Moogfest to have protest stage in response to HB2, travel ban

Protest is one of the key themes of this year's festival, which will take place May 18-21 at various downtown Durham venues.

Posted 3:25 p.m. Feb 6, 2017 — Updated 3:29 p.m. Mar 21, 2017

Kathy Hanrahan

DURHAM, N.C. — In response to House Bill 2 and President Donald Trump's recent executive order travel ban, Moogfest announced Monday that this year's event will include a Protest Stage.

Protest is one of the key themes of this year's festival, which will take place May 18-21 at various downtown Durham venues. The subject will be examined at workshops, installations, conversations and master classes.

Moogfest is an annual festival devoted to art, music and technology. Artists performing on the Protest Stage will be announced soon.

"Last March, North Carolina state legislature passed House Bill 2, a law that enables discrimination across gender, sexual orientation, and class. Specifically, the law eliminated past protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, stripped local government control over minimum wage, removed the right to sue for discrimination at the state level, restricted city councils ability to protect local residents from discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation, and barred transgender people from using bathrooms that do not match the gender they were born with," organizers said in a press release. "Moogfest took an immediate stand against the law, reaffirmed our commitment to protest inequality, and offered a safe space for all artists, fans, and visitors who attended. This past December, despite the ongoing work of our community and our allies, lawmakers failed to repeal the law."

Organizers cited lawmakers in Texas and Kansas for taking steps toward enacting laws similar to HB2, before delving into Trump's executive order.

"And in his first few days in office, the 45th president has taken actions, such as the travel ban, that threaten our foundational beliefs and intimidate members of our diverse global network of thinkers and makers. But we are not afraid. We are not hateful. We are alive in our mission to bring the dream of a more equal society to all humans. We seek out facts, respect evidence-based science, and welcome a wide-open worldview. We believe this base of knowledge powers creativity, imagination, and innovation," organizers said. (Read the full statement below)

Tickets for Moogfest are on sale now. Festival passes are $249 and VIP passes are $499.

Moogfest's full statement

"Once again, we are stunned by discriminatory politics in our beloved home of North Carolina and across the U.S.

Last March, North Carolina state legislature passed House Bill 2, a law that enables discrimination across gender, sexual orientation, and class. Specifically, the law eliminated past protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, stripped local government control over minimum wage, removed the right to sue for discrimination at the state level, restricted city councils ability to protect local residents from discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation, and barred transgender people from using bathrooms that do not match the gender they were born with.

Moogfest took an immediate stand against the law, reaffirmed our commitment to protest inequality, and offered a safe space for all artists, fans, and visitors who attended. This past December, despite the ongoing work of our community and our allies, lawmakers failed to repeal the law.

Now, as we prepare for the 2017 festival, we are faced with new and mounting concerns. Lawmakers in Texas and Kansas have taken steps toward enacting laws similar to HB2. And in his first few days in office, the 45th president has taken actions, such as the travel ban, that threaten our foundational beliefs and intimidate members of our diverse global network of thinkers and makers. But we are not afraid. We are not hateful. We are alive in our mission to bring the dream of a more equal society to all humans. We seek out facts, respect evidence-based science, and welcome a wide-open worldview. We believe this base of knowledge powers creativity, imagination, and innovation.

We stand with the millions who marched on January 21st in cities around the world for the rights of women. We fiercely support the march’s mission of standing “together, recognizing that defending the most marginalized among us is defending all of us.” We also stand with those who have been continuing to protest over the last few weeks. The intersectionality of those participating in these protests makes it clear that we cannot turn inwards, and we cannot exist solely for the individual. As said by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. while behind bars for protesting in Birmingham, AL, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."

We are inspired by this movement and the spirit of those that came before it. The fight against inequality echoes our own mission to design radical instruments for change and reflects the legacy of Bob Moog, the inspiration behind Moog who believed that true innovation comes through collaboration, not exclusion. Moogfest is transformed, by the urgency of our times, and we invite you to keep marching with us into the future.

• Write to North Carolina politicians to share your love for the people of our state and your strong opposition to HB2 and other discriminatory laws. You can write your own or use this form from Equality NC or this form from Democracy.io.

• Support the work of our allies at the ACLU of North Carolina and in other states around the country.

• Join us at Moogfest 2017 and attend the Protest Stage, a dedicated space for resistance. As one of our key themes this year, Protest will also be brought to life through workshops, installations, conversations, and masterclasses. We will stand in full accord with artists from various communities to collectively celebrate inclusivity and elevate the fight against discrimination here in North Carolina and across the world.

Participating artists on the Protest Stage will be announced soon in our weekly newsletter, Future Thought Future Sound.

- Your friends at Moogfest

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