as part of the launch of the 28th Amendement project, with accompanying performance by composer Lisa Bielawa of Voters' Broadcast, a musical interpretation of past messages from I Wish to Say. Voters' Broadcast is held in partnership with the Kaufman Music Center.

For those who prefer to participate online, you will soon be able to sign up for virtual appointments with typists from October 18-21st, 6-8pm for 15 minute slots through Zoom.

RAIN DATE: OCTOBER 18

About Sheryl Oring

Artist Sheryl Oring has typed thousands of postcards to the President from locations across the U.S. since launching her I Wish to Say project in 2004. Her book, “Activating Democracy: The I Wish to Say Project,” was published by University of Chicago Press. She collaborated with composer Lisa Bielawa on Mauer Broadcast, which was presented at various locations in Berlin in November 2019 for the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.  Other recent projects include large-scale public art commissions at airports in Tampa and San Diego. Oring is the recipient of grants from Franklin Furnace Fund, Creative Capital Foundation, the American Council on Germany, the New York Foundation for the Arts and the North Carolina Arts Council. She is Professor and Chair of the James Pearson Duffy Department of Art and Art History at Wayne State University in Detroit.

Photo Credit: Samantha Noel